PANAMA AND BELIZE TRIP REPORTMarch 23-April 18, 2016

William Young

I took a 27-day trip to Panama and Belize in 2016. In 2012, I had spent three weeks in Panama at Canopy Tower and Canopy Lodge. In 2016, I started with six nights at Canopy Lodge and then went to Canopy Tower for six nights. From there, I went to Canopy Camp in the Darién for six nights, spent two more nights at Canopy Tower, and then flew to Belize where I stayed at the Chan Chich Lodge for six nights. Below is my itinerary.

March 23 Tocumen Airport (Panama) to Canopy LodgeMarch 24 Anton, Santa Clara, El Chiru, Juan Hombron (Panama's Pacific

coast)March 25 La Mesa, Watercress AreaMarch 26 Caribbean Slope -- Rio Indio, JordanalMarch 27 Canopy Adventure, Candelario Trail, Valle ChiquitoMarch 28 Las Minas, Cara IguanaMarch 29 Canopy Lodge to Canopy Tower, Summit GardensMarch 30 Pipeline RoadMarch 31 Canopy Tower Observation Deck, Plantation Trail, Summit Ponds,

Old Gamboa RoadApril 1 Cerro Jefe, Cerro Azul, Rosabel Miro's HouseApril 2 Rainforest Discovery Center, Gamboa ResortApril 3 Metropolitan Park, Ammo PondsApril 4 Canopy Tower to Canopy Camp, Nusagandi, TortiApril 5 Canopy Camp, Nando’s Trail, YavizaApril 6 Reserva H. Filo Del Tallo, Lajas Blanco, Nando’s TrailApril 7 El Salto Road, Aligandi Las Domcellas (private farm)April 8 Little BahiaApril 9 Maach PoborApril 10 San Francisco Reserve to Canopy TowerApril 11 Pipeline RoadApril 12 Canopy Tower, Tocumen Airport, Goldson Airport (Belize), Chan

Chich LodgeApril 13-17 Chan Chich Lodge, Gallon Jug EstateApril 18 Chan Chich Lodge, Goldson Airport

The weather during the trip was dry. When I had visited Panama in the fall of 2012, rain fell almost every afternoon, but I saw none during this trip. Conditions were dangerously dry in the Darién, and we could not visit a couple of the areas in our plans because of active fires.

All of the guides during my trip were excellent. At Canopy Lodge, my principal guide was Eliecer. At Canopy Tower, I went on most of the trips with Michael and

a couple with Jenn. My guide at the Canopy Camp in the Darién was Nando. At Chan Chich, my two principal guides were Luis and Gilberto. The guides in Panama used playback tapes, while the guides at Chan Chich did not.

In the species accounts below, when Lodge and Camp are capitalized, they refer to the Canopy Lodge and Canopy Camp. At Chan Chich, there are many hiking trails near the cabanas. Some of them lead to an area near the water where birds came down to bathe at about 4:30 pm. At Canopy Camp, there was a similar site on a trail established by our guide Nando and appropriately called Nando's Trail. This site was only about a five minute walk from the dining area.

Below are the species accounts. The birds are described by family, and there are also categories for mammals, reptiles/amphibians, and arthropods.

TINAMOUS

Tinamous are secretive birds who are easy to hear but difficult to see. I heard the loud, desperate whistles of Great Tinamous on 16 days but never saw one. I often heard them before sunrise at Canopy Tower. On my final full day at Chan Chich, one sounded very loud when calling from nearby when I was next to the water. I heard the higher call of Little Tinamous less frequently, but still often. I had a fleeting glimpse of one on the forest floor at twilight on my final full day at Chan Chich. Earlier that day, I had heard a distant Slaty-breasted Tinamou.

DUCKS

I saw very few waterfowl. One morning at the Ammo Ponds, I saw the black-and- white wing pattern on two Black-bellied Whistling ducks flying over. When we went to the Pacific Coast of Panama, I saw about 16 Blue-winged Teal on a lake.

