Bare-legged Owl

 

The Bare-legged Owl, endemic to Cuba, has very large dark eyes, bushy white or buff eyebrows, and a buffy mustache. For a time it was considered to be the same species as the Puerto Rican Owl, however later it was determined to be it’s own species.

The Bare-legged Owl is relatively small, measuring 8–9 inches long, and weighing about 2.8 oz. Its name comes from its featherless green-yellow legs, similar to those of the Burrowing Owl.

At night the Bare-legged Owl hunts woodlands or open areas with large trees and roosts in tree cavities or caves during the day.

Cuban Pygmy Owl

 The Cuban Pygmy Owl is a very small, tame owl of wooded habitats that is active both day and night.

On our recent trip to Holguin some mornings I would find two or three hanging around the resort.

Depending on attitude, its staring yellow eyes and prominent arched white eyebrows can impart cuteness or ferocity. It is often found perched with tail cocked, and when flushed, typically flies only a short distance on rounded wings.

The Cuban Pygmy Owl occurs in two color types, gray and rust. Their song is a low whistled “whuh” or “hoo” given in a slow series. It was the first call I heard every morning when leaving my lodging. Which made it an easy target to find. And like most owls I have observed, was very habitual about which trees it hung out in during the day. Returning to the same trees every day.

The first Cuban Pygmy Owl we observed was with our guide Ernesto Reyes Mouino on our way from Varadero to Zapata Swamp.

We observed this Cuban Pygmy Owl while birding with Paulino Lopez Delgado in the Cayo Coco area.

We found the Cuban Pygmy Owl to be a very tame owl often actively hunting during the daytime.

Western Spindalis

The Western Spindalis is found in thickets, along the forest edge, and in gardens. Usually in pairs or small flocks, and often quite inconspicuous. 

The handsome male is unmistakable, with bold head pattern, golden-yellow and dark reddish body plumage, and bold white wing pattern. Female is notably drab, grayish olive overall with a small white mark on the wing, and a ghosting of the male wing pattern.

Yellow-faced Grassquit

 The Yellow-faced Grassquit is a very small bird of grassy and weedy areas in tropical and subtropical areas. The male is striking, with rich yellow eyebrow and throat set off by a black face and breast.

The female is notably drab olive overall but shows a ghosting of male’s face pattern; note the conical gray bill, unlike the stubby bill of seedeaters and female buntings. eBird

White-crowned Pigeon

 The debonair White-crowned Pigeon is a large, slate-gray pigeon with a neat white cap and striking white eyes. Widespread around the Caribbean, it crosses into southernmost Florida, where it feeds on fruit in trees near the coast and on islands, including the Keys. White-crowned Pigeons make long-distance morning and evening flights high over open water between islands, as they commute from mangrove forests to areas with fruiting fig and other tropical fruit trees.

These dark gray pigeons blend in well to the dark foliage of trees where they forage, so scan carefully through tree canopies early in the morning to find them. Trees with ripe fruit including figs, gumbo-limbo, poisonwood, and ironwood are likely places. Watch for them high in the sky in the early morning and late in the day as they commute between roosting and foraging areas. Cornell All About Birds

On previous trips to the Caribbean we have observed White-crowned Pigeons however this was my first opportunity to photograph them.

Cuba Guides for Birding

Cuba Birding Guides

Many people have inquired about the birding guides we have used in our trips to Cuba. We have hired guides for a day of birding from Varadero, Cayo Coco and Holguin and can highly recommend all three of these guides. These guides are very knowledgeable and would be great for either a novice or hard core birder as they have many years of birding experience.

  A Cuban Tody that Paulino found for us on one of our birding trips with him.

If you are looking for a guide in the Cayo Coco area Paulino Lopez Delgado is your man. I can highly recommend him. A very knowledgeable and personable guide. We have hired Paulino 3 times now and enjoyed every experience. Even though we had already been to Zapata Swamp on a previous trip we still managed 72 species, 14 new lifers and 5 new endemics. Here is his email paulino.nature@gmail.com or you can contact him here. cell/WhatsApp 53-5 2673207

                                                           Paulino

                               A Cuban Trogon we observed birding with Paulino.

For a great guide in the Holguin area, I can highly recommend Karlos Ross. Karlos is also a very knowledgeable guide and a very personable person. He knows the area and birding hotspots well and is comfortable searching out specific species of interest. Here is Karlos email - guardalavacabirdings@gmail.com and he can also be found here https://www.facebook.com/karlos.ross.79?mibextid=2JQ9oc

                                                             Karlos

A Bare-legged Owl that Karlos located for us on our day trip birding.

