Xenornis

Rosabel Miró and I spent seven days (April 13-19) exploring Changuinola and environs thoroughly, scouting locations for the Birding Spots in Panama book and doing a little hunting for lifers on the side. Justo Camargo and Dinora López, two Univeristy of Panama students, tagged along, and Karl Kaufmann joined us for the second half of the trip. Highlighs follow: Green Ibis: Two pairs seen on the 19th, perched on trees at Chiriquí Grande's Two Tank Road, just before the road out to the dump. Crested Caracara: First Bocas record. A raggedy-looking adult seen on the old ricefields on the morning of the 16th. Gray-breasted Crake: Heard only. One on the 14th in a dry grassy field across from the banana plantation on the road to he Camino Ecológico through San San, about 500 m before the end. Another one heard on the old rice fields on the 15th and two heard at the same place on the 16. Rosabel mentioned hearing its characteristic tinkling call two weeks ago on the Ruddy Crake spot near t

José Tejada sent in a bunch of additional reports: On april 12 I went again to the same area where I saw the Nashville Warbler on march 31 (the dirt road that connects the Gatun Yacht Club and Dock 45), this time I walked further in and I saw another great bird about two feet above the ground below a little tree full of vines. I heard the bird chipping and then I saw it about 10 feet from where I was standing. I had a good look through my binoculars; a male Connecticut Warbler. At first glance it looked to me as a mourning warbler with an eye ring like the one of a yellowish flycatcher; the bird had a gray hood with no black on the breast, yellow belly, olive back and wings and pink legs. The bird was foraging on the twigs of a shrub at the edge of the road and then it flew further in disappearing. I could see it for about 8 seconds through my binoculars, before it disappeared. At the same area I saw few minutes later a flock of Swainson's Hawks circling very low where I spotted a

Ariel Aguirre, Bob & Happy Nettle found a Hook-billed Kite during a Gatún lake tour. The bird was at the radio station entrance by Gamboa.

José Tejada reports a Nashville Warbler on march 31 at 7:30 a.m. about 200 meters beyond the gatun yacht club in Colon, at the dirt road which connects the gatun yacht club and dock 45. The bird had a clear contrast in betwen light gray head, pale yellow throat and yellow body, an eye ring. It was feeding on the flowers of a malagueto tree about 15 feet high and then it flew down and dissapeared in some grasses at the edge of the lake.