Some of you have asked me why my rate of posting has slowed down. Well, it is mostly because I am so busy with the Manitoba Breeding Bird Atlas - an exciting new citizen science project to document the distribution and abundance of all breeding bird species in Manitoba and to engage as many Manitobans an Manitoba communities in environmental monitoring as possible.
Knowing when I am onto a good thing, to that end I have started a second blog: http://manitobabirdatlas.blogspot.com/. My intent is to blog about citizen science and the engaging citizens in conservation on that blog, while I will my photo essays and such on this blog. Now, if only i could clone myself to get more of this exciting stuff done at once… So visit that blog and http://www.birdatlas.mb.ca/ and tell me what you think!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Yucatán endemics
The Yucatán Peninsula is a flat limestone shelf that extends northward from Central America. This peninsula includes the three Mexican states of Yucatán, Quintana Roo and Campeche and northern Belize and northeastern Guatemala. The limestone rock formation means the soil layer is very thin and the topography is generally flat, unlike most of the rest of Mesoamerica. There are some small hills in parts of the peninsula and the Mayans use these to their advantage. In fact, they even contributed to the hilly topography of the area by seeking height in their architecture and building new pyramids atop the old. Here are two photos of the Mayan ruins as Uxmal (the letter “x” is pronounced like “sh” when used in a word of Mayan origin – though not necessarily so in recent writing conventions of the more than 20 Mayan languages that are spoken by more than 6 million people in this region today). As you can guess from the second photo, the Mayan ruins can make wonderful birding sites, especially where the forest has grown around the ruins and where there are tall fruiting trees, that maybe were once a food source for humans, that attract the birds. In some places, you can climb some of the pyramids and look straight into the canopy, giving a rare and privileged observation point of life in the tree tops.
The unique geology of the area has given rise to some different habitat types from those found elsewhere in the region and this has produced a certain amount of endemism. One of these unique habitats was in fact the very first image on my retina of the Yucatán Peninsula. As I flew southward towards Cancun, we crossed over a strip of very brown (dry) looking habitat between the coast and the greener interior, clearly visible from the plane (I always ask for a window seat!). You can see this area stands out on a google map – notice the browner strip I have marked with an ellipse.
This narrow strip is known as “coastal dune scrub”, sometimes also called “thorn forest” – although thorn forest is found in other coastal dry areas such as on the Pacific side. Despite the similarity of this habitat with thorn forests elsewhere, the geographic isolation of this dry forest from other dry forests means that quite a few of the plants are endemic. The dryness of this strip is related to precipitation levels and soil type, in particular a calcareous sand bar that differs from the limestone bedrock of most of the peninsula.
Of the bird that inhabit this dry strip, the most intriguing is the Yucatan Wren. Why, well because this species’ entire global range is confined to this narrow strip of habitat (a range map for this species matches the brown patch inside the ellipse on this map)! The Yucatan Wren is in the same genus as the Cactus Wren and almost as large and equally noisy. Their beautiful brown and white markings camouflage them nicely against the brown and white environment they live in as seen in these two photos!
The Mexican Sheartail, a small hummingbird, is another endemic of the coastal dune scrub with a very similar global range to the Yucatan Wren, mostly confined to this same coastal strip. I say mostly because there is a very small disjunct population of this species across the Gulf of Mexico in a dry area on the coast of Veracruz. In the Yucatán, the range of the Mexican Sheartail also extends slightly further east than that of Yucatan Wren.
The Zenaida Dove is not a Yucatán endemic because they occur on Caribbean islands as well as the Yucatán Peninsula. Nonetheless, where they do occur in the Yucatán is once again confined to the northern coastal strip, in particular areas with sand dunes, as shown here (first a bird feeding on the sand and then a pair perched up).
Most of the other Yucatan endemics are not as restricted as the sheartail and the wren and extend further south on the peninsula to varying degrees. One example is the Black-throated Bobwhite, also known as the Yucatan Bobwhite, whose range is most of the northern half of the Yucatán Peninsula but also has some smaller disjunct populations in Honduras, Guatemala and Belize. This species occurs in scrubby habitats that occur through the limestone shelf rather than the more forested areas. Here is a pair out crossing a road near Río de Lagartos (River of Lizards) in the coastal strip. The second shot shows their rather elegant pas-de-deux, up on tippy toes (and without the shoes!)
