Xenornis

Kit Larsen with Dennis Arendt, Roger Robb, Paul Sherrell send in the following report: We believe we have sighted a Crowned Slaty Flycatcher in Cerro Azul on Dec 1, 2007 and again in the same place on the 4th. I have attached a photo. The bird matches well the descriptions in the Birds of Colombia and Birds of Ecuador. It matches the photos of the Crowned Slaty Flycatcher we find on the web. We found it on a utility wire adjacent to the Chagres Forest. In size, it is bigger than a Forest Elaenia. It did some flycatching as we watched, returning to its perch after going after a bug. The one thing the photo does not show is that it had a thin yellow line through the crown, which was visible when the wind blew. Also, the base of the lower mandible is lighter than the tip. We were able to observe the bird for more than 30 minutes on each observation. We have more photos - they show pretty much the same as the attached photo; we will submit them when we return home. We have sent the photo

Bill Adsett sent in the following reports: On December 9 there were two Wood Thrushes at the house in Cerro Azul. They stayed close together while feeding in trees, and were constantly vocalizing. We never used to get woodthrushes up there (let alone singing ones), but last year one turned up and now two! Whats going on? Also, if anyone still needs Yellow-bellied Sapsucker for Panama , there is one in Parque Metropolitano. I saw it today [December 12] close to the crane turnoff on the Mono Tití trail.

Canopy Lodge's Tino Sánchez and visiting birder Vince Parslow found a Scaled Antpitta at a large army ant swarm at the Canopy Adventure trail in El Valle. Unable to resist the temptation to see this bird, Sam Britton and Canopy Tower's Carlos Bethancourt visited the antswarm two days later, but all they saw was Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo and Tody Motmot.

On December 4, Ancón Expedition's Iván Hoyos found this Scissor-tailed Flycatcher on the fence around Tocumen Airport, across from a gas station on the way to the old airport terminal. Scissor-tailed Flycatchers are rare winter visitors to central Panama, with one being seen every four or five years.

Panama Audubon Society's Rosabel Miró with Ariel Aguirre taught a basic birding course at Las Macanas Marsh from November 30 to December 2 and sent in the following report: Swainson's Hawks: Los días viernes 30 de noviembre, sábado 1 de diciembre y domingo 2 de diciembre Ariel Aguirre, un grupo de estudiantes del curso de observación de aves en Las Macanas y yo observamos a eso de las 5:30 pm varios Gavilanes de Swainson, 12 individuos cada día, posados en los terrenos desmontados de la arrocera Santa Rita. De seguro habían más pero por cuestiones de tiempo no estuvimos en todos los rincones de la finca. Nuestras observaciones incluyeron individuos de diferentes fases: fase clara, fase oscura, fase rufa, juveniles y adultos típicos. Lesser Scaup: Durente la mañana del sábado 1 de diciembre se observó 1 individuo en el área de Las Garzas (Las Macanas). En la mañana del domingo 2 habían alrededor de 105 individuos (machos y hembras) en el área de la torre de observación. En la fo