Black-fronted Nunbird is one of four species of Nunbird, and is found in Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil and Ecuador. They are very cute and charismatic and somewhat unafraid of humans making for a very good photography subject. We had quite a few during our stay in the Pantanal including several hanging out right outside our hotel rooms.
The Lanceolated Monklet is the only species in the genus Micromonacha but it seems ripe for a split in the future because it has several different populations with most in Peru, Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador and Bolivia but also a disjunct population in Costa Rica and Panama. It is basically a very small and cute Puffbird. We saw this one at the Montezuma Rainforest Lodge in Colombia but it took a good 20 minutes to find it after hearing it because it is so small and blends in easily.
This cool-looking puffbird is found in humid forests in Colombia and Venezuela. We had ours at the Montezuma Rainforest Lodge.
This Puffbird is mostly found in Brazil's cerrado and caatinga habitats and it spills over a bit into Argentina. We had one on our trip to the Pantanal in Brazil.
We had these Puffbirds in Chapada dos Guimaraes, Brazil in a dry forest environment. They look cool and comical at the same time.
This is a species I initially saw in Costa Rica way back in 2013 when I first started birding, but my camera was basically a disposable at that stage. So I was tickled pink to see another albeit with a better camera during my first trip to Colombia. This one was near the north coast in Santa Marta.
The Green-and-rufous Kingfisher looks very similar to the American Pygmy but is twice the size and doesn't have a white belly. They both live in similar habitats and both share similar ranges in Central and South America. In fact, we had both on the same Pantanal boat ride in Brazil.
This tiny Kingfisher of Central and South America is only about 5 inches long. They are even more shy that most kingfishers which is saying a lot. We had ours from a boat in the Pantanal in Brazil.
Common Kingfishers have a wide distribution across much of Europe, Asia and North Africa. Like most Kingfishers, they are often difficult to photograph. However, I was able to corner this one in the rain on the coast of France, near Antibes.
The Amazonian Motmot was also the beneficiary of the Blue-crowned Motmot split which made 6 new species from one. That being said, they probably don't care about nomenclature, so maybe it is I who is the beneficiary. As the name implies, this species inhabits the humid lowlands of the Amazon Basin. We had ours in the Pantanal in Brazil.
Before 2009 this Motmot was one of the now 6 split species from the Blue-crowned Motmot complex. Luckily there are 6 now in this genus (Momotus) of which I think I have seen 4 of. The Whooping Motmot lives at lower elevations in northern South America. This photo was from the famous El Dorado Ecologic station in the Santa Marta area of Colombia.
The Narrow-billed Tody is the higher elevation of the two endemic todies in the Dominican Republic (endemic to Hispaniola). The ones I saw were all at Ebano Verde Ecological station on the way up to the peak. Unfortunately they were very difficult to photograph and stayed under cover giving me poor photographs, but I plan to go back at some point. As you can see the bill is much more narrow than the Broad-billed.
Broad-billed Todies are one of two endemic todies in the Dominican Republic with Narrow-billed being the other. The Broad-billed ones tend to stick to elevations lower than 1700 meters, while the Narrow-billed generally is above 900 meters so there is some overlap but if you see one at lower elevations it is probably a Broad-billed. Also, it helps when it has a very broad bill like this one did.
There are only two species in the Genus Upupa, the Eurasian and Madagascar Hoopoe. The Eurasian one has a range all over Europe, Asia and Africa. I have seen them in Portugal and now in France which is where I took this photo in the Camargue. It is a very unique and distinctive bird with ancient history in its range. For example, Egyptian tombs have Hoopoes on the walls. They are cherished in much of their range because they eat farm pests (insects).
Elegant Trogon is the most northerly Trogon in the world and does make it as far as Arizona which is where I photographed this male in Madera Canyon.
This can be a tricky bird to see because they are only found in Venezuela and a small area of Northeast Colombia in the Santa Marta range. The latter is where I saw mine, specifically near the famous El Dorado Lodge. The funny story on this one is that our tour leader climbed a precarious lookout tower with missing ladder rungs to get a look above the canopy. He saw the the Quetzal and shouted down to us to carefully climb the tower. Before he could finish his sentence, I somehow sprang up to the top of the tower and appeared behind him in less than a couple seconds. He said it was the fastest he had ever seen someone climb a ladder.