The Ocellated Turkey is also found throughout the peninsula; however they are extremely difficult to see anywhere, well, anywhere except Tikal in northeastern Guatemala, where they roam around at the base of the pyramids as if they own the place! The first photo show two birds while the second photo is zoomed in to show the remarkable iridescence of the feathers.
The Yucatan Jay is a Yucatán endemic that is found through most of the peninsula but is photographed here in the northern coastal area. The top bird in this photo is an adult (black bill), whereas as the bird with the yellow bill at the bottom is an immature bird. The brighter marking of the immature plumage, at least in terms of bill colour, is intriguing. It was also interesting to observe the immature bird apparently collecting nesting material. The Yucatan Jay and their close relatives (Bushy-crested Jay, Purplish-backed Jay and San Blas Jay) all have a cooperative breeding system with “helpers” assisting the parents in rearing the young. It seems likely therefore that the bill colour differences by age carry important social information about who has what role in the complex “extended family” arrangement.
The Gray-throated Chat is endemic to the region but extends slightly beyond the peninsula towards southeast Veracruz and into Guatemala. This species, however, is not found in the northern coastal scrub zone and is generally in slightly wetter but still scrubby (semi-arid to semi-humid) habitats. The first photo shows a male and then a female. This species and their sister species the Red-breasted Chat have attracted some interest of late as genetic studies have suggested that they may not be Wood-Warblers as previously thought… some have proposed they be in a family of their own!
The Yellow-lored Parrot, also know as Yucatan Parrot, is another endemic of the Yucatán Peninsula. Unfortunately, I only ever saw this species in flight…
The Yucatan Woodpecker (also known as Red-vented Woodpecker) is an endemic that occurs over most of the peninsula. Here is a different photo of this species from my previous post. The small size of this woodpecker means they can do well even in areas of the peninsula where the trees are quite small and in scrubby areas.
As I mentioned in the previous post, the yellow nasal tuft of the Yucatan Woodpecker is one of the features that separates that species from the dubius subspecies of Golden-fronted Woodpecker that occurs on the Yucatán Peninsula. Unlike, other subspecies of Golden-fronted Woodpecker, this race has no gold and a whole lot of red! Obviously the people who named this species were looking at a different subspecies at the time!
The Black Catbird is, well you guessed it, another endemic that occurs widely in scrubby habitat on the peninsula and islands off the coast. Behaviorally speaking, they are quite similar to Gray Catbird, though perhaps a little more skulking.
This next species is not an endemic but the stunningly beautiful Turquoise-browed Motmot has a fascinating disjunct distribution with a population in Central America extending from Costa Rica up to southwestern Chiapas and then a population over on the Yucatán Peninsula that is separated from the Central American birds by at least 400km. It is not clear if this disjunction is a result of these birds have recently disappeared from the intervening areas or whether it is older. Since they like forest edge a lot they seem quite at home in Mayan ruins and will use pyramids as nesting sites. Like some other motmots they will swing their tail from side to side in a jerky pendulum action, earning them the nickname “pájaro reloj” (clock bird). The magnificent tail with the exposed lower shaft and the broad "racquets" at the end is indeed pendulum like, but more colourful than any grandfather clock I have ever seen.
This next species is or isn’t an endemic depending on your taxonomy. The White-browed Wren is variously treated as a Yucatán endemic species, or a an endemic subspecies of Carolina Wren (can you see the plumage differences in this poor quality photo?).
Most of the Yucatán endemics, as you may have noted from the above descriptions are not true forest birds but rather birds of scrub habitat or at least more open forest types. Some however do not like the really dry parts of the peninsula and are therefore not found in the coastal dune strip of the northernmost and northwesternmost part of the Yucatán. The distribution map of these species is somewhat triangular in shape (following the parts of the peninsula with a little more rainfall and hence a little lusher vegetation) as shown in the map below:
One such species is the handsome Rose-throated Tanager. This is a male feeding in a fruit tree at the Mayan ruins of Cobá. This species is absent from the northwestern third of the peninsula.
