Fish Crow (Corvus ossifragus) - 12Jan2025

Although this is a super common crow in the southeast where I live, I only have 4 pictures in my photo bank!  Familiarity breeds contempt I suppose.  They are super smart like many corvids and I regularly see them doing remarkable things like hammering acorns against pointed objects to get the nut out.  Their range has been expanding but they are mostly a bird of the southeastern United States. The trademark uh-uh call makes them easy to separate from an American Crow, but otherwise they look almost identical.  I suppose some ornithologists would be able to tell them apart based on leg length. 

Clark's Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) - 02Jun2021

This western North American corvid is mostly a higher elevation bird which has a wide range but is not especially numerous so they are sometimes tricky to find.  We had ours at Crater Lake in Oregon.  The nuts they typically "crack" are pine nuts which they cache so they can live through tough winters.

Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius) - 21Mar2023

This Jay ranges from Spain all the way to Japan!  I had mine in the center of London in Hyde Park.  This species has a whopping 33 sub-species which is mostly a testament to its wide range.

California Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma californica) - 08Apr2023

The California Scrub Jay is the ubiquitous jay of the west coast of North America from the southern tip of British Columbia down to the tip of Baja California.  They are lighter underneath than the Woodhouse's Scrub Jay which lives in parallel to the east around the Rockies.  These photos were taken in my buddy's back yard in the Bay Area of San Francisco.

Island Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma insularis) - 26Nov2019

The Island Scrub Jay is endemic to one island (Santa Cruz) off the coast of California. Although they are very similar to the California Scrub Jay, they have been isolated for long enough (over 10k years) that they have adapted to have some morphologic differences and they don't cross the ocean to mingle with the mainland birds.  The small population (estimated at 1700 to 2300) makes this one of the most rare song birds in North America. That being said they are not hard to find on this relatively small island just off the coast of one of the most densely populated places in the US.  I was able to find this one within an hour of the ferry landing.

Plush-crested Jay (Cyanocorax chrysops) - 10 Aug2022

The Plush-crested Jay looks very similar to the Black-chested Jay of Central America, but this one has a punky crest and lives in southeastern South America as far north as the Pantanal in Brazil which is where I saw these.  These were coming to the feeder set up at Pousada Aguape.

Black-chested Jay (Cyanocorax affinis) - 04Aug2019

The Black-chested Jay lives where Central and South America meets in Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and Venezuela.  We saw ours at the feeder set up at El Dorado Lodge in the Santa Marta mountains of Colombia. 

Curl-crested Jay (Cyanocorax cristatellus) - 16Aug2022

This large corvid is almost endemic to Brazil, but does bleed over into Bolivia and Paraguay.  It has a large range which is currently expanding.  It prefers Cerrado and Caatinga habitats which are  quintessential Brazilian habitats consisting tropical savannah and semi-arid tropical scrubland.  I saw these in Chapada dos Guimaraes just north of the Pantanal in Brazil.

Purplish Jay (Cyanocorax cyanomelas) 10, 12 &18Aug2022

Purplish Jays are a central South American jay spanning a large area in and around the Pantanal of Brazil which is where I obtained these photos.  As you can see from these pictures, they are not particularly shy and will regularly visit feeding stations.  

 

White-throated Magpie-jay (Cyanocorax formosus) - 30Nov2013

These beauties are common on the Pacific slope of central Mexico down to Costa Rica.  This picture is one of my earliest photos taken with an old Canon Rebel while on a surfing trip.

Beautiful Jay (Cyanolyca pulchra) - 15Aug2024

This rare jay of Colombia and Ecuadorean montane forests has a Near Threatened status per IUCN classification.  I only managed one quick shot at a long distance on my second trip to Colombia.  Little is known about this enigmatic species, but clearly it relies on primary forests which are on the decline.