CURASSOWS, GUANS, CHACHALACAS, TURKEYS

I saw my first wild curassows at Chan Chich. At the Summit Gardens in Panama, I saw a male in captivity. Curassows have become very uncommon in Panama. In the Darién, we stopped at a house where a woman had a pet female curassow who had been only a week old when found. At Chan Chich, the first curassow I saw in the wild was a dark morph female just before she disappeared into the woods. She had a different profile than a turkey. The following day, I saw another dark morph female who stayed in the middle of the road for about three minutes before wandering into the woods. Conditions were foggy, and visibility was not good. She walked slowly and deliberately, and she spread her tail the same way she does when protecting young from the heat. Because of the foggy conditions, I did not see her coloring well. Later that day with my guide Gilberto, we came across a male and female who had just had a drink near some water. The male is jet black, and he has a yellow bill with a yellow knob on top. He also has a wild black crest. I did not see him long before the two disappeared into the woods. I

saw another pair the following day in the road just before they disappeared into the woods. They are wary birds.

One of the most endearing features of Chan Chich is the Ocellated Turkeys. Their feathers are colorful, with iridescent blue and gold patches. They have little caruncles on their head and eyespots on their tail. The males and females have similar plumage, but the males have a nasty pointed spur on the back of each foot, while the females do not. The males use these for fighting. The turkeys seem unafraid of humans. You can get to within five feet of them before they back away. Once when I was trying to walk quietly through the woods with my guide, we heard some stamping through the leaves, and an Ocellated Turkey walked right past us as if we were not there. A group of turkeys roosted in a tree outside my cabana. They typically leave the trees and glide to the ground between 5:30 and 5:45 am. When males vocalize during the mating season, they jerk their head back when uttering the noise, which usually is answered quickly by another male who is also trying to attract females. On a couple of mornings, I was awakened by males displaying and mating with females at about 5:30. When the male mounts the female, he stays on her back for about seven minutes. She squats and does not do much while he is standing there with his tail spread. Eventually, she tilts her underside toward him, they mate, and he jumps off.

Chan Chich also has Crested Guans. I saw two in a tree near the cabanas. They are more arboreal than the turkeys, who roost in trees at night but spend most of their time on the ground. The guans are all black with a red throat. They have bare dark skin on their face that makes them look vulturine and Gothic. Chan Chich also has Plain Chachalacas. I heard many more than I saw. Sometimes on morning drives, I heard a group of them screaming in the foliage. I once saw three in the road before they quickly disappeared. Panama has Gray-headed Chachalacas. They are fairly common at Canopy Lodge, and some perched right outside my room. Chachalacas are arboreal and give the impression of very large birds who try to act like songbirds, sometimes with comical results when they try to perch on a branch that cannot fully support their weight.

NEW WORLD QUAILS

In the Darién, we heard a distant Marbled Wood-Quail, who sounds like a squeaky hospital trolley wheel. I had seen one in 2012, and he followed us for about 100 yards after we had looked at him for a long time. I did not realize how uncommon these birds are, and Michael said he has seen few since.

STORKS

I saw Wood Storks on four days in the Darién. Many were flyovers, usually a couple at a time. One day along the Pan American Highway, we stopped at a waterhole in an agricultural area and saw a Wood Stork up close.

FRIGATEBIRDS

Magnificent Frigatebirds were fairly common in Panama City and over the canal. I first saw them while we were driving from the airport through Panama City. Some were flying over the beach at Juan Hombron on the Pacific side.

BOOBIES

Also from the beach on the Pacific coast of Panama we saw a small distant rock island with perched boobies. Most appeared to be Blue-footed Boobies, but there was at least one Brown Booby with them.

CORMORANTS

I saw a lot of Neotropic Cormorants on the drive from the airport through Panama City on the day I arrived. I saw one in the Darién.

