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Costa Rica is a country situated well south of the Tropic of Cancer and like most places without a winter, parrots are an essential part of the local avifauna. With 18 species of native Psittacids to choose from, birding in Costa Rica is always a thrill, especially for someone who grew up in parrotless Niagara Falls, New York!
Big, bold, beautiful parrots full of character and charm, macaws make us long for some of the world’s wildest places and assure us that, as long as they fly free, those magical wild places are still intact. Such cavities are hard to find and are sometimes disputed by more than one species. Who doesn’t love a macaw?
The Species per Square Mile Approach. While Colombia may have almost 2000 bird species, it is a huge country with, still, complicated long-distance travel logistics. On the other hand, small countries with relatively long bird lists offer higher species densities per square mile. And why 1000?
Instead of going on about zip lines and other modern, adventure tourism attractions, the birding crowd talks about taking photos of Resplendent Quetzals , seeing dozens of hummingbird species, and the seemingly odd absence of raptors in Costa Rica but nope, we don’t really talk about extinction. Resplendence.
An endemic species restricted to southern Costa Rica, the tiny range of this local bird makes it susceptible to any alterations to its already limited habitat. As with other birds featured on the album, the song of this species can be heard in a composition created by a local artist, in this case, NILLO. Oh, how nice that would be!
The trees that occur, that thrive in such places are various species of mangroves and as is typical of so many other tropical microhabitats, mangrove forests have their own suite of birds. It’s ironic because even though it doesn’t live anywhere else, even in perfect habitat, the Mangrove Hummingbird is not an abundant species.
He modeled likely future suitable habitats in a climate change scenario for a number of bird species of conservation concern. He then compared those habitats to protected areas, finding that much of the future habitat is currently unprotected. Dr. Tom White of the U.S.
However, there are those species which have a hard time bringing attention to themselves such as Yellow-shouldered Blackbird , Giant Nuthatch , and Vinaceous-breasted Parrot. Regardless of their popularity, these species and the threatened ecosystems they inhabit are equally spectacular. Curassows are such stately birds.
That the three species of mohoua (genus Mohoua ) are New Zealand’s newest family is hardly a surprise. There are three species of mohoua, the Whitehead, Yellowhead and Brown Creeper (Americans unable to distinguish between creepers and treecreepers notwithstanding). Say hello to the Mohouidae.
So, the basic idea is to show 15 species of Australian birds in each post and give you the usual trivia about them. This species has also eliminated the need for childcare – the chicks emerge from this pile on their own and never even get to see their parents. Similarly, the Grey Shrikethrush is neither a shrike nor a thrush.
If habitat is protected, they can also act as important pathways to fantastic places and can greatly facilitate connecting people with birds and biodiversity. In terms of birding, they more easily bring us to a vast variety of species, Costa Rica included. For excellent local guiding, contact Nacho Arias.
There are very few reports from sites further afield although with all public and most private parks closed, a birder can’t go to such official protected areas anyways. It’s all good, as of April 6, my yard list has more than 60 species and will certainly grow in the coming days. Barred Antshrike. Flame-colored Tanager.
Yet, I was not aware of any of Arjan’s big year updates in English, so I had no clue where he was or how many species he managed to see. After 3 months of South and Southeast Asia, Indonesia and Australia, Arjan’s count stood at 2,060 species. And I wanted to learn about his travels in detail.
Go to Hispaniola and a birder has the pleasure of admiring two species of tody for the price of one, checking out the odd, mono familiar Palmchat , and listening to the parrotish calls of the White-necked Crow. Watch the streams for fish, we saw a few, unidentified yet cool looking tropical species! Want to see a roosting potoo?
In Costa Rica, although I did spend a memorable one years ago in the Osa Peninsula where flocks of parrots flew into the mangroves while we feasted on turkey, pie, and the works, we have no actual Wild Turkeys , nor an official Thanksgiving. In Costa Rica, it’s pretty common and easy to see in and near just about any protected forest.
Calilegua is the only national park in the province of Jujuy that protects 76,000 ha of Yungas forest providing a bird sanctuary for many endemic species that live in this special forest. And if that was not enough of a party, the Scaly-headed Parrots joined in the racket. Scaly-headed Parrots. Green-cheeked Parakeets.
There were no clear signs indicating the beginning or the end of the park; it was a very small city park made up of araucaria trees that have not been destroyed and are now protected. It seemed like our luck had run out since the parrots went quiet and we could not locate the exact area of their hiding place.
As with all the green parrots, once they stop in a tree their camouflage quickly allows them to blend with forest and disappear from view. The Sumaco National Park was recognized as a Biosphere by Unesco to protect some two million acres of sub-tropical forest that has amazing biodiversity.
My morning routine has already been simplified down to the essentials – roll out of bed and out from under the protective mosquito net, pull on dirty odorous field clothes, munch down a quick breakfast. stuffing the chicks full of delicious seeds, most commonly including seeds from species of Croton and Hyptus. The Auk 108: 863-871.
The islands of the Caribbean are home to 176 species of endemic birds unevenly distributed across the region. Some islands host one or two species, others more than twenty. For some species, conservation actions are well underway and we are seeing some measure of positive impact as a result. Vincent Parrot ! A pair of St.
Carara National Park isn’t just any old protected area. That’s alright because given the wealth of bird species all over, you can begin with the binos wherever you want and always see a lot. I’m not even sure how many have been identified around Carara but it’s probably have a grand bird species or so.
The one bird I did not see here, however, was the Bateleur Eagle … One highlight in the area is the Saddle-billed Stork , likely to be the tallest species in the stork family. The African Spoonbill is one of the six global spoonbill species, and the main African one (there are also some Eurasian Spoonbills in Africa).
