Hook-billed Kite at Pipeline
Darién Montañez took Patrick Homier's group to Pipeline Road. Had a female Great Jacamar about halfway from the gate to Juan Grande, and a male Hook-billed Kite 500 meters beyond Rio Limbo. When I first saw it fly and perch across the road I expected a plumbeous or Semiplumbeous Hawk, based on overall color, but this bird was light gray below, finely barred with white. The legs and cere were yellow, not orange, and the eye was pale gray. The buffy supraloral mark was very conspicuous, as was the heavy hooked bill. The bird stayed on its perch, about four meters above the ground, right next to the road, for about two minutes. When we approached, it turned its back on us and flew up to a tree about 10 meters high, then flew off into the forest. Even though Ii don't know of any other reports of the species from Pipeline, it's found every now and then at Plantation Road.