DARTERS

A few scattered Anhingas were around. I saw three, but there were no days when I saw more than one.

PELICANS

I saw a lot of Brown Pelicans on the first two days of the trip. When we were driving through Panama City after leaving the airport, a flotillas of them were flying over the water. I also saw a lot of them plunge diving. At the beach along the Pacific the next day, there were a lot of pelicans flying, and some were perched on boats in the water.

HERONS

A highlight of the trip was seeing an Agami Heron in the Darién. Nando found it, and while we were looking at it, he kept saying they are very shy and the bird was going to fly. The heron stayed put for about three minutes, and when he finally flew, he landed in front of us on a branch in the open where he stayed for another few minutes. He was a beautiful male in breeding plumage, and we could see his blue and purple plumage and the curly blue-gray breeding plumes on his neck. Rufescent Tiger-Herons were fairly common. I regularly saw them at the Ammo Ponds. The young are brown with tiger stripes. We saw one young tiger-heron flying with a long eel hanging out of its mouth before landing in a tree and trying to eat it. When spotlighting at Chan Chich, we saw a Bare-throated Tiger-Heron. It looked grayish with an extremely long fat neck. Cattle Egrets were common where livestock was grazing, and in the Darién, I saw Cattle Egrets standing on cattle. They also follow the cattle around, hoping that insects will be flushed. Great Egrets were fairly common in Panama, but I did not see any in

Belize. I saw Snowy Egrets the day we went to the Pacific Coast in Panama but nowhere else. Likewise, I saw my only Great Blue Heron that day. Little Blue Herons were fairly widespread in Panama. I saw exactly one on eight different days. Both Green and Striated Herons were in a lot of wetlands we visited. I saw an immature Yellow-crowned Night-Heron in a field when we were spotlighting in Belize, and there were a couple of Boat-billed Herons at a nest at the Summit Ponds. When we were driving near the Tocumen Airport, I saw a heron flying. Michael said it was a Capped Heron, but I could not see any eye stripe on it.

IBISES

In the Darién, I saw a Green Ibis, who is dull green with a dull bill. I saw one perched in a tree. On the trip to the Pacific Coast of Panama, I saw a large flock of White Ibises and an even larger flock of Glossy Ibises in the same area. The Glossy Ibis flock swirled in the air, which I had never seen before.

VULTURES

I saw Turkey Vultures on all but one day of the trip and Black Vultures on all but four days. Both were common, and at times, I saw large flocks of migrating Turkey Vultures -- one day, I saw about 2,000. I saw five of the much less common Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture on the Pacific Coast in Panama and a single one in the Darién. They look very much like Turkey Vultures. I saw King Vultures on four days, and on two days in the Darién, they were perched at relatively close range. The first time was near a dead fox in the road. The second time, an adult was near a young bird, who was all dark with a dark head.

HAWKS, EAGLES, KITES

I saw about two dozen species from this family during the trip. The spring hawk migration is underway, and we encountered some large groups of birds. Near the Pacific coast of Panama, we saw an estimated 50,000 Broad-winged Hawks migrating high in the sky. Some were so high that they looked like distant stars in a planetarium. We encountered Broad-winged Hawks on seven days, but the next highest total was about a hundred. We saw migrating Swainson's Hawks on two days, with estimated totals of 500 and 100. Some were light morph birds with light underwing coverts and dark trailing edges to the wings. I saw Mississippi Kites on three days. One day near dusk, about ten were circling above Canopy Tower, and I saw one catch a moth out of the air. In the Darién, we saw about 1,000 in a large kettle during the late afternoon. And three days later, we saw about 10,000 swirling in the air at relatively low altitude. They sometimes appeared to be flying in a circle, and other times, formed a huge soaring mass. We encountered Swallow-tailed Kites on seven days, but never large migrating groups. The greatest number we saw in a day was four. Many flew relatively low.

