Xenornis

Xenornis will be getting a long-overdue makeover, courtesy of Typekit and my terrible css skills. Thank you for your patience.

And speaking of seedeaters, Osvaldo Quintero sent in these photos of Slate-colored Seedeater taken yesterday at Parque Metropolitano. The birds, a flock of 10, were in a patch of bamboo by the first mirador on Mono Tití Road, about halfway up to the top. Also photographed was this drab olive bird. We're calling it a juvenile Black-striped Sparrow, but feel free to leave any dissenting opinions in the messages field below. [Update: Bill Adsett another possible identity for this bird is a Orange-billed Sparow of the juvenile denomination.]

Björn Anderson photographed this male Blue Seedeater this morning, while visiting Cerro Gaital in El Valle with Ken Allaire. Also photographed, a Black-crowned Antpitta.

Euclides Campos and Laura Reyes found this odd tern at Aguadulce salinas on September 20. The bird was with a few first-year Least Terns, but was clearly different. For one thing, it had a yellow bill (hint, hint). The gray crown and unmottled gray back on this bird show it to be an adult in basic plumage. The bill of a non-breeding Least Tern is all-black, but would be yellow and dark-tipped on a non-breeding Yellow-billed Tern, a vagrant from South America that has been recorded in Panama a few times, with records from Aguadulce and El Agallito (but has never been photographed, as far as I know). This bird's bill also seems too heavy for Least, but it lacks the dark area around the nostrils that basic-plumage Yellow-billed Terns should have (see Cotinga 15:10–13 and the identification essay on the Southeastern Caribbean Birds Photo Gallery ). So what do you think? Do we have photo documentation of Yellow-billed Tern in Panama or is this a Least Tern with a freaky bill? Do chime...

Björn Anderson sends in these photos of Sapayoa taken in Nusagandi on September 21.

These are more photos taken by Joseph Tobias whilst visiting Volcán, the Barú and environs. Can you tell which is which?

Neal Smith forwards this photo of Louisiana Waterthrush photographed by Joseph Tobias in Volcán, Chiriquí. Notice the long bill, bold white supercillium that gets all the bolder and whiter behind the eye, the unstreaked throat, the bright buff wash on the flanks and the bubblegum-pink legs.

Euclides Campos sent in two additional photos of the White-rumped Sandpiper he saw at the former shrimp ponds on Punta Chame last Thursday, September 3. Besides showing the typical elongated silhouette (with primaries that extend well beyond the tail), the bib now looks good for an adult bird. The streaked flanks and pale base to the mandible are there if you squint, and Euclides even saw the white rump when the bird took flight.

Euclides Campos sends in two interesting photos of interesting sandpipers taken at the former shrimp farms at Punta Chame. The first one shows two stilts: a Black-necked Stilt and a Stilt Sandpiper. Can you tell which is which? Notice especially the typical sloping forehead and pronounced, rounded crown. We say the sandpiper is an adult molting into basic plumage (fide the remains of barring in the underparts and the few leftover black feathers in the mantle and scapulars). Then there's this bird, seen foraging with Semipalmated Sandpipers. It was identified in the field as a White-rumped Sandpiper (and the jizz seems right for that), but the chest seems too dark even for a juvenile. What do you think, freak lighting effect or Pectoral Sandpiper? Click on the photos for full size and chip in (via the comments). [Update: consensus seems to lean strongly in favor of White-rumped Sandpiper]

El 2 de septiembre a las 8:30 am más o menos tuvimos el avistamiento de una Cerulean Warbler (Dendroica cerulea) en la Torre de observacion del Panama Rainforest Discovery Center . estabamos pesentes Beatriz Schmidt, Carmela Luciano, Margelys Barríaa y Sr. Caleb E. Gordon. Estaba junto a un bandada mixta de White-shouldered Tanager, Tropical Gnatcatcher, Lesser Greenlet y Blue Dacnis, entre otros comunes de esas bandadas.

Estimados miembros y amigos de la Sociedad Audubon de Panamá : El Playero Rojo (Red Knot, Calidris canutus ), cuyas poblaciones han disminuido notablemente en los últimos años, es sujeto de estudios por varios científicos de Norte América y Europa. Recientemente recibimos un e-mail que nos pide poner atención en nuestras observaciones de Playeros Rojos en la Bahía de Panamá y otras costas del pacífico. Investigadores de la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur, en la Ciudad de La Paz, con apoyo de Pronatura Noroeste y una empresa local han estado marcando Playeros Rojos desde el 2006 en el único sitio de invernación reportado para México en Guerrero Negro. A la fecha han anillado alrededor de 600 aves, con tasas de re-observación cercanas al 45%. Muchas de las aves anilladas han sido reportadas en el norte, en California, Oregon, Washington y Alaska. Un misterio por resolver es si las mismas aves anilladas llegan hasta Panamá. Aún no se han recibido reportes y esto tal vez se p...

This immature Snail Kite was seen on the road to Playa El Toro. There are 2 or 3 fresh water ponds and streams in the area, and I'm sure that there are many snails, for my trees on the other side of town are full of them. Are tree snails edible? Escargot anyone?