If you are looking for a guide in the Varadero area, we hired Ernesto Reyes Mouino to take us on a day trip birding in the Zapata Swamp area and I can highly recommend him too. We left Varadero around 4:30am and returned just after supper time and it was a great day of birding with over 60 species, 26 lifers and 15 endemics. Here is his email ernesto2.reyes@nauta.cu

The Bee Hummingbird, the smallest bird in the world, was one of the many highlights while birding with Ernesto.

As was observing many Cuban Emeralds for the first time.

We also observed our first Cuban Pygmy Owl with Ernesto and even though we have seen many more on our trips to Cuban it was still a very cool experience.

The Great Lizard Cuckoo was another bird we first observed with Ernesto in the back yard where he was building a new home.

                                                        Sandwich Tern

If you are looking for a guide book, when my old original Cuba guide book fell apart I purchased Birds of Cuba A Photographic Guide by Arturo Kirkconnell and find it an excellent resource. I much prefer the photo images as compared to drawings.

Along with a great variety of warblers, some endemic, like the Yellow-headed Warbler and Oriente Warbler, the Yellow-throated Warbler can easily be observed in Cuba.  

Other birds that can be found in Cuba, like the Least Grebe, are not endemic but cool to observe. 

And Red-legged Thrushes are everywhere, but a bird I always enjoy watching.

I have photographed many more birds while in Cuba and they can be found by searching the list on the right side of this webpage. Using a bird guide while in a foreign country certainly elevates your birding experience and I hope you consider using one of these guides during your stay in Cuba.

Overall I have observed 125 species while in Cuba. While Cuba has 29 Endemics, I have been able to observe 21 so far, plus another 10 subspecies. So, as an average birder myself, I'm pretty happy with all the birding experiences I have enjoyed in Cuba.

Howler Monkeys

Unlike our last trip to Costa Rica where we stayed at remote cabins in National Parks this time we stayed at a huge resort with family and friends. However, our resort was fairly isolated and close to forested areas in the northwest section of the country and even though the grounds can become fairly sterile it is still a true pleasure to wake early and listen to the jungle awaken. I would set my alarm for 5 each morning however I was out the door long before that. By Costa Rica’s positioning they receive about 12 hours sunlight all year long in pretty much the same time frame every day.

First up was Ferruginous Pygmy Owls. The most I seen at one time was a pair however more were definitely heard in the distance. Pacific Screech Owls could also be heard and seen around the resort. Next was the Common Pauraque. They were everywhere. Even all over the pool umbrellas. Their call, although not nearly as romantic as the Whip-poor-will is definitely rather unique.

Then, just as the sun crests the mountains each morning, an assortment of parrots, parakeets, orioles, jays, wrens and grackles could be heard. Parrots and parakeets especially would be continuously flying in from the mountains surrounding the resort.

However, it was the Howler monkeys that would steal the show. Honestly, I think I would love a Howler Monkey alarm clock. It is so cool to just stand there at the jungle edge, sunlight breaking through the trees as it crests the mountains, and listen to the growl of the Howlers as they move along next to the resort. Since it was always early morning, and the Howlers were almost always backlite in the dark jungle cover, photography wasn't the greatest, but the growls were really cool.

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

The Scissor-tailed Flycatcher was just one of a variety of flycatchers we observed,
however I wish I had been able to capture a better image of this unique bird.

They are an elegant gray and salmon-pink flycatcher festooned with an absurdly long tail, the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher is the bird to look for on fence wires in the south-central United States. They typically perch in the open, where their long, forked tails make an unmistakable silhouette. The tail proves useful as they expertly catch insects on the wing with sharp midair twists and turns. In late summer and early fall, scissor-tails gather in large, bickering flocks to migrate to Mexico and Central America. Cornell All About Birds

White-throated Magpie-Jay

The White-throated Magpie-Jay is a spectacular, large, and often conspicuous jay of tropical lowland forests, plantations, and semi open areas with hedges and tall trees.

It is usually in small groups and can be surprisingly inconspicuous if feeding quietly.

The White-throated Magpie-Jay ranges in Pacific-slope thorn forest from Jalisco, Mexico, to Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Magpie-jays are noisy, gregarious birds, often traveling in easy-to-find flocks, mobbing their observers and were easy to find around the resort in the mornings.

Broad-billed Motmot

The Broad-billed Motmot is a medium-sized forest dweller that sits motionless on horizontal branches in the mid-story like this bird we observed while looking for Sloths.

The head and breast are a rufous-orange with black mask and breast spot. Note the green back and belly and long tail. Often found singly or in pairs inside forest, usually below canopy.