I saw a perched Pearl Kite in the Darién, and I could see white and a trace of yellow on the face. We also saw a Gray-headed Kite there. It has a gray head, dark back, and white underparts. I saw Plumbeous Kites on six days, with singles seen on five of the days and eight seen the day we visited the Caribbean slope. That day, I could see the rufous on their wings. On one perched in a tree at Chan Chich, I could see that its wing tips formed a V below its tail. I saw Double-toothed Kites on six days, and we scoped one at Chan Chich. I could see the slight serration on the bill which looks like two teeth and from which the bird gets its name. I also saw the vertical line on the throat on a few flying birds. Some of them flew high in the sky. The only Snail Kite was a young bird perched in the reeds at the Ammo Ponds. The Ammo Ponds were the site of an incident involving a White-throated Crake. We heard it calling, and before we could locate it, a White-tailed Kite swooped in, grabbed it, and carried it to the top of a tree to pluck and eat. White-tailed Kites have long narrow wings.

I saw Ospreys on four days, but never more than one. At least one hung around the Ammo Ponds. I saw a Northern Harrier on our Pacific coast trip. On the same day, I saw four Savanna Hawks, who are buffy and have black wingtips and a black trailing edge to their wings. I also saw a couple perched, and they are fairly large. Zone-tailed Hawks look a lot like Turkey Vultures, being black and soaring with a dihedral. Their tail is a little longer and narrower than a vulture's, and the jizz is a little different. We saw them on three days. Short-tailed Hawks were fairly common in Panama, and they were not all that difficult to identify with their white underparts and black hood. I saw them on five days in Panama. I saw Roadside Hawks on ten different days, both in Panama and Belize. They are often seen by roadsides. Many are gray on top and on the breast, with rufous barred underparts. We did not see any with a chocolate brown head like the one I saw in Buenos Aires. In the Darién, I saw a Roadside Hawk nest, which is small and made of sticks. We saw a young Roadside Hawk in Belize who stayed perched on a branch over the water for a long time, and we wondered whether it might be waiting to pounce on another bird who came to drink. A Gray-lined Hawk was perched in a tree in the Darién. It was split from the Gray Hawk and is now a separate species. We saw a White Hawk near Canopy Lodge. It has a black band on its tail and black near the tips of its wings. There were also White Hawks at Chan Chich, but they were so far away that I never was able to see one. We saw a Great Black Hawk nest in the Summit Gardens with a bird on it. The nest looked fairly large. At the Discovery Center ponds, a Great Black Hawk caught a young Purple Gallinule and took it to a grassy area to eat. Perhaps the prettiest Buteo we saw was a Semiplumbeous Hawk in the Darién near the camp. Nando said it was the first one he had seen since December. It has large yellow eyes and a red bill with a dark tip.

The raptor I most wanted to see was a Harpy Eagle. The day I arrived at Canopy Tower, we went to the Summit Gardens, which is a combination zoo and rehabilitation facility for birds and animals from Panama. It now is more of a zoo, and it has a Harpy Eagle who was between three and four years old and was

born in the San Diego Zoo to Panamanian parents. The Harpy Eagle is the national bird of Panama. When I was returning to Canopy Tower after my stay in the Darién, we became stuck in traffic near the Summit Gardens, because April 10 was Harpy Eagle Day, and a great many people came to see the one I had looked at. We visited a Harpy Eagle nest in the Darién in an area called Naach Pobor on lands owned by indigenous people. The nest is in a wooded area about a mile and a half from the road. The weather was so hot and humid that the notebook in my breast pocket got soaked with my perspiration, and on the way back, my legs began to cramp, even though I had been drinking a lot of water. We reached the Harpy Eagle nest at about 10:30. We saw a chick in the nest, but the adults were not there. The chick is all white with a dark bill. We could see its crest blowing in the wind. We stayed until 3, but the adults never showed up. This was a concern, because the chick was estimated to be about 4 months old, and at that age, they are usually fed fairly regularly. While we waited for the adults, an Ornate Hawk-Eagle flew over and vocalized. It is mostly black with a white belly, and it is quite loud. We walked back to the truck on a trail along a lot of burned areas, and some were not that far from the nest site. The only other hawk-eagle I saw on the trip was a flyover Black Hawk-Eagle in Belize. It was dark with tail bands.