The Green-backed Sparrow has a similar distribution to the Rose-throated Tanager, also being absent from the northwestern part of the peninsula; however, this species also extends further south and a little further west into the more humid forests of northern Guatemala and eastern Chiapas. This species is very similar in appearance to Olive Sparrow – if you know that species, see if you can spot the differences…
Some endemics of the Yucatán Peninsula actually have an even more eastern distribution in the sense that they are only found in the semi-humid scrub on the eastern side of the peninsula, which gets more precipitation than the thorn forest and do not spread westward in the southern part of the peninsula. A good example of this is the Yucatan Vireo, seen here using their large bill on an unsuspecting berry…
The unique geology of the area has given rise to some different habitat types from those found elsewhere in the region and this has produced a certain amount of endemism. One of these unique habitats was in fact the very first image on my retina of the Yucatán Peninsula. As I flew southward towards Cancun, we crossed over a strip of very brown (dry) looking habitat between the coast and the greener interior, clearly visible from the plane (I always ask for a window seat!). You can see this area stands out on a google map – notice the browner strip I have marked with an ellipse.
This narrow strip is known as “coastal dune scrub”, sometimes also called “thorn forest” – although thorn forest is found in other coastal dry areas such as on the Pacific side. Despite the similarity of this habitat with thorn forests elsewhere, the geographic isolation of this dry forest from other dry forests means that quite a few of the plants are endemic. The dryness of this strip is related to precipitation levels and soil type, in particular a calcareous sand bar that differs from the limestone bedrock of most of the peninsula.
Of the bird that inhabit this dry strip, the most intriguing is the Yucatan Wren. Why, well because this species’ entire global range is confined to this narrow strip of habitat (a range map for this species matches the brown patch inside the ellipse on this map)! The Yucatan Wren is in the same genus as the Cactus Wren and almost as large and equally noisy. Their beautiful brown and white markings camouflage them nicely against the brown and white environment they live in as seen in these two photos!
The Mexican Sheartail, a small hummingbird, is another endemic of the coastal dune scrub with a very similar global range to the Yucatan Wren, mostly confined to this same coastal strip. I say mostly because there is a very small disjunct population of this species across the Gulf of Mexico in a dry area on the coast of Veracruz. In the Yucatán, the range of the Mexican Sheartail also extends slightly further east than that of Yucatan Wren.
The Zenaida Dove is not a Yucatán endemic because they occur on Caribbean islands as well as the Yucatán Peninsula. Nonetheless, where they do occur in the Yucatán is once again confined to the northern coastal strip, in particular areas with sand dunes, as shown here (first a bird feeding on the sand and then a pair perched up).
Most of the other Yucatan endemics are not as restricted as the sheartail and the wren and extend further south on the peninsula to varying degrees. One example is the Black-throated Bobwhite, also known as the Yucatan Bobwhite, whose range is most of the northern half of the Yucatán Peninsula but also has some smaller disjunct populations in Honduras, Guatemala and Belize. This species occurs in scrubby habitats that occur through the limestone shelf rather than the more forested areas. Here is a pair out crossing a road near Río de Lagartos (River of Lizards) in the coastal strip. The second shot shows their rather elegant pas-de-deux, up on tippy toes (and without the shoes!)
The Ocellated Turkey is also found throughout the peninsula; however they are extremely difficult to see anywhere, well, anywhere except Tikal in northeastern Guatemala, where they roam around at the base of the pyramids as if they own the place! The first photo show two birds while the second photo is zoomed in to show the remarkable iridescence of the feathers.
The Yucatan Jay is a Yucatán endemic that is found through most of the peninsula but is photographed here in the northern coastal area. The top bird in this photo is an adult (black bill), whereas as the bird with the yellow bill at the bottom is an immature bird. The brighter marking of the immature plumage, at least in terms of bill colour, is intriguing. It was also interesting to observe the immature bird apparently collecting nesting material. The Yucatan Jay and their close relatives (Bushy-crested Jay, Purplish-backed Jay and San Blas Jay) all have a cooperative breeding system with “helpers” assisting the parents in rearing the young. It seems likely therefore that the bill colour differences by age carry important social information about who has what role in the complex “extended family” arrangement.
