Black-crowned Tityra

 

The Black-crowned Tityra is a handsome, mostly silvery gray bird of tropical lowland forest and adjacent semi-open areas with taller trees. Usually found at mid-upper levels of fruiting trees.

The male is more silvery overall, with a black cap and the female has a brown face and smaller black cap.

Tityras nest in tree cavities that they sometimes steal from woodpeckers.

Common Pauraque

 

The Common Pauraque’s subtle brown, black, and gray plumage provides such excellent camouflage that it might as well be invisible in its daytime sleeping spots on open ground. From dusk till dawn, the male’s songs are anything but quiet, ranging from rising whistles to grunts that sound like frogs. It is skilled at catching flying insects and like all nightjars has a gaping wide mouth behind a tiny bill. Widespread in the Neotropics, the Common Pauraque ventures into the U.S. just at the southernmost tip of Texas.

In the evening, we observed Common Pauraque at almost every stop on our trip.

It was really cool to observe them hunting insects and returning to the same spot. This one was lit up by lights from an old tractor shed and I watched for quite awhile as it would fly upward and catch insects heading toward the lights.

As is true of nightjars around the world, the Common Pauraque is the subject of many folk beliefs, among them that the male’s song identifies the presence of “Don Pucuyo,” a roving, romantic spirit.

The Common Pauraque lays two attractive eggs, buffy or salmon-buff in color, marked with reddish brown, cinnamon, gray, and lavender—quite distinct from the eggs of any other nightjar species. Cornell All About Birds

Red-billed Pigeon

 

The Red-billed Pigeon is a widespread inhabitant of tropical deciduous forests from Costa Rica to the Rio Grande of southern Texas. This large pigeon spends most of its time high above the ground, plucking fruits and berries from the crowns of trees and shrubs.

This species has only limited red on its mostly yellow bill, but this feature, along with its low-pitched song and dark tail, is useful in distinguishing it from similar pigeons across its range.

We seem to encounter Red-billed Pigeons everywhere we went.

Pale-billed Woodpecker

 

The Pale-billed Woodpecker is a large red-headed woodpecker of tropical forest in lowlands and foothills. It also resides in the pine-oak forest of lower mountain slopes. All plumages of Pale-billed have a white V on the back as seen here. Their loud double-rap drum is very distinctive.

White-whiskered Puffbird

The White-whiskered Puffbird is a plump brown bird of shady understories in humid evergreen forest of tropical lowlands. Found singly or in pairs, perched quietly at low to middle levels. I was extremely happy to get a decent image of this adorable little bird.

Often sits still for long periods and is easily overlooked. Note the stout bill, reddish eyes, streaky underparts, bushy white whiskers, and finely dappled whitish to buffy upperparts. Cornell All About Birds

Double-striped Thick-knee

The Double-striped Thick-knee is a large shorebird of lowland dry grassland and savannas that is usually found in pairs or small groups. Usually active at night.

During the daytime, usually seen standing or sitting quietly, often in the shade of small trees or bushes which is where we observed this bird. Named for the double stripes on it’s head. A bird we had observed in Panama but were certainly glad to observe up close.

White Hawk

 

We were standing on a outcrop fairly high up the side of a mountain observing a King Vulture soaring a fair distance out when a White Hawk came soaring past us.

The White Hawk is a spectacular, broad-winged, short-tailed hawk of lowland tropical forest. Usually seen soaring in mid-late morning or perched quietly in the forest canopy. Plumage is white overall with black wingtips and a black tail band.

Chestnut-capped Warbler

The Chestnut-capped Warbler is an attractive, perky warbler found in humid lowlands and foothills of Central and northern South America. Favors dense understory in forest and edge.

Usually in pairs or small groups which hop around low in brush. Rather stout-billed. Also note white eyebrow, rusty cap and cheeks, and yellow underparts. Another bird that we observed at our starting hotel grounds.

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird

 

Another bird we observed around our starting hotel, the beautiful Hotel Bougainvilla grounds, was the Rufous-tailed Hummingbird. Our first of many, many Hummingbirds to come. It is a handsome, medium-size hummingbird of humid tropical lowlands. 

They favour forest edges, second growth and gardens in some areas. They can be difficult to distinguish from the Buff-bellied Hummingbird, which favors drier habitats. The Rufous-tailed has a dingy, grayish belly and more extensive rust on the tail.

Cinnamon-bellied Saltator

 

The Cinnamon-bellied Saltator is fairly common in tropical lowlands of both drier and more humid areas. They favour forest edge, second growth thickets, hedges, and tangles, especially with morning glory flowers, which it munches quietly. 

Told from other saltators in Mexico and Central America by the grayish (not golden-green) upperparts, bolder white eyebrow, and plain breast. We observed this bird around the beautiful Hotel Bougainvilla grounds.