SUNBITTERN

I had three encounters with Sunbitterns. The first was when we saw a nest at Canopy Adventure. We could not see much, because we were looking from the ground at a nest high in a tree. Apparently, there was a place you could climb to see it from a better angle, but we did not do that. A little later, we were walking along a river when we saw a Sunbittern walking on the rocks. I managed to get some good looks, but the bird never flew so that I could see the wing pattern. I could see the yellowish bill, the white lines on the face, and the white spots on the wings. Along the Pipeline Road at Rio Frijoles, we saw another Sunbittern walking near the water. I could see the barring on its back, but once again, I never saw the wings spread.

RAILS, GALLINULES, COOTS

Some of the most memorable sightings of the trip involved rails and gallinules. In the Darién, we watched a Purple Gallinule hop into a bush and eat the eggs out of a Tropical Kingbird nest. The kingbirds flew at the gallinule, and one could see the enormous size difference between the species. I had no idea that Purple Gallinules did such things, but apparently, many birds do -- perhaps for the calcium as much as nourishment. At the wetland at the Rainforest Discovery Center, a Great Black Hawk caught a young Purple Gallinule and took it to a grassy area for plucking and eating. The young gallinule was brownish on the back and light underneath. Common Gallinules/Moorhens were swimming in the water while all of this was going on. We could see an American Crocodile in the water near where they were swimming. We found a White-throated Crake one

morning at the Ammo Ponds. I could not see the underside, but the part I could see looked very brown. Their call sounds like loud descending static. We heard that call on a subsequent afternoon. While we were looking for the bird, a White-tailed Kite swooped in, snatched it out of the grass, and took it up to a tree to pluck and eat.

At the Canopy Lodge, Gray-necked Wood Rails called near the dining area. One night after we had done our bird list, a pair appeared near the feeders. One of them hopped onto a feeder and began to eat the bananas while the other walked around underneath. I had no idea that rails ate bananas. At Chan Chich, I watch at relatively close range a pair walking on grass near the edge of the woods. They stayed for about ten minutes.

STILTS

On our day at Panama's Pacific Coast, we saw about ten Black-necked Stilts on the same lake where we saw the distant Blue-winged Teals.

LAPWINGS

I saw a lot of Southern Lapwings in Panama. The greatest concentration was in the fields near the entrance to the Candelario Trail near El Valle. They blend in with the soil, and as we were looking in the area where they were feeding, we discovered more and more of them.

JACANAS

Wattled Jacanas were fairly common in Panama. A lot were at the Ammo Ponds, mating and scuffling with one another. They are black with a red facial shield, and their wings flash bright yellow when they fly. I saw one walking on a road, and I could see its long spindly toes. The young ones are brown on the back and white underneath. I took a photo of Wattled Jacanas at the Discovery Center ponds walking among the Water Hyacinths.

SANDPIPERS

The most common shorebird was the Spotted Sandpiper, whom I saw on five days and at all four venues. I saw one Solitary in the Darién, but the only other shorebirds I saw were on the day we went to the Pacific Coast of Panama, where I saw a Solitary Sandpiper, a Greater Yellowlegs, a Willet, and a Whimbrel.

GULLS, TERNS

The only gulls I saw were Laughing Gulls. There were a great many in Panama City when we were driving through on the day I arrived. I saw smaller numbers on the Pacific Coast, and some were along the canal. On the Pacific Coast, I saw

about eight Sandwich Terns, and I saw the yellow tip to the bill. On the same day, one Royal Tern was along the beach.