The Gray-throated Chat is endemic to the region but extends slightly beyond the peninsula towards southeast Veracruz and into Guatemala. This species, however, is not found in the northern coastal scrub zone and is generally in slightly wetter but still scrubby (semi-arid to semi-humid) habitats. The first photo shows a male and then a female. This species and their sister species the Red-breasted Chat have attracted some interest of late as genetic studies have suggested that they may not be Wood-Warblers as previously thought… some have proposed they be in a family of their own!
The Yellow-lored Parrot, also know as Yucatan Parrot, is another endemic of the Yucatán Peninsula. Unfortunately, I only ever saw this species in flight…
The Yucatan Woodpecker (also known as Red-vented Woodpecker) is an endemic that occurs over most of the peninsula. Here is a different photo of this species from my previous post. The small size of this woodpecker means they can do well even in areas of the peninsula where the trees are quite small and in scrubby areas.
As I mentioned in the previous post, the yellow nasal tuft of the Yucatan Woodpecker is one of the features that separates that species from the dubius subspecies of Golden-fronted Woodpecker that occurs on the Yucatán Peninsula. Unlike, other subspecies of Golden-fronted Woodpecker, this race has no gold and a whole lot of red! Obviously the people who named this species were looking at a different subspecies at the time!
The Black Catbird is, well you guessed it, another endemic that occurs widely in scrubby habitat on the peninsula and islands off the coast. Behaviorally speaking, they are quite similar to Gray Catbird, though perhaps a little more skulking.
This next species is not an endemic but the stunningly beautiful Turquoise-browed Motmot has a fascinating disjunct distribution with a population in Central America extending from Costa Rica up to southwestern Chiapas and then a population over on the Yucatán Peninsula that is separated from the Central American birds by at least 400km. It is not clear if this disjunction is a result of these birds have recently disappeared from the intervening areas or whether it is older. Since they like forest edge a lot they seem quite at home in Mayan ruins and will use pyramids as nesting sites. Like some other motmots they will swing their tail from side to side in a jerky pendulum action, earning them the nickname “pájaro reloj” (clock bird). The magnificent tail with the exposed lower shaft and the broad "racquets" at the end is indeed pendulum like, but more colourful than any grandfather clock I have ever seen.
This next species is or isn’t an endemic depending on your taxonomy. The White-browed Wren is variously treated as a Yucatán endemic species, or a an endemic subspecies of Carolina Wren (can you see the plumage differences in this poor quality photo?).
Most of the Yucatán endemics, as you may have noted from the above descriptions are not true forest birds but rather birds of scrub habitat or at least more open forest types. Some however do not like the really dry parts of the peninsula and are therefore not found in the coastal dune strip of the northernmost and northwesternmost part of the Yucatán. The distribution map of these species is somewhat triangular in shape (following the parts of the peninsula with a little more rainfall and hence a little lusher vegetation) as shown in the map below:
One such species is the handsome Rose-throated Tanager. This is a male feeding in a fruit tree at the Mayan ruins of Cobá. This species is absent from the northwestern third of the peninsula.
The Green-backed Sparrow has a similar distribution to the Rose-throated Tanager, also being absent from the northwestern part of the peninsula; however, this species also extends further south and a little further west into the more humid forests of northern Guatemala and eastern Chiapas. This species is very similar in appearance to Olive Sparrow – if you know that species, see if you can spot the differences…
Some endemics of the Yucatán Peninsula actually have an even more eastern distribution in the sense that they are only found in the semi-humid scrub on the eastern side of the peninsula, which gets more precipitation than the thorn forest and do not spread westward in the southern part of the peninsula. A good example of this is the Yucatan Vireo, seen here using their large bill on an unsuspecting berry…
Of course there are a few more Yucatán endemics which I didn’t get satisfactory photos of , such as the Orange Oriole, but this should give you a good introduction of what makes the are unique in terms of its avifauna. I will try to post about some of the other birds of the region soon (sorry, getting very busy with the atlas).
