Miles To The Wild

American Bird Conservancy

VIDEOS

Now you see him, now you don’t!

The trick is to get him facing you with the sun behind you to show off his iridescent beard, not an easy task!

Chestnut-crowned Antpitta (Grallaria ruficapilla)

Posted on October 24, 2016 by Tara

The Chestnut-crowned Antpitta (Grallaria ruficapilla) is a species of bird in the Grallariidae family. It is found in subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, usually at elevations of 1,900 to 3,100 m. I wasn’t very familiar with antipttas before this trip but they sure are cute!

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These shy birds have a large range throughout the higher elevations in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. At Rio Blanco Reserve in Colombia, they feed worms to the antpittas which gives a good chance to see this otherwise hard-to-get species.

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LEARN MORE ABOUT CHESTNUT-CROWNED ANTPITTAS

VIDEOS

These videos show the experience of birders watching antpittas being offered worms. Worms are part of their normal diet and they don’t let you go too close to the birds.

Blue-winged Mountain Tanager (Anisognathus somptuosus)

Posted on October 19, 2016 by Tara

The Blue-winged Mountain Tanager (Anisognathus somptuosus) is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae, the tanagers. These bright, beautiful little birds are often seen at banana tables at lodges in their range.

They can be found in the higher elevations (mostly above 2500 meters) in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. I’ve seen them at Angel Paz, Sachatamia & Rio Blanco and they always brighten up my day!

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LEARN MORE ABOUT BLUE-WINGED MOUNTAIN TANAGERS

VIDEOS

Banana tables usually attract these little cuties in their range but some people have gotten lucky seeing them in the bush as well.

White-capped Tanager (Sericossypha albocristata)

Posted on October 16, 2016 by Tara

The White-capped Tanager (Sericossypha albocristata) is a dramatic looking bird that is rarely seen, even our guide, Diego was excited to spot this little beauty close to the Yellow-eared Parrot Reserve. You can barely make out his red throat here (or maybe it’s a female) but you can see it in the videos below.

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They can be found in the higher elevations in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. This one was well-spotted by our guide near the finca near Ventanas above Jardin.

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LEARN MORE ABOUT WHITE-CAPPED TANAGERS

VIDEOS

These clips do the beauty of this bird justice better than my pics!

Sword-billed Hummingbird (Ensifera ensifera)

Posted on October 14, 2016 by Tara

The Sword-billed Hummingbird (Ensifera ensifera) is a species of hummingbird from South America and the sole member of the genus Ensifera. It is noted as the only species of bird to have a bill longer than the rest of its body. This adaptation is to feed on flowers with long corollas such as Passiflora mixta. The tongue is therefore also unusually long.

img_5683a img_5681a img_5680a They can be found in the higher elevations (mostly above 2500 meters) in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. Guango Lodge in Ecuador is a good place although they kept to the flowers in the rear and away from the feeders when we were there-maybe because of the rain. I finally got a better look (pictures above) at the finca near Ventanas above Jardin. Huembo in norther Peru is another good place.

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LEARN MORE ABOUT SWORD-BILLED HUMMINGBIRDS

VIDEOS

At Guango Lodge on a feeder

This brave little guy has to fight the rain to get at the flowers.

See how this one preens himself with his feet as his bill is so long. Also note how he holds his head with the bill pointing up, that thing must be heavy!

White-necked Jacobin (Florisuga mellivora)

Posted on October 8, 2016 by Tara

The large and showy White-necked Jacobin (Florisuga mellivora) can be seen very easily at any lodge within its range usually at the hummingbird feeders and adjacent trees. Of course the male is the most brilliantly coloured but the female is pretty albeit more subtle.

Male

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The have a huge range from Mexico, south to Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and south Brazil. It is also found on Tobago (sub-species F. m. flabellifera) and in Trinidad (sub-species F. m. mellivora). Honestly, you would have to be extremely unlucky NOT to see them if you visit any of these countries and stay at lodges with hummingbird feeders!

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LEARN MORE ABOUT WHITE-NECKED JACOBINS

VIDEOS

This guy OWNS the feeder!

This one is enjoying a rain shower.

Some tongue action in this clip!

Masked Trogon (Trogon personatus)

Posted on October 5, 2016 by Tara

It’s time to unmask the beauty of the elegant Masked Trogon (Trogon personatus) who is a species of bird in the family Trogonidae. They have 8 different subspecies:

T. p. assimilis is found in the subtropics of the west Andean slope in Ecuador.
T. p. duidae is found on Mount Duida in the tepui region of southern Venezuela; males of this subspecies are reddish-bronze on the back.
T. p. personatus is found in the subtropical Andes of Venezuela, central and east Andean slopes in Colombia, and east Andean slopes in Ecuador and Peru; males of this subspecies are glossy green above.
T. p. ptaritepui is found in the tepui region of southern Venezuela; males of this subspecies are golden-green on the back.
T. p. roraimae is found on Auyantepui and Monte Roraima, on the border between Venezuela, Guyana and Brazil.
T. p. sanctamartae is found in the Santa Marta Mountains of northeastern Colombia.
T. p. submontanus is found in the Andean foothills in Bolivia.
T. p. temperatus, sometimes considered to be a separate species, the highland trogon, is found in the temperate Andes of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

I took the photos below from the verandah of the El Dorado Reserve Lodge. This female bird (T. p. sanctamartae) seemed to know how gorgeous she is and made sure I got her good side – both of them!

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Here’s a male bird from the Mindo area.

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Another male from Cabanas San Isidro

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They have a huge range throughout the mountainous areas of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru & Bolivia. You may get lucky as I did at Mindo, San Isidro, El Dorado and Rio Blanco.

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Not Your Average American

VIDEOS

This clip from the Mindo area has the male bird’s call.

A quiet but curious female.

Santa Marta Warbler (Myiothlypis basilica)

Posted on October 2, 2016 by Tara

The Santa Marta Warbler (Myiothlypis basilica) is a species of bird in the Parulidae family. They are extremely quick-moving, this was the only photo I got that was less blurry.

They are endemic to the Santa Marta mountains and your only chance to see them is on the excursion with the El Dorado Reserve Lodge.

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LEARN MORE ABOUT SANTA MARTA WARBLERS