PIGEONS, DOVES

The most common species of large dove I saw in Panama was the White-tipped. It is large and chunky with white tips on its outer tail. It is similar to the Gray-headed Dove, who was the most common large dove in Belize. The Gray-headed has a gray head and dark eyes. The call is a soft coo. I saw a nest that contained two young Gray-headed Doves. The nest was small and made of sticks. The Gray-chested Dove I saw in Panama is large with a dark back. It looks like a White-tipped. Pale-vented Pigeons were fairly common during my stay at Canopy Tower, and I saw a few perched on the wires near the Ammo Ponds. They have large red eyes. Scaled Pigeons were common, both in Panama and Belize. They can be difficult to approach. They are large, with a red bill and a scaly breast. I saw a Red-billed Pigeon at Chan Chich who did not appear to have a red bill, but the bill color could have been distorted by the light. The Short-billed Pigeons I heard at Chan Chich have a song that sounds like I feel so cool. Rock Pigeons were common in urban areas. I never had a close look at a Ruddy Quail-Dove. The only ones I saw were flying into the forest. I saw a couple of Mourning Doves.

Among the smaller doves, Ruddy Ground-Doves are very common. I saw them on 14 days, sometimes in good numbers. They do not always stay on the ground. I saw them perched on wires and branches. They have a grayish head and little black spots on their rufous back. Blue Ground-Doves were in the Darién and Belize, but they could be difficult to find. I heard them more often than I saw them. The light reflecting on the back of one male almost made it look the color of a bluebird. Plain-breasted Ground-Doves are small and delicate-looking. I saw a male at close range in Belize who appeared to have a purplish breast.

CUCKOOS

The Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo is one of the species I most wanted to see. I saw one well at Canopy Adventure, which is a short distance up the road from Canopy Lodge. The bird was cooperative and stood in the same place for quite awhile. It is almost 20 inches long and much more colorful than it appears in the field guide. It stood on a low branch for awhile, and I could see its big feet and long toes. A lot of marauding army ants were in the area where we were standing to view the bird. Squirrel Cuckoos are large, rufous, vocal, and quite common. On the day we went to the Metro Park in Panama City, we saw about seven. They sometimes move through the trees like squirrels. One day, I could see the rachis on one of the long tail feathers. On the Pacific coast trip, I saw a Squirrel Cuckoo near a perched Striped Cuckoo, who is much smaller and light below. I heard a Pheasant Cuckoo around Canopy Tower but never saw it. I saw one Yellow-billed Cuckoo in Belize.

I had some close looks at anis. Seeing the grooves on a Groove-billed Ani's bill is difficult, but I was able to get close enough to see them at the Pacific coast. The Groove-billed was the only ani I saw in Belize. Smooth-billed Anis were common in a lot of places in Panama. Greater Ani's are easier to identify because of their size and light-colored eyes, and I saw about 40 of them one day in the Darién.

OWLS

I heard a lot of owls on the trip, and in looking at my trip list, I tended to underreport the number of them that I heard, because I usually heard them after I had recorded my data for the day. I had a nice look at a Spectacled Owl at Cara Iguana near Canopy Lodge. The bird perched low and in the open, and I watched it for about 20 minutes. It is a black owl with buff underparts and large white broken circles around its large yellow eyes. I saw a sleeping Mottled Owl right after we had looked at the ground-cuckoo. It appeared to be about 12 inches with vertical streaking. I saw another on a spotlighting trip in Belize. The night we went spotlighting in the Darién, I saw two Black-and-white Owls, who are very large. They vocalized a lot. On our second spotlighting trip at Chan Chich, I briefly saw a Barn-Owl perched on a post in an agricultural area. NIGHTJARS

The most common nightjar was the Common Pauraque. We saw one when spotlighting in the Darién, but they were all over the grounds at Chan Chich. Their calls are frequent and loud, often in the wee hours of the morning. Pauraques have a lot of variation in their calls. When we were spotlighting, we sometimes would flush one off the road, and the leader would keep the light on it while it flew next to our vehicle. I sometimes would see them on the ground near my cabana. On the day we went to the Summit Ponds, Michael found a pair of Lesser Nighthawks roosting in a tree. And on our second spotlighting trip at Chan Chich, Gilberto found a Yucatan Nightjar hidden among some branches. I could see the eye shine, but I never saw the bird.