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Cozumel
The Island of Cozumel lies a mere 20km off the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula and is only 45km by 15km in size. There are mangroves around the island's coast but the habitat is mostly "semi-humid" scrub, a fascinating tropical habitat type that does not grow particularly tall despite receiving reasonable quantities of water (rainfall). This habitat type is also found in the eastern Yucatan Peninsula.
The theory of island biogeography would predict that such an island have moderate biodiversity, limited by its small size but augmented by frequent arrivals from the mainland. Cozumel, however, is something of an enigma, since it has four endemic species and many distinctive endemic subspecies, perhaps surprising given its proximity to the mainland. The avifaunal mixture of Cozumel is also intriguing in that, although it shares some species with the mainland, there are a suite of species with a more Caribbean distribution, including for example the Western Spindalis that occurs on Cozumel but not on the mainland. Other bird like Yucatan (Yellow-lored) Parrots and White-crowned Pigeons don't mind making the crossing on a regular basis, apparently even twice daily in some seasons.
The four Cozumel endemic species include a hummingbird, a vireo, a thrasher and a wren. The hummer is the Cozumel Emerald, and what a beauty! Unfortunately, the long, deeply forked tail of the male doesn’t show very well in these photos... but you get the picture!
The Cozumel Vireo is very distinctive. This species spends most of their time skulking in the scrub and is not easy to see well.
Cozumel is also a good place to see some of the Yucatan Peninsula endemics. The Yucatan Vireo is an inch or more larger than the Cozumel Vireo, with a much larger bill and with a global range that is restricted to the eastern portion of the Yucatan Peninsula and islands, being found in the characteristic semi-humid tropical scrub habitat of the region and also in mangroves. As it turns out, Cozumel was the only place I saw Yucatan Vireo. Note how thick the supercilium is on this species.
Another Yucatan endemic that seems easier to see on Cozumel than elsewhere is the Yucatan Woodpecker. In most sites in the Yucatan the much larger Golden-fronted Woodpecker is easier to see than the endemic Yucatan Woodpecker, but on Cozumel the converse was true! Note the yellow nasal tuft on this species, one of the features that separate them from Golden-fronted Woodpecker. According to Howell the yellow should extend underneath the bill but that didn’t really seem to be the case with the Cozumel birds… anyone care to comment?
Yet another Yucatan endemic, the Black Catbird, skulks around in the shrub layer, sometimes coinciding with overwintering Gray Catbirds. Once again, this species was easier to see on Cozumel than most sites on the mainland.
The theory of island biogeography would predict that such an island have moderate biodiversity, limited by its small size but augmented by frequent arrivals from the mainland. Cozumel, however, is something of an enigma, since it has four endemic species and many distinctive endemic subspecies, perhaps surprising given its proximity to the mainland. The avifaunal mixture of Cozumel is also intriguing in that, although it shares some species with the mainland, there are a suite of species with a more Caribbean distribution, including for example the Western Spindalis that occurs on Cozumel but not on the mainland. Other bird like Yucatan (Yellow-lored) Parrots and White-crowned Pigeons don't mind making the crossing on a regular basis, apparently even twice daily in some seasons.
The four Cozumel endemic species include a hummingbird, a vireo, a thrasher and a wren. The hummer is the Cozumel Emerald, and what a beauty! Unfortunately, the long, deeply forked tail of the male doesn’t show very well in these photos... but you get the picture!
The Cozumel Vireo is very distinctive. This species spends most of their time skulking in the scrub and is not easy to see well.
I didn’t manage photos of the other two endemics – the skulking Cozumel Wren – basically a House Wren who probably took a liking to island living and decided they didn’t feel like traveling back north... well, at least migration suspension seems like the most plausible explanation (or maybe they discovered Tequila?). The fourth endemic, the Cozumel Thrasher, is now feared extinct. Apparently they were common until the hurricane in September 1988. Since then there have been very few sightings and it seems as though this species will not recover. Many other local breeding species took a hit in that hurricane but they have since recovered. Perhaps there was something unusual about the thrasher or perhaps there was a cocktail of factors with the hurricane being the last straw… we may never know!
