# Ornithology in Latin America



## freedombecki

This thread is to celebrate the lovely birds of the jungle, sea, river, forest, and Caribbean, from America's Mexican border to the southernmost tip of Latin America.

They're so beautiful. I've been collecting photos of Scarlet Macaws for a friend here at USMB, who needs them to research a work of art, and needed to place them somewhere at USMB.

Click on the thumbnail to see the feather details of these amazing birds. 

My first closeup of a macaw was at a cousin's house. He hated people, she was mean. Not sure the connection, but all I remember is he was in a corner with a covered cage most of the time, and she died when he was about 5 years old. Not much of an aesthetic experience, but it was a reminder that birds are wild animals and do not domesticate well where their behavior gets human behavioral expectations which is, of course, highly confusing to them as intelligent as they are. They may be taught to speak, and will occasionally pick up a word unexpectedly, especially one repeated often and used to emphasize something. 

Here's the product of this mornings gleanings from the web. Didn't count, but there may be somewhere in the neighborhood of 8 to 10 scans to show the coloration differences of the dorsal  and ventral areas. You will see a red bird if it is flying overhead and you view the ventral side. If you are above or behind the scarlet macaw you will see a bird in the primary colors. Do I love scarlet macaws. First time up close was at Roatan Island at a bird sanctuary owned and operated by a woman from the states who came to visit the island, then fell in love with the avians of the isle.

Photo 1: Dorsal view example
Photo 2: Ventral 
Photo 3: Dorsal and ventral wing areas in view


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## freedombecki

Scarlet Macaws

1 Detail of head
2 Tail spread at landing
3 Pair perching


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## freedombecki

1 Sometimes the Scarlet macaw spreads his tail feathers when landing, or whenever, and if they haven't been fighting or escaping a predator badly, their tails are magnificent when spread. This one is from the ventral view, which should show red and is why the birds are named "Scarlet."
2 The dorsal colorations can be spectacular at certain times of the year.
3. Some birds show red stripey feature below the eye. I do not know if this is a color that appears due to mating season, diet, or is a subspecie bird. This one was from a zoo brochure somewhere in central America. 

I need to renew my passport and go there.  Yes, "need" to go.


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## freedombecki

Some more shots that might be helpful to an artist in determining feather colorations, depending on what is loved or desired to show from the artist's view.


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## freedombecki

1 Scarlet Macaw acrobatics (or is he clowning?)
2. Going up
3. Up and away!


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## freedombecki

There are many beautiful Macaws in Latin America. This one tends to take my breath away, also. Hyacinth Macaws:

Please touch on the thumbnail to see the larger version.


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## freedombecki

These amazingly beautiful birds range from Mexico to Costa Rica and the Panama Canal. Their favorite tree are the huge natural avocado trees of the region, likely their sustenance is the fruit of the avocado tree. I have made a wallhanging of Resplendent Quetzal, my best bird ever. Someday, I'm going to design and make an applique bird quilt. Until then, it's back to the charity quilt business of 2012. No art this year, just quilts for shelter kids, hospice, wheelchair vets, and senior homes. My mother-in-law, who just called, is 92 in a nursing home and thanked me for hers, which she hung on the wall. I told her she could use it either for a wallhanging OR to cover her feet when she is watching tv this winter. She loves television. 

Resplendent quetzals:

1. Resplendent quetzal, female
2. Resplendent quetzal, male 
3. details of Resplendent quetzal male's upper body and head


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## freedombecki

Flamingos live throughout Latin America, and then some--we have some who are in my lake in the Pineywoods region of East Texas, right now, and they are giving the great egrets a run for their money. For some reason, they like our lake's shallow end. The East Texas group is pink, not dark, medium light pink, but not pale. They're so fun to watch. They come as solitary birds sometimes and the largest group I've noticed has been a small flock of 7. I saw a group of 200 flamingos or thereabouts, possibly more, under a tressled bridge near Lake Livingston that is about 16 or 17 miles from home. I thought, huh? They love shallow water where they can catch whatever swims and has a crusty coat of red that after digesting, lends them their pink color. The man who designed and built the lake and our home was a veterinarian. I am certain he was an avid birder as well, because this lake is exquisitely perfect for large endangered birds as well as the flamingos, who I noticed were going toe to toe with a pair of egrets the other day. The lake is 2.5 acres in size, and the shallows are probably 1.1 acres in size, which would be enough to place hundreds of birds in if the natty little Black Guillemots weren't roiling the waters morning and evening, their favorite time for hunting. At first, I thought o no! Alligators! But a few months later, I noticed little black heads popping up and flying out of the water. I knew then exactly who was doing all that tortured surface mischief--the same little birds that SHOULD BE in the arctic circle right now! Oh, yes, birds go where they wish.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=887wtl3YHA0"]Caribbean Flamingo - YouTube[/ame]​


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## freedombecki

Found this and thought it was terrific, some just guys noticed scarlet macaws overhead in Costa Rica eating some kind of fruit or veggie--an avocado, maybe? Lime? Nah, leaves too big. Anyway, I'm not certain, but it's a cute series of shots once the foodfight is over.​
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1odP9-BInU]Scarlet Macaws in the Wild - YouTube[/ame]
​


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## freedombecki

There is a Macaw Sanctuary in Roatan, an Island that is north of Honduras we visted some years ago. I was looking for it on youtube when this one was found. It's an in-your-face foodfight. We don't have any of those around here, do we.  