POTOOS

On the Pipeline Road, we saw a Great Potoo sitting erect on a branch with a small white chick who appeared to be less than a week old. The adult kept her eyes closed but let her head sway both to detect what was going on around her and to act like a branch in the wind. I saw them both before and after my trip to the Darién. In the Darién, a Great Potoo perched in a tree over the area where we ate at the Camp. I saw the bird after the sun had gone down, so it had its eyes open. On the road leading to the camp, a perched Common Potoo sat on a stick ten feet off the ground. We went back and saw the bird on another day, and it had its eyes open during the day. It was a young bird who was less than a year old. We saw a couple of Northern Potoos when we were spotlighting at Chan Chich. This used to be a subspecies of the Common Potoo before being split.

SWIFTS

Most of the swifts I saw in Panama were Band-rumped Swifts, who are small and dark. They have a band on their rump which is difficult to see, because one usually sees only the underside of swifts. On the day we went to the Caribbean Slope, I saw some White-collared Swifts, who appear quite large. At the Discovery Center, I saw one Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift, who has a distinctive shape with its long forked tail and long wings.

HUMMINGBIRDS

The most common hummingbird on the trip was the Rufous-tailed, who were at all four venues. In many areas, it is the only regularly seen hummingbird with a red bill. The Snowy-bellied was common, and it looks like a Rufous-tailed from the back because it has a rufous tail. At the feeders at the Lodge, the Snowy-bellied Hummingbirds often chased a Garden Emerald from the feeders. They seemed very aggressive and would sometimes chase larger hummingbirds away from the Harrisons' feeders. The Garden Emerald is a small hummingbird. The male is all green with a black forked tail, while the female is white below and has a prominent white line behind the eye which creates the appearance that she is wearing a dark mask. A male tended to be around the flowers and branches near one of the feeders at the Lodge. The Blue-chested Hummingbird is another common small species. Occasionally, I could see the blue chest when one was facing the light, but usually, the underparts appear to be dingy gray. The Harrisons have a pair of Rufous-crested Coquettes who come to their feeders. They are only three inches long. The male fed in a circle around some flowers near the porch. The female, who lacks the male's crest, came to the feeders.

White-vented Plumeleteers were around the feeders at all three of the Panama venues. They are fairly large with white under the tail. They look a lot like Bronze-tailed Plumeleteers, who are also white under the tail, but have red rather than dark feet. At the Harrison house, a Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer perched in the same spot and would occasionally rush at a nearby hummer. White-necked Jacobins were the most numerous hummingbirds on the trip. They were the dominant species at both Canopy Tower and the Darién. They do a lot of chasing and sometimes get chased. They are aggressive and sometimes would hover about a foot in front of us. Other times, they were inches from my face. I took a photo which shows one with his wings and tail spread so that you can see each of the feathers. The females lack the blue head but have a white belly like the male. Crowned Woodnymphs used to be called Violet-crowned Woodnymphs before they were lumped with the Green-crowned. They are large and appear to be the size of jacobins. The Long-billed Starthroat appears to be a little smaller but has a longer bill. It has a red throat and a white malar stripe. I had a quick look at one at the feeders near the Lodge, and there was one who visited the feeders at the Camp a few times. The Purple-crowned Fairy is a lovely bird and provided one of my favorite moments of the trip. When we were by the water

near sunset at Chan Chich, a female came down and appeared to do an aerial ballet while dipping into the water and getting a drink. She twisted while she dipped to give the impression of spinning. I did not see any at Rosabel Miro's feeders, but I saw a few while on trips from the Tower and the Camp. Likewise, White-tipped Sicklebills are no longer down the hill from Rosabel Miro's feeders as they were in 2012, because there are not blooming Heliconia flowers.