As part of the Wildlife Conservation Society Birds of Brazil giveaway we asked readers of 10,000 Birds to name the bird in Brazil that they would like to see more than any other species. What follows are the responses that readers offered, a veritable aviary of sought after species. It is a really neat bird that I have not seen before.
We might not get the variety of a New Jersey autumn but we do get major numbers of species that winter in South America. However, this year, we opted for a site that could also give a chance at Great Jacamar and a few other key resident species in addition to migrants. Some were feeding on the ground.
It would be uber cool to lay eyes on a rare lifer, on species that only seem to live on the pages of a field guide but isn’t that somewhat discriminatory? And why spend time only looking for one or two species when those hours could be used to put binos focused on a few dozen? Yellow-naped Parrot. Buff-fronted Quail-Dove.
Honduras, a beautifully biodiverse Central American gem, offers everything birders look for in a travel destination, starting with ready access to lots of highly coveted bird species. Lovely Lago de Yojoa fills a volcanic basin ringed by lush mountains, many of which contain vast tracts of protected lands and national forests.
There was definitely always the temptation to just sit at the restaurant, sip a warm cup of coffee or tea, and watch the constant antics of parrots, toucans, hummingbirds, and more going about their daily routine. Lovely Cotinga is the flagship species at Pico Bonito, where it is perhaps easier to see than anywhere else within its range.
The proximity of both slopes also facilitates seeing a lot of different species in a short span because the montane barrier has resulted in differences in terms of species and habitats. This small antbird species is common in Panama to Ecuador but rare in Costa Rica.
It’s not that they don’t like them, it’s just that most are fairly common and tend to grab the spotlight when you still need to focus on much rarer, less colorful species. Not so for the Yellow-eared because that fancy one is one of the rarer species. The Lanceolated Monklet is a living plush toy.
Fortunately, there are some people working to protect the Scarlet Macaws of Honduras. Though Scarlet Macaws are threatened in Honduras there is hope that they will get protection and recover at least some of their numbers and former range. The proposal from U.S.
Navarro’s exceptional drawings illustrate the species accounts. Forty-eight species. Compare, for example, the species account illustration of the Cuban Trogon with the photo that opens up the introductory chapter. The luxury of space means that each species can be shown from various angles and in distinctive poses.
To give an idea of what I mean by “birdy”, although Costa Rica is similar in size to West Virginia, more than 920 species have been recorded within the borders of this southern Central American country. With so many species to choose from, it’s far from easy to decide which merit inclusion.
For a more intimate stay in birdier surroundings, try Zamora Estates ; a hotel/vineyard that protects some of the last remaining wetlands in the Central Valley. Meanwhile, dozens of other species show up at feeders and in nearby vegetation. Or, head to birdy hotels in the hills above Alajuela. A Yellow-billed Cotinga near Cerro Lodge.
1,712 species, 12% of which are endemics. News flash–I just received the trip report from Carlos, and the tally is 419 species recorded, of which 16 were heard only; plus Ian and I saw an additional species before the tour started, courtesy of Paulo Boute. Oh my gosh! I shouldn’t have been surprised. Any suggestions?
We also soon realised that it would be advisable to go to bed when the birdlife went quiet, because the bird species we had seen so far would be up with first light! The long grasses and reeds were perfect for them and they had plenty of protection along the length of the river. Palm Springs. Black-necked Stork.
In 2016, the Shanghai Wildlife Protection Management Station started the search for one, though progress has been slow. The Light-vented Bulbul is one of the three or four most common bird species in Shanghai. It is one of the 19 species of parrotbills. I would like to introduce two candidates, a bulbul and a parrotbill.
Nice. ((** all names have been changed to protect identities and have been substituted with (almost) randomly chosen substitutes suitable for a family of Alpine Accentors.)) While studying, he also worked on various conservation/research projects (parrots, wagtails, vultures, and anything else that flew) and ringed thousands of birds.
Sadly the great gannet colonies during the July to October period to protect the birds, but if you head up to Boundary Stream you’ll find a good mix of lowland and mountain forest where active management is keeping forest birds going. The centre has a daily feeding of wild Kaka , making it easy to see this large parrot.
Over 3,200 photographs have been used, most showing species in their habitats. There is also text, distribution maps, a dark red bar “warning” about similar looking rare species, and conservation symbols. So, how do you find the species account for Kestrel if falcons are not placed between woodpeckers and parakeet?
That’s pretty amazing–Bolivia has more bird species than India! The source of this ranking, BirdLife International, lists Bolivia as currently having 1,439 bird species, including 18 breeding endemics. The guide covers 1,433 species, the number of birds documented at the end of 2014, the cutoff point for the book.
Why this one city alone would be named for birds, in this country of 1,800 species, is unclear, but it could very well be a designation inspired by the nearby Islas Ballestas, an uninhabited island group just offshore from Pisco and home to enormous breeding colonies of Humboldt Penguins , Inca Terns , Peruvian Boobies , and many other species.
The potential for contagion through clicking on links has long been acknowledged and with a desire to protect our precious readers, the links have been discontinued. 149 checklists were submitted, accounting for 465 species. 149 checklists were submitted, accounting for 465 species. White-crowned Parrot (Pionus senilis).
So, for example, Essay #15, “Individual Variation,” uses Herring Gulls to introduce the concept that one species, even one species at a specific age, can vary widely in appearance. The Checklist is more than a taxonomic listing of species and chapter number and title; it also contains useful notes on each bird family.
Even so, in the short term, it can be hard to accept that hundreds of species are close to being extinguished from this irreplaceble tapestry of life, that hundreds more are headed for the same eventual abysmal stop. We would see how species that used to be common, even abundant, became remnants of their former, robust populations.
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