Xenornis

Francisco Delgado went back to el Cenagón del Mangle to look for the Jabiru. This time only two birds were seen.

Bill Adsett reports a few Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoos at an antswarm at the end of Calle Maipo, in Altos de Cerro Azul. Today at the end of Calle Maipo in Altos de Cerro Azul there was an antswarm with two, maybe 3 Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoos. Birds first recognised by loud bill snapping which came from at least 2 different directions. The bird I pursued but did not see for some time continued to bill snap, but lightly, the sound somewhat reminiscent of Red Capped Manakin. It had me completely fooled by staying up in trees instead of doing the normal thing of staying on the ground. When I eventually saw it, all too briefly, it seemed to lack the lustrous plumage of the adult. When it flew - almost immediately, it made such of a mess of it that it crashed into foliage, fell on the ground and disappeared!. I wonder if it was a young bird, and the light bill snapping was a way of keeping touch with the parents. Who knows?

A juvenile Aplomado Falcon was seen on a tree next to the road out to Punta Chame, some 60 Km East of its known range. The bird was studied carefully at close range by Rosabel Miró, Bill Adsett and Darién Montañez. Also, a male Northern Harrier was seen at the airstrip, and a flock of Brown Boobies, and at least one Blue-footed Booby, was fishing far offshore.

Francisco Delgado reports four Jabiru at el Cenegón del Mangle, Herrera. On November 11th, Francisco Delgado visited El Cenagón del Mangle, close to París de Parita, Herrera, following a report of workers of nearby shrimp farms of a huge Wood Stork with a red throat. And, sure enough, he found four Jabiru wading in the large pond to the left. On November 25th he went there again, but this time there were only two birds present, mixed with the abundant Wood Storks. Apart from recent second-hand reports from Bocas del Toro and Colón, this is the first record of the species in Panama since the 1920's.

The Cattle Tyrants at Amador were seen again. This time the pair was accompanied by what looked like a juvenile bird. On Monday, November 8th, 1999, Rosabel Miró and Delicia, Darién and Camilo Montañez went to amador to look for Cattle Tyrants. The gate to the ARI building was closed and the guard didn't let us in, so we drove along the road slowly. Then in the lawn just before the gate to the main building rosabel spotted one, running after bugs in the grass like they do. After parking the car further along, a second bird was found, in the same lawn. And then a third. We think this third bird was a juvenile, because its plumage was not evenly colored: the contrast between the tail and the back was even more evident, and the underparts were splotched with yellow and grayish, with whitish tufts under the wings. This bird was away from the other two, foraging by itself, and after a while flew up to the eaves of the building where it kept on foraging.

A first-winter Forster's Tern was discovered mixed in with a flock of terns at El Agallito, Chitré. A first winter Forster's Tern was picked out from a mixed flock of terns at Playa El Agallito, Chitré, on November 3rd, 1999, by Darién and Camilo Montañez. The flock included Royal, Sandwich, Gull-billed and Common Terns for easy comparison. The main fieldmark, which was impossible to miss, were the black eye patches similar to those of the nearby Gull-billed Terns. the gray nape separated the white top of the head from the light gray mantle and back. There was not a trace of a dark carpal bar. The bill was black and the red legs were evidently longer than those of the Common Terns on the flock, giving the bird a different jizz. In flight, the wings showed no dark on the leading or trailing edges, and the tail was not as deeply forked as that of the Common Terns. This is the second report of Forster's Tern from El Agallito, and only the third report from outside the Canal Ar...