I saw was a Blue-throated Goldentail perched high in a tree on the morning we left the Darién. It is small and has a black-tipped red bill which looks a bit thick. The light was not very good for seeing plumage colors. We stopped for lunch in a town called Torti on our drives both to and from the Darién. The restaurant had hummingbird feeders, and a pair of Scaly-breasted Hummingbirds often perched near each other in a manner that suggested aggression rather than cooperation. The Scaly-breasted is a large hummer with a red and black lower mandible and white tips to its outer tail feathers. At the same feeders were Black-throated Mangos. The female has a black line down her breast. The male is all dark, but if you look at one in good light, you can see a variety of colors. On the Pacific coast trip, I saw a couple Veraguan Mangos, who used to be considered a Panama endemic until one was found in Puerto Rico. Mango species can be difficult to tell apart. On the same day, we saw Sapphire-throated Hummingbirds, who are small and have a blue throat. The Violet-bellied is another small hummingbird, and some were buzzing around the feeders at the Camp. The only Violet-capped Hummingbird I saw was sitting in a bush at Rosabel Miro's house.

I saw four species of hermits. At Rosabel Miro's house, the hermits were the largest hummingbirds at the feeders, and they were frequently chased. They seemed to be vulnerable when they stuck their long bill into a feeder hole. The most common was the Long-billed Hermit, who is brown and has a long curved bill. Less common was the Green Hermit, who is about the same size, but green. The Pale-bellied Hermit, a Darién specialty, is a smaller version of the Long-billed and has brownish plumage. I saw them around the feeders at the Camp. I saw Stripe-throated Hermits at Chan Chich by the water. They are very small and looked a bit like insects as they went to the water to drink. I never got my binocular on a Rufous-breasted Hermit, despite numerous opportunities. They are very fast and do not seem to hang around flowers long.

TROGONS

I saw a lot of trogons on the trip, and because they tend to perch in one place for prolonged periods, I had good looks at all seven species. The Gartered Trogon was split from the Violaceous Trogon. I saw it in all four venues. The male is violet and yellow with a large yellow eye ring. The female is grayish-black rather than violet and has a white eye ring. At Chan Chich, I saw a pair mate. They look small and delicate. Slightly larger is the White-tailed Trogon. We saw a couple of females, who are blackish with yellow underparts and a large bluish eye ring. We later saw a male, who is blue rather than blackish and has a blue eye ring. The

male called frequently. The undertail of the male is white. On the Candelario Trail near the Lodge, we had prolonged looks at a male Orange-bellied Trogon. He was green with an orange belly, a white line on the breast, a black-and-white finely barred undertail, and a yellow bill. He appeared to be about the size of a White-tailed. Male Black-throated Trogons are the only species in Panama who are green and yellow. We saw a young male who had a brown tail. We also saw a female, who is brown and yellow.

The Slaty-tailed is one of the large trogons. One day at Chan Chich, we saw a group of about eight displaying males who were trying to attract a female -- I saw three males in the same binocular field. I watched one singing, and he does not open his bill when he vocalizes. The male is green and red, while the female is gray and red. They are the only trogons in Panama with a red bill (or as a non-birding friend described it, they look like they are wearing lipstick). Black-tailed Trogons are large and colored like the Slaty-tailed, but they have a yellow bill and a white horizontal line on the breast. The males of both Slaty and Black-tailed Trogons have gray on the wings and a prominent red eye ring. The Black-headed Trogon is the only species I saw who occurs in Belize but not Panama. It looks like a White-tailed Trogon, but it has a little more black showing as background in the tail. Some trogons excavate their nests in termite nests. