White-eared Hummingbird (Basilinna leucotis) - 08Aug2021

The White-eared Hummingbird is one of those rare mostly Mexican ranged hummingbirds that occasionally cross into the US.  So when I saw reports of one in Miller Canyon when I took a trip out there in 2021, I just had to look for it.

Glittering-throated Emerald (Chionomesa fimbriata) - 19-20Aug2022

Whereas the Glittering-bellied Emerald prefers savannah habitat, the Glittering-throated Emerald prefers semi-open habitat and avoids savannah habitat.  We saw most of ours in Brazil in the middle of the Pantanal in an area of dry forest.

Glittering-bellied Emerald (Chlorostilbon lucidus) - 15Aug2022

Its easy to get your glittering hummingbirds (glittering-bellied and glittering-throated) mixed-up when visiting Brazil, but thankfully they prefer different habitats.  The Glittering-bellied prefers open habitats like savannah with some small trees and shrubs.  We saw ours in Chapada dos Guimaraes.

The female is actually easier to ID with this one.

The male looks more like the male Glittering-throated but again thankfully they prefer different habitats.

Red-billed Emerald (Chlorostilbon gibsoni) - 31Jul2019

We saw a number of these on our Colombia trip but I only managed couple photos.  There are not many hummingbird feeders up in Colombia so when you see a hummer around, take advantage of it because you  may not see more of them.

The red bill is only visible in certain light.  I included a poor diagnostic shot below.

Broad-tailed Hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus) - 02Dec2023 & 23Jun2024

This Western hummingbird species has vagrated to the east coast a number of times and in 2023 I was sure to go check it out when someone had one in the Charlotte area.

Then in Colorado Springs this year we saw tons of them.

Allen's Hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin) - 24Nov2019

Allen's Hummingbirds are interesting because they summer all up and down the coast of California and Oregon but they winter in a very small geographic area in Mexico.  I took these pictures on Catalina Island in November which seems weird but apparently some do winter there and the similar Rufous does not.

Black-chinned Hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri) - 05Aug2021

 The Black-chinned Hummingbird is one of those western hummers that we sometimes get in NC.  I have only seen one of them in NC, but plenty out west.

This picture is from Madera Canyon in the Sky Islands of Southeast Arizona.

Here is the female that I saw in NC.  They are notoriously difficult to ID when female or young but someone had banded this one.

Lucifer Hummingbird (Calothorax lucifer) - 07Aug2021

Lucifer means light-bringer so the name of this little jewel is not because it has the habit if stealing souls, although it may have taken mine.  This photograph was taken somewhere near Miller Canyon in Southeast Arizona.

Tyrian Metaltail (Metallura tyrianthina) - 03Aug2019

Here is another hummer of upper elevations in South America. We saw ours near the El Dorado Lodge in the Santa Marta range.  The male is mostly iridescent green while the female has buffy underparts.

Green-throated Carib (Eulampis holosericeus) - 26&28Dec2014

I took a trip to Puerto Rico back in 2014 mainly to go surfing but I was just starting to also get serious about birding.  I thought I lost most of the photos I took back then with my wife's Canon Rebel but I found an old Flickr account where I had posted them and was able to download them.

Green-throated Caribs are found on Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and some of the Antilles.

 

Horned Sungem (Heliactin bilophus) - 16Aug2022

We saw a couple of these little hummers in Brazil at Chapada dos Guimaraes but unfortunately I couldn't manage a shot of the male which is an absolute stunner.

Sparkling Violetear (Colibri coruscans) - 03Aug2019

This jewel of a bird is found at higher elevations throughout South America. This one was photographed at the famous El Dorado Lodge in the Santa Marta range in Colombia.

Pale-bellied Hermit (Phaethornis anthophilus) - 02Aug2019

Many Hermit species are hard to get photos of because they don't typically visit feeders.  So I was very happy when I found this one sitting out in the forests of Colombia.  The light was bad and my camera must have used a flash automatically.

White-throated Swift (Aeronautes saxatalis) - 25Jun2024

What better a place to find White-throated Swifts than in the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs.  The setting is gorgeous and the swifts fly effortlessly around the red rock formations without any care for the Prairie Falcons that share the habitat.  