Cozumel is also a good place to see some of the Yucatan Peninsula endemics. The Yucatan Vireo is an inch or more larger than the Cozumel Vireo, with a much larger bill and with a global range that is restricted to the eastern portion of the Yucatan Peninsula and islands, being found in the characteristic semi-humid tropical scrub habitat of the region and also in mangroves. As it turns out, Cozumel was the only place I saw Yucatan Vireo. Note how thick the supercilium is on this species.
Another Yucatan endemic that seems easier to see on Cozumel than elsewhere is the Yucatan Woodpecker. In most sites in the Yucatan the much larger Golden-fronted Woodpecker is easier to see than the endemic Yucatan Woodpecker, but on Cozumel the converse was true! Note the yellow nasal tuft on this species, one of the features that separate them from Golden-fronted Woodpecker. According to Howell the yellow should extend underneath the bill but that didn’t really seem to be the case with the Cozumel birds… anyone care to comment?
Yet another Yucatan endemic, the Black Catbird, skulks around in the shrub layer, sometimes coinciding with overwintering Gray Catbirds. Once again, this species was easier to see on Cozumel than most sites on the mainland.
Then there are those Cozumel endemic subspecies. On Cozumel endemic rufivertex subspecies of Yellow Warbler has a rufous crown, although in this photo the crown is not so easy to see. Migrant Yellow Warblers from the north also occur.
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The caboti subspecies of Bananaquit is only found only Cozumel and a tiny portion of the northeasternmost corner of the Yucatan Peninsula. Their range is very disjunct from the mexicana subspecies which you can see in Belize, northeastern Guatemala, Chiapas and the southernmost parts of Veracruz and Oaxaca. The caboti subspecies of Bananaquit is larger and has a white throat as opposed to the grey throat of mexicana.
Cozumel is the only place is Mexico to see the stunning Western Spindalis, formerly known as Stripe-headed Tanager. This species occurs on many Caribbean Islands and of course is a highly sought-after rarity in Florida. The first photos shows the vibrant colours of the male – a very cooperative little chap who popped up in front of me at eye level. The second photo shows the female enjoying a feast!
Other Cozumel residents with a Caribbean affiliation include the Caribbean Elaenia, found on offshore islands and the eastern most portion of the Yucatan peninsula. Like many flycatchers in this group this species is not easy to identify from other similar species; however, their bright orange lower mandible is a particularly noticable and recognizable feature.
The Caribbean Dove has a somewhat similar distribution to the Caribbean Elaenia; however, their range extend much further westward and also further south in the Caribbean Island chain. Not easy to tell from White-tipped Dove, but their grey, as opposed to vinaceous, crown is a good feature.
Cozumel also has its share of species with more widespread distributions. One of these is the handsome Mangrove Cuckoo. In my experience, Cozumel is the easiest place there is to see this skulker, which is notoriously difficult to find through much of their range. On Cozumel, this species is not confined to mangroves and I saw them in fruiting trees and also in semi-humid scrub.
The Bright-rumped Attila is a widespread flycatcher, ranging from Mexico to Brazil. This one popped up for me and gave good views for a minute or so. Note the hooked bill shape.
Tropical Mockingbird is also wide ranging, although, unlike most of the species covered in this post, they are easy to see anywhere in their range.
Another migrant, a Sora, strolls around on some exposed mud. I don’t often see Sora this well up here on their breeding grounds!
And a Palm Warbler forages in the leaf litter… In a few short months, I will be surveying for this species and other boreal breeders as part of the Manitoba Breeding Bird Atlas… but they are content to stay on Cozumel for now!
Another familiar face – indeed a familiar masked face, Raccoons are resident on Cozumel. Like here in North America they are not shy about feeding on human garbage. On the other hand, there is no need to sleep away the winter months down on Cozumel!
More to come soon… but first, better go shovel that fresh snow!
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The caboti subspecies of Bananaquit is only found only Cozumel and a tiny portion of the northeasternmost corner of the Yucatan Peninsula. Their range is very disjunct from the mexicana subspecies which you can see in Belize, northeastern Guatemala, Chiapas and the southernmost parts of Veracruz and Oaxaca. The caboti subspecies of Bananaquit is larger and has a white throat as opposed to the grey throat of mexicana.
Cozumel’s endemic intermedia subspecies of Yellow-faced Grassquit has less black on the chest than mainland races.