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p67W8gn7Exw]Macaw Sanctuary El Manantial - YouTube[/ame]​


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## Roudy

freedombecki said:


> There is a Macaw Sanctuary in Roatan, an Island that is north of Honduras we visted some years ago. I was looking for it on youtube when this one was found. It's an in-your-face foodfight. We don't have any of those around here, do we.
> 
> Macaw Sanctuary El Manantial - YouTube​


Thanks Becki, those were some beautiful pics.


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## Grandma

Thanks for the photos, they're beautiful.


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## polarbear

Wow thanks for sharing that


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## freedombecki

These are magnificent creatures!


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## freedombecki

​
The Harpy Eagle is an apex carnivore whose diet is mainly sloths and monkeys. It has no natural enemies and is top of the food chain with a range from Brazil to Mexico.

Wikipedia shows its territory well:




​


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## freedombecki

The Keel-billed Toucan is the national bird in Belize. 






Credits: The 20 most colorful birds in the world, Scienceray


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## freedombecki

Torogoz, National Bird of El Salvadore



_Eumomota superciliosa_












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## freedombecki

The National Bird of Costa Rica is the Clay Colored Thrush, _Turdus grayi_.


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## freedombecki

Until 2010, the Clay-colored Thrush was called the Clay-colored Robin. Its range is from South Texas, where it is expanding its territory down to South America. 

The Clay-colored Thrush has a distinctive song. The song, rather low-pitched and with a slow steady tempo, consists of  many slurred musical phrases which are often repeated irregularly. The _tock_ flight call is like the American Robin's but harsher. To listen, go here: http://www.xeno-canto.org/sounds/uploaded/BHRXQZEQFL/52b1_a.mp3


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## freedombecki

The Crested Caracara
_Caracara cheriway_






The Crested Caracara, the National bird of Mexico, ranges from the Southern United States, throughout Mexico and Cenral America all the way down to northern South America.



> *Diet, Feeding Habits, and Breeding*
> Caracaras eat just about anything they can find. They will scavenge  carrion, or hunt on their own, preying upon rodents, lizards, snakes,  frogs, fish, crabs, grasshoppers, and even other birds. They are very  aggressive thieves as well, and readily steal prey from others of their  species, or other birds, such as pelicans. Caracaras build nests of  sticks (as do most other birds of prey), in the tops of cacti, palms, or  other trees, and lay two or three eggs in them.
> Birds of legend, caracaras were sacred to some pre-Columbian  civilizations, such as the Aztec. Depictions of these birds are found in  some of the ancient books of the Aztec, and some of their deities had  characteristics of them. Mexico is the only country in which the bird is  a national symbol.
> 
> Source: National Bird of Mexico, the Crested Caracara
> 
> ​


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## freedombecki

A few years back, I got to go to beautiful Belize on a Carribean vacation and saw something I'll never forget--wild tropical kingbirds flying everywhere on the river we took to visit the national zoo of Belize. Their wings looked like angel wings. They were so lovely they just took my breath away.


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## freedombecki

Rheas are large, flightless birds with gray-brown plumage, long legs and long necks, similar to an ostrich. These birds can reach 5.6 feet (1.7 m), and weigh up to 88 pounds (40 kg). Their wings are large for a flightless bird and are spread while running, to act like sails. Unlike most birds, rheas have only three toes. Their tarsus has horizontal plates on the front of it. 



 

Credits: Rheas: large, flightless birds of South America​


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## freedombecki

The Green Honeycreeper is found from Mexico to Bolivia.

The female:






The Male:


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## freedombecki

[ame=http://youtu.be/3p88gqGZib4]Green Honeycreeper - YouTube[/ame]


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## freedombecki

Royal Flycatcher: found in Brazil and other parts of South America.


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## freedombecki

The *Andean Condor* (_Vultur gryphus_) is a South American bird in the New World vulture family Cathartidae and is the only member of the genus _*Vultur*_. Found in the Andes mountains and adjacent Pacific coasts of western South America, the Andean Condor has a wingspan of up to 3.2 m/10.5 ft [2] but is exceeded by the Wandering Albatross (at up to 3.6 m/12 ft), the Southern Royal Albatross, the Dalmatian and the Great White Pelicans (at reportedly up to 3.5 m/11.6 ft).[3]
 It is a large black vulture with a ruff of white feathers surrounding the base of the neck and, especially in the male, large white patches on the wings. The head and neck are nearly featherless, and are a dull red color, which may flush and therefore change color in response to the bird's emotional state. In the male, there is a wattle on the neck and a large, dark red comb or caruncle on the crown of the head. Unlike most birds of prey, the male is larger than the female.
 The condor is primarily a scavenger, feeding on carrion. It prefers large carcasses, such as those of deer or cattle. It reaches sexual maturity at five or six years of age and nests at elevations of up to 5,000 m (16,000 ft), generally on inaccessible rock ledges. One or two eggs are usually laid. It is one of the world's longest-living birds, with a lifespan of over 70 years in some cases.
 The Andean Condor is a national symbol of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru and plays an important role in the folklore and mythology of the Andean regions. The Andean Condor is considered near threatened by the IUCN.[1] It is threatened by habitat loss and by secondary poisoning from carcasses killed by hunters. Captive breeding programs have been instituted in several countries.

 Credits: Wikipedia, Andean Condor


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## freedombecki

[ame=http://youtu.be/rKxyVmcO-b8]Revisit the worlds biggest flying bird, the Andean Condor - YouTube[/ame]


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## freedombecki

One other thing about the Andean Condor is his range on the West Coast of South America (Credit, Wikipedia):


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