Sick's Swift (Chaetura meridionalis) - 12Aug2022

Yet another nondescript Chaetura swift that was identified mostly on where it was found and what time of year it was seen in.  To be honest I would have had a hard time identifying this if the guide we were with didn't call it.  I think he must have heard it too.  However, from what I understand, this is the only Chaetura swift found in the Pantanal in August and is the default.  Pantanal Brazil.

Vaux's Swift (Chaetura vauxi) - 01Jun2021

This very close relative to the Chimney Swift has very little overlap in range.  The Chimney mainly sticks east of the Rockies and the Vaux's are west of the Rockies. I photographed this Vaux's in Eugene Oregon where they are common. I was careful to check with Merlin on the sound ID. I think only one Chimney Swift has been documented in Eugene back in 2014 so I was fairly positive the ID.

 

Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica) - 11Oct2019

These very common swifts in North America can be seen in almost any suburban neighborhood as they take advantage of chimneys as a roosting site.  There are some roosting sites in North Carolina where thousands can be seen entering and leaving a chimney at dusk and dawn although I have yet to witness the spectacle.

White-collared Swift (Strepnoprocne zonaris) - 31Jul2019

One of the two largest swifts in the Americas, the White-collared Swift is hard to miss and maybe a tad easier to photograph than most of its cousins. I have seen them in a couple places but was only able to grab a few pics in Colombia.

Great Dusky Swift (Cypseloides senex) - 15Aug2022

These amazing birds which are found in South America famously roost behind waterfalls, sometimes flying right through the falls.  These ones were seen flying around the falls at Veu da Noiva in Chapada dos Guimaraes, Brazil.

They were roosting behind these falls.

Mexican Whip-poor-will (Antrostomus arizonae) - 05Aug2021

It seems strange that I got a serviceable picture of a Mexican Whip-poor-will before I have for an Eastern Whip-poor-will.  I still don't have one for the Eastern Whip! The below Mexican Whip was in Madera Canyon in Arizona and is also the only one I have heard whereas I have heard hundreds of Eastern Whips.  Somehow this one perched and didn't fly immediately when a light was put on it by someone else I was with.   

 

Nacunda Nighthawk (Chordeiles nacunda) - 15&22Aug2022

For some inexplicable reason this species was at the top of my list when I went to Brazil. I had missed them in Colombia in 2019 and I am a sucker for any bird in the goat-sucker family.  These nighthawks are huge as far as nighthawks go.  We first saw them in the southern Pantanal flying over a field on our way back after a long day of birding.  Then in the northern Pantanal we found a wet field full of them roosting in broad daylight!

 

Dwarf Cuckoo (Coccycua pumila) - 31Jul2019

This small cuckoo is in the same genus as the Little Cuckoo which is found further down in South America.  The Dwarf Cuckoo is found mainly in Colombia and Venezuela.  We found this one in Cari-Cari and it only stuck around for a brief second.  

Little Cuckoo (Coccycua minuta) - 21Aug2022

Although this species is not particularly endangered and is fairly wide-spread in South America, they are hard to spot as they tend to stay hidden.  So we were very happy with these looks while on a boat in the heart the Pantanal in Brazil.  The picture does not impress on your the diminutive size, but believe me this is one small cuckoo.

Greater Ani (Crotophaga major) - 31Jul2019

Greater Anis are the South American cousins of the Ani species we see in the ABA area (Groove-billed and Smooth-billed).  These were photographed in Colombia during my 2019 trip to the Santa Marta area. The pearl-eyes give them a striking appearance not to mention their large size.

Guira Cuckoo (Guira guira) - 11-12Aug2022

The Guira Cuckoos were one of the coolest birds we had when staying in the southern Pantanal.  They hang out in family groups and in the morning they would all puff up their back feathers to soak up the rising sun.  

Eared Dove (Zenaida auriculata) - 09Aug2022

Eared Doves are the South American version of the Mourning Dove but there is almost no overlap in range so ID is not problematic.  This one was at the Sao Paulo Airport in Brazil when we first landed.