Chivi Vireo (Vireo chivi) - 01Aug2019

The Chivi Vireo was previously considered to be conspecific with the Red-eyed Vireo but clearly they are different birds based on the fact that the South American birds don't migrate to North America, they actually migrate south to breed. Actually some of the sub-species within this complex don't migrate at all.  They inhabit mostly the northern parts of South America with some movement further south during breeding.  I currently only have one really poor picture from northern Colombia but I am going to northeast Brazil later next year and anticipate getting better pictures as they are year round residents there.  

Brown-capped Vireo (Vireo leucophrys) - 10Aug2024

This vireo lives in montane forests from Mexico all the way down to Bolivia.  Apparently it is fairly common but I have only seen one at Ukuku Lodge in Colombia.  Oddly, it was in a Magnolia tree which looks a lot like the magnolias I have in my back yard.  Apparently Colombia is home to many native magnolia species.

Plumbeous vireo (Vireo plumbeus) - 07Aug2021 & 07Jun2023

This western American vireo migrates between North and Central America with some breeding in the US and others in Mexico.  It was previously part of the "Solitary" vireo complex which included Blue-headed and Cassin's.  However, this one is fairly easy to identify compared with those two based on the lack of any yellow color.  My first two pictures are from a mountain top in Arizona near Madera Canyon and the last photo is from a one-day wonder that showed up in Dare County in North Carolina!  I was one of only a couple lucky people that were able to see it before it disappeared.   The NC one was in the rain which is why it looks a little scruffy.

Chocó Vireo (Vireo masteri) - 15Aug2024

This Near Threatened vireo of the Colombian and Ecuadorean montane forests has a limited range along one ridge of the Andes.  

Here is an interesting tidbit from Wiki: 

"The Chocó vireo was first observed on August 25, 1991, by Paul Salamanin western Nariño located in southwest Colombia. The site, located at an altitude of 1,500 meters (five thousand feet), was in a narrow strip of intact, very wet forest along the Rio Nambi, in the Chocó region which is famed for its high biological diversity.

Salaman decided to take the novel approach of auctioning off the naming rights to the vireo's scientific name in order to raise money for conservation of the bird's habitat. Bernard Master, the first American birder to have seen a representative of every bird family in the world, won the auction with a bid of US$75,000 and named it Vireo masteri. This donation was used to create the Pangan ProAves Reserve in Colombia."

Although I would normally think selling a bird's name is not a good idea, it seems in this case it was a win-win situation.  My below photo is from the Montezuma Rainforest Lodge area in Colombia.

Bell's vireo (Vireo bellii) - 09Aug2021

Bell's Vireo is a migratory vireo that breeds in western and central North America and winters in Central America.  There are 4 sub-species with the midwestern ones that have a tendency to show up in North Carolina, although I am still waiting a decent shot at one of those.  Our "eastern" Bell's are much more colorful than these somewhat drab western ones like this one I photographed in Arizona.

Scrub Greenlet (Hylophilus flavipes) - 10Aug2024

This species is also called the Scrub Vireo which points to the fact that the 8 greenlet species belong to the Family Vireonidae.  However, greenlets are in their own genus and don't have bills shaped like what we think of when we picture vireos. This species has a range across souther Central America and very northern South America including Colombia which is where I saw this one.

Ashy-headed Greenlet (Hylophilus pectoralis) - 20Aug2022

This is one of my favorite pictures taken from a boat in the Pantanal in Brazil, at least of a bird species. You can't beat the pictures of Jaguars. Ashy-headed Greenlets have a wide range across the central and northeast regions of South America.  We only saw this one!

Thick-billed Kingbird (Tyrannus crassirostris) - 06Aug2021

One of the 13 Kingbird species in the genus Tyrannus, the Thick-billed Kingbird is mostly a Mexican bird but it does stray into Arizona and Guatemala.  In fact, in Arizona you can find a few breeding pairs and this is one of the birds ABA listers look for when they head the southeast Arizona to pad their lists.  

