The local birders call these "Flying Chickens"
Friday, January 29, 2010
Green Kingfisher
This guy proved to be quite elusive as most kingfishers are, but success was had after too many failures by approaching from a newer angle. Interesting note, he didn't chatter at all when fleeing, but I did hear him once in the distance.
The Green Kingfisher is smaller than the Belted Kingfisher and lacks the large white spot in the wing and in front of the eye.
Interestingly, the males have a chestnut breast band, not the female.
Blue-crowned Motmot
The Blue-crowned Motmot is one of my favorite birds found in Costa Rica. As with the Pygmy Owl, it has an easy call to replicate. They have a confiding nature and call with a soft double hoot "woop-woop'. This guy was perching right under our nose as we stopped and scanned an area we thought might be a good haven for motmots. As we sat there waiting for something to happen, for quite a while I may add, a glimpse of color finally caught my eye. Less than 10 feet away, 2 motmots perched on a low branch stared at us. We took hundreds of photos as one of them sat for the whole session. Unusually, seeing motmots during the day is a treat. We were lucky enough to have 2 of them in nice lighting! What a striking bird! For fine details, click on photo for large view!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Bare-throated Tiger Heron
A hint of this bird at a location was given by our bird guide one morning, and wouldn't you know, he was at that spot the next morning. I took some shots while on a walk and ventured on. What I didn't know the next morning, was that he was fishing there again, but upstream quite a ways. This location wasn't revealed until I accidently flushed him, while looking for a Green Kingfisher. This juvy actually flew into a better position for this photographer. Now that never happens, but this is the proof! What an interesting pattern!
You can see the "bare-throat" if you click the photo above!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Ferruginous Pygmy Owl
A tiny owl of about 6 inches, they are a favorite of mine to find, though quite difficult to spot given their size. The call is easy to replicate and often gets answered. We found 3 on this trip which was quite the highlight, because in the previous trip, I could only manage a butt-shot that was worth keeping.
If you can imagine a baseball hidden in a tree, that is about the size of this guy without the tail. In this shot, it looks as though he is roosting in a branch a few feet from me and the shot is basically eye to eye, but in fact this is an overhead vertical shot, and the pygmy is looking down at me. My neck hurt alot on this trip, but I cannot complain!
Click the photo for a look at a jumbo sized pygmy owl! And...depending on your monitor, it is close to actual size!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
White-fronted Parrots
This White-fronted Parrot was a very interesting flyer. Not only are they a loud and obnoxious bird, the flight of these distinct birds was odd. Their wing beats are short and rapid.
Cool Facts: The White-fronted Amazon, Amazona albifrons, also known as the White-fronted Parrot, or adopted slang term Spectacled Amazon Parrot is a Central American species of parrot. They can imitate a range from 30 to 40 different sounds. Like other large parrots, the White-fronted Parrot has a long potential life span, usually around 40 years.The White-fronted Amazon, at about 25 cm (10 in) long, is among the smallest of the Amazon parrots. This species is named for the bright white patch of feathers on their foreheads, although the amount of white varies from individual to individual. They have mostly green plumage with some blue coloring on their outspread wings. They have bright red coloring around their eyes (in some individuals almost like spectacles) and blue coloring behind the patch of white on their foreheads. We were lucky enough to see them twice!
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