Cozumel is the only place is Mexico to see the stunning Western Spindalis, formerly known as Stripe-headed Tanager. This species occurs on many Caribbean Islands and of course is a highly sought-after rarity in Florida. The first photos shows the vibrant colours of the male – a very cooperative little chap who popped up in front of me at eye level. The second photo shows the female enjoying a feast!
Other Cozumel residents with a Caribbean affiliation include the Caribbean Elaenia, found on offshore islands and the eastern most portion of the Yucatan peninsula. Like many flycatchers in this group this species is not easy to identify from other similar species; however, their bright orange lower mandible is a particularly noticable and recognizable feature.
The Caribbean Dove has a somewhat similar distribution to the Caribbean Elaenia; however, their range extend much further westward and also further south in the Caribbean Island chain. Not easy to tell from White-tipped Dove, but their grey, as opposed to vinaceous, crown is a good feature.
Cozumel also has its share of species with more widespread distributions. One of these is the handsome Mangrove Cuckoo. In my experience, Cozumel is the easiest place there is to see this skulker, which is notoriously difficult to find through much of their range. On Cozumel, this species is not confined to mangroves and I saw them in fruiting trees and also in semi-humid scrub.
The Bright-rumped Attila is a widespread flycatcher, ranging from Mexico to Brazil. This one popped up for me and gave good views for a minute or so. Note the hooked bill shape.
Tropical Mockingbird is also wide ranging, although, unlike most of the species covered in this post, they are easy to see anywhere in their range.
Cozumel also attracts its share of Nearctic breeding migrants, including a good selection of shorebirds like the beautiful Black-bellied Plover (American English) or Grey Plover (British English) or Silver Plover (me!).
Another migrant, a Sora, strolls around on some exposed mud. I don’t often see Sora this well up here on their breeding grounds!
And a Palm Warbler forages in the leaf litter… In a few short months, I will be surveying for this species and other boreal breeders as part of the Manitoba Breeding Bird Atlas… but they are content to stay on Cozumel for now!
Another familiar face – indeed a familiar masked face, Raccoons are resident on Cozumel. Like here in North America they are not shy about feeding on human garbage. On the other hand, there is no need to sleep away the winter months down on Cozumel!
More to come soon… but first, better go shovel that fresh snow!
Friday, January 15, 2010
Neotropical owls
Back recently from a trip to Mexico, Belize and Guatemala, which I will post about in more detail soon. Since I haven’t posted anything in nearly a month, I thought I would start quickly by sharing photos of some of the nightbirds from this trip. I put together and more comprehensive and organized series in due course.
We start with my lifer Crested Owl. This phenomenal looking creature is quite unique and placed in their own genus Lophostrix. Their voice is also rather unique, being exceptionally gruff, even for a large owl. I have wanted to see Crested Owl for a long time so on this trip, whenever I found myself in lowland rainforest, I spent my nights looking for this species. It wasn’t until near the end of my trip, at Palenque in Mexico (famous Mayan ruins) that I finally caught up with this enigmatic species. I had been birding in the ruins and then birded back down the entrance road very slowly after dark. After hearing a Crested Owl call it took nearly half an hour to track the caller down, so I was absolutely elated when I was able to maneuver into position to take this photo. Of course when I walked passed the military check point, they searched my persons and my backpack thoroughly (in case I had tried to smuggle out a relic) and not me I was not supposed to be on the road after dark (the people at the ticket counter had told me this was allowed). At that point, I didn’t mind the incursion – I already had my photos of Crested Owl.
Another highlight was this Bearded Screech-Owl at the Pronatura Reserve called Huitepec, near San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas, Mexico. It took three nights to find this species. On the first two, the wind picked up an hour before dusk and made listening for owls almost impossible. On the third night it looked like it would rain but instead the blanket of cloud and fog seemed to hold back the wind. As a result I got my lifer Bearded Screech-Owl and Unspotted Saw-whet Owl, although I didn’t manage a photo of the latter. The Bearded Screech-Owl, like many screech-owls in dichromatic, i.e. there are two colour morphs, red and grey. This bird is obviously a red morph individual. Notice also the long wings relative to the tail and the naked (unfeathered) toes characteristic of this species.