There are only 5 Quetzal species in the world and all of the are gorgeous birds. Despite the amazing color scheme, they are actually very difficult to spot because of their tendency to sit motionless for long periods of time. They are found in South America usually in humid forests with some significant elevation.
Owls in general seem to always be involved in some controversy, but none more than Spotted Owls. Loss of habitat is the main threat as with most species, but also wildfires and competition with Barred Owls are also important. The loss of habitat has led to protections that creates controversy with logging operations. There has been a war between conservationists and loggers in this bird's northern range for decades with the Spotted Owl being used as the flagship species. The controversy with Barred Owls is that habitat displacement has caused Barred Owls to move into territory previously used only by Spotted Owls which are easily outcompeted due to their smaller size. Now there are programs to kill Barred Owls to protect the Spotted Owls which is controversial in many ways. My first Spotted Owl was in the heart of Yosemite National Park right next to the visitors center at the Hetch Hetchy entrance.
Elf Owl is the smallest of the owls in the world! They have been compared to sparrows in size. Although I have been to a couple locations where they should be seen, I always dipped on them until last year in the Lower Rio Grande where I caught this one poking out just after sunset. They are the only species in their Genus.
I finally got my Northern Pygmy-Owl this past year in Colorado at a beautiful state park northwest of Fort Collins. These tiny owls will call sometimes from a perch out in the open during the day, but they are known to be somewhat of a ventriloquist, throwing their voice around in the canyons they inhabit. Also they are pretty well camouflaged which means spotting one can be very difficult. It took me forever to find this one.
The Santa Marta Screech-owl was only just formally described in 2017 so I was pretty excited to see it on my first trip to Colombia in 2019. Its range is very limited to the Santa Marta mountain range with only an estimated 2300 to 7500 individuals.
White-throated Screech-owls inhabit higher elevation forests of the Andes Mountains in South America. They are fairly widespread and consequently not endangered, but I only ever saw or heard this one while in Colombia. They are one of the 22 living species in the Megascops Genus.
The Short-tailed Hawk sits in the large Genus of Buteo which has 28 species in it. This is one of the few Central and South American Hawks that make it over to North America with a population in south Florida which is "critically imperiled". The name is misleading as the tail is no shorter than most other Buteos in the group, but maybe it was called that because the tail is shorter than other bird predators like those in the genus Accipiter which do have decidedly longish tails. I have seen a couple in Florida but never have obtained a decent picture from there. There is a light and dark morph but I only have pics of the former. Here is a pic from Colombia.
The Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle is in the same genus as the White-tailed Hawk and Variable Hawk. This large South American hawk patrols open areas with low shrubs for small mammalian prey. We saw many in the Paramo habitat in high elevation Colombia where we had the one photographed here. It looks like it has a really short tail but actually its that the wings are very broad and extend to where the tail ends.
The Savanna Hawk is a striking hawk in the genus Buteogallus which includes the Black Hawks. However, the Savanna Hawk has a much more interesting color scheme with a barred rufous body and black linings to the wings. This mainly South American hawk can also make its way into Panama. I have seen them in Colombia and in the Pantanal in Brazil where I obtained these photos.
The Black-collared Hawk of Central and South America is the only species in its genus, Busarellus. I had previously seen them in Colombia but the looks in the Pantanal in Brazil were much better as you can see from these pics. They are primarily fish eaters but will eat other critters too.
I was pretty sure I had seen some Red Kites before in the UK circling high above but it was good to finally get some better looks in the south of France, although still too far to properly crush them. The genus milvus includes Red Kite, Black Kite and Yellow-billed Kite. The Red Kite is the European resident with Black Kites only making it into Europe during breeding season.
The Long-winged Harrier is a raptor of the South American grasslands including the Pantanal where we saw ours. The latin name sounds ridiculous. Circus refers to the tendency for these birds of the open grasslands to fly around in circles looking for small mammals or other prey so I suppose that part of it makes sense. The species binomial of buffoni is a patrynomic based on the Compte de Buffon, but in Italian it means clown which isn't really appropriate for this species. There is nothing funny about these beautiful long-winged hunters.
