As we headed back to Quito, Jose pulled us off onto a little side road to pick up a few last dry scrub birds. (We'd have gone farther but the bus got stuck. We ended up pushing it out at one point!). We learned a batch of seedeaters, this one was new for the trip; look at the tail's underside for the identity of this female
It's a Band-tailed.
Not all the birds were completely new, a few Vermillion Flycatchers enjoyed their winter haunts.
Unlike the Blackburnians who trade wet jungle for spruce forest, the Vermillions seemed to be in similar habitat to where we would find them in the southwest.
Though there's fewer Tufted Tit-Tyrants in our Southwest.
Golden Grosbeak was a bird I saw a few times flying up from the roadside from the back of the bus; here the whole group got to see them, if somewhat distantly.
We saw a few Blue-and-yellow Tanagers here as well.
The final birds I'll leave you with? A pair of Peregrines, what else.
If you hunt birds for a living it makes sense you'd head to the Bird Continent for the winter.
And speaking of which, maybe that makes sense for birders too ... give it a few months ... stay tuned.
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