Monday, February 20, 2017

of Graytails and Geckos

It wasn't just manakins that Domi led us to as we circled the grounds and trails at Canopy Camp.  We found a mix of birds both common and uncommon, familiar and unfamiliar.

Anyone who has birded the tropics has seen Blue-gray Tanagers.  At one point these had been introduced to southern Florida and Peterson includes one in his main tanager plate.  I'm a little surprised they haven't been re-established as widespread as they are farther south.

Double-banded Graytail is far less cosmopolitan, limited to tall second-growth forest of the Panama-Colombian border.
We saw a pair of these quite excitable birds.  They had a very intense buzzing trill somewhat similar to a chipping sparrow, but with far more inflection and probably quadruple the rate of notes.  They moved about equally frenetically, holding their perch for a few seconds and then bugging out not just to the next branch, but to the next tree as often as not.  Domi actually showed us a nest as well, though it didn't seem to be active.  Somehow I didn't take a picture of the quite large sticky structure.

The first of many Roadside Hawks teed up appropriately alongside the road.

Yellow-breasted Flycatcher, like the graytail, is first encountered in Eastern Panama.  Unlike the graytail, its range includes most of South America.
The photo gives a somewhat fore-shortened look and this pic gives more the gestault of Yellow Tyrannulet.  In life though, its posture was much more like a typical flycatcher.

Birds weren't the only thing we saw, and while butterflies are less abundant in the dry season we were impressed by what we did see.  This is probably some kind of Heliconius.

and finally what is a Golden-headed Gecko if I remember the name right.

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