Xenornis

Just wanted to pass on a couple of the better sightings of the last few very rainy days in the Volcan area. At Finca Hartmann on 25/8 I found a Stripe-breasted Wren , I think a bit more than halfway up to Ojos de Agua, the first good pathc of forest I encountered en route. When I heard the bird it struck me as odd for the area, without really thinking about its usual range, so I employed playback, and the bird came in immediately and lingered for a minute or so, not 3m away. I collected audio of its response to playback, which will be posted on xeno-canto when I return home. I believe this would be a first record for Chiriqui- I'm hard-pressed to explain this, but anecdotal evidence from the Hartmann family suggests that heavy rains in the area drive some species to different locations, possibly explaining the wren's foray onto the Pacific slope. Also excellent for the area was a Bronzy Hermit , which came in to a plaintain tree as I was taking a bathroom break, of all t...

José García and Mahelis Rodríguez spent August 26-27 birding La Rana and Los Helechos trails at El Copé. Highlight was this male Bare-necked Umbrellabird, but they also found Plumbeous Hawk, Black Guan, Stripe-breasted Wren and Lineated Foliage-Gleaner.

Darién Montañez spent a week with Dale Herter and Alan Clark on a whirlwind tour of Central and Western Panama birding spots. Following, the cream of the 430-species crop. 24th: Bronzy Hermit, Black-throated Wren, Gray Catbird and Olive-crowned Yellowthroat at the Chiriquí Grande dump/oil tanks road. 25th: All three Spinetails, Ruddy Foliage-Gleaner and Worm-eating Warbler at Volcán Lakes. 27th: Anhinga, Least Bittern, Glossy Ibis, Roseate Spoonbil and singing Willow Flycatchers at Las Lajas Beach. Slaty Antwren at Santa Fe, and Fulvous Whistling-Duck at Las Macanas Marsh. 28th: Bare-crowned Antbird and Stripe-breasted Wren on Achiote Road.

Bill Porteous sent in the following report: At about 11.00am on 7th June 2001, on the Podocarpus trail in Altos de Campana National Park, at an altitude of about 950m, I was attracted by a call that I did not recognise. I taped it and played it back, and the bird started to move round me in circles, but I had got the impression, from the call, that it was a biggish bird, and I was searching too far away. It therefore took me some time to see it, and I was almost ready to give up when it flew in and sang above my head. It stayed above eye-level, and I was able to note, on tape, that it was dark below, with prominent white streaking on the throat and breast, that it had a long bill, and that its tail was shortish and rounded. I also recorded the comment that I had no idea what it was (!) and this puzzled me, because I thought I knew, more or less, which species were likely to be present. Finally, when I was about to give up and move on, the bird dropped below eye-level, displaying a long...

The PAS fieldtrip to El Copé, Coclé, had some good reports. Slaty-capped Flycatchers and Stripe-breasted Wrens were encountered frequently and where seen (or heard) by most of the group. Hummingbirds included White-tipped Sicklebill, Purple-throated Mountain-Gem and a possible Snowcap. But the best bird of the trip was a female White-throated Shrike-Tanager seen by María Allen and Hildegar Mendoza on the new trail.