We start with my lifer Crested Owl. This phenomenal looking creature is quite unique and placed in their own genus Lophostrix. Their voice is also rather unique, being exceptionally gruff, even for a large owl. I have wanted to see Crested Owl for a long time so on this trip, whenever I found myself in lowland rainforest, I spent my nights looking for this species. It wasn’t until near the end of my trip, at Palenque in Mexico (famous Mayan ruins) that I finally caught up with this enigmatic species. I had been birding in the ruins and then birded back down the entrance road very slowly after dark. After hearing a Crested Owl call it took nearly half an hour to track the caller down, so I was absolutely elated when I was able to maneuver into position to take this photo. Of course when I walked passed the military check point, they searched my persons and my backpack thoroughly (in case I had tried to smuggle out a relic) and not me I was not supposed to be on the road after dark (the people at the ticket counter had told me this was allowed). At that point, I didn’t mind the incursion – I already had my photos of Crested Owl.
Another highlight was this Bearded Screech-Owl at the Pronatura Reserve called Huitepec, near San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas, Mexico. It took three nights to find this species. On the first two, the wind picked up an hour before dusk and made listening for owls almost impossible. On the third night it looked like it would rain but instead the blanket of cloud and fog seemed to hold back the wind. As a result I got my lifer Bearded Screech-Owl and Unspotted Saw-whet Owl, although I didn’t manage a photo of the latter. The Bearded Screech-Owl, like many screech-owls in dichromatic, i.e. there are two colour morphs, red and grey. This bird is obviously a red morph individual. Notice also the long wings relative to the tail and the naked (unfeathered) toes characteristic of this species.
Of the Strix owls (large and round-headed) in the tropics, Mottled Owl is the most ubiquitous, being found from Mexico to Argentina and from the lowlands up to 2500m asl. I photographed this species at four sites on this trip. This photo was also taken at Huitepec on the same night as the Bearded Screech-Owl above.
Not an owl, but another exciting nightbird is the Northern Potoo. The potoos are a Neotropical family of nocturnal insectivores. It is amazing to watch such large birds sally forth from a perch in the night to pluck an insect from the air, like a huge nocturnal flycatcher. Their superb camouflage makes them difficult to find while roosting (almost completely motionless) in the daytime. In this case, I heard this bird calling just before dawn and followed them to their roost.
Well, this is a sampler but plenty more to come soon. I will also update my webpage http://artusophotos.com/ soon. There are larger versions of the above photos available at http://artusophotos.com/3_Nightbirds/index.htm
The Black-and-white Owl was formerly placed in the genus Ciccaba but now merged into Strix (there has been a fair bit of merging of genera in owl taxonomy recently). Unlike the Mottled Owl however, this species sticks mostly to the lowlands. I took this photo at Cockscomb in Belize, a wonderful lowlands rainforest area.
Like the Mottled Owl, the Ridgway’s Pygmy-Owl is widespread and common. This species used to be called the Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl (and still is by the AOU) but the North/central American form (Ridgway’s) is now considered specifically distinct from the South American form (Ferruginous). I heard and saw this species at quite a few sites on this trip. This photo was taken at the ruins at Cobá.
Like the Mottled Owl, the Ridgway’s Pygmy-Owl is widespread and common. This species used to be called the Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl (and still is by the AOU) but the North/central American form (Ridgway’s) is now considered specifically distinct from the South American form (Ferruginous). I heard and saw this species at quite a few sites on this trip. This photo was taken at the ruins at Cobá.
Not an owl, but another exciting nightbird is the Northern Potoo. The potoos are a Neotropical family of nocturnal insectivores. It is amazing to watch such large birds sally forth from a perch in the night to pluck an insect from the air, like a huge nocturnal flycatcher. Their superb camouflage makes them difficult to find while roosting (almost completely motionless) in the daytime. In this case, I heard this bird calling just before dawn and followed them to their roost.
Well, this is a sampler but plenty more to come soon. I will also update my webpage http://artusophotos.com/ soon. There are larger versions of the above photos available at http://artusophotos.com/3_Nightbirds/index.htm
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