Streaked Flycatcher (Myiodynastes maculatus) - 11Aug2024

The Streaked Flycatcher has a huge range across Central and South America and I have seen them in several countries.  The below picture is from my second trip to Colombia.  Check out the big spider in his bill!

Golden-bellied Flycatcher (Myiodynastes hemichrysus) - 21Aug2024

This tyrant flycatcher is in the same genus as the Sulphur-bellied and Streaked Flycatchers and they all look pretty similar.  A shame I didn't get a photo of its front side as that is the most diagnostic part.  They range from Costa Rica down to Ecuador in montane forests.   This one was photographed in Colombia.

Lemon-browed flycatcher (Conopias cinchoneti) -13Aug2024

This is a high elevation montane species of tyrant flycatcher found from Venezuela down through Peru in the Andes.  We had this one on the Camino Montezuma near the Montezuma Rainforest Lodge in Colombia.

Rusty-margined flycatcher (Myiozetetes cayanensis) - 17&20Aug2022 and 10Aug2024

This medium sized tyrant flycatcher is in the same genus as the Social Flycatcher and looks very similar.  They rage all over northern South America down to the Pantanal in Brazil which is where my first shot is from comparing a Great Kiskadee to the Rusty-margined on the right.  The second photo is also from the Pantanal and the last is from Colombia.

Lesser Kiskadee (Philohydor lictor) - 19Aug2022

This diminutive version of the Great Kiskadee is found throughout South America usually around water.  I had mine in Colombia and Brazil.  The following shot is from the Pantanal in Brazil.

Puerto Rican flycatcher (Myiarchus antillarum) - 22Dec2014

The name of this flycatcher is a little misleading because it is not endemic to PR, it can also be found in the Virgin Islands.  I had mine way back in 2014 on a surfing trip, when I first started getting into birds.

Stolid Flycatcher (Myiarchus stolidus) - 28Dec2024

This Myiarchus is endemic to Hispaniola and Jamaica but both islands have their own sub-species which could be ripe for a split.  I had mine in the Dominican Republic.

Apical Flycatcher (Myiarchus apicalis) - 11Aug2024

This Myiarchus flycatcher is a Colombian endemic!  Thanks to our guide for the identification based on sound.  These flycatchers inhabit the river valleys between the cordilleras in Colombia. 

Short-crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus ferox) - 10Aug2022

This was a very common Myiarchus flycatcher in the Pantanal in Brazil but you must be vigilant in identification because there are several Myiarchus flycatchers that overlap in this area including the Swainson's.  I mostly relied on the guide to ID them.  They typically have a darker bill than the Swainson's.

Swainson's Flycatcher (Myiarchus swainsoni) - 16-17Aug2022

This is a mostly migratory Myiarchus flycatcher that has an expanded range over much of South America but its breeding range is focused in southeast South America as far west as the Pantanal in Brazil which is where we saw and heard these.  You really need to hear them unless you are an expert because they look very similar to some other overlapping Myiarchus flycatchers. 

Rufous Casiornis (Casiornis rufus) - 19Aug2022

This is a very elegant looking tyrant flycatcher of central South America.  It shares its genus with the Ash-throated Casiornis which lives in northeast Brazil.  They were previously thought to be conspecific.  We had a couple Rufous Casiornis on our trip to the Brazilian Pantanal which is where this one was photographed.

Brown-backed Chat-tyrant (Ochthoeca fumicolor) - 06Aug2024

Yet another high elevation chat-tyrant species that lives from Venezuela all the way down to Bolivia in the Andes. This one was photographed on my second trip to Colombia.

Chestnut-bellied Chat-tyrant (Ochthoeca cinnamomeiventris) - 18Aug2024

This is the second chat-tyrant we bagged in two days in my second trip to Colombia.  This one is also a high elevation species that occurs from Venezuela to Peru but mostly in Colombia and Ecuador.  It is also known as the Slaty-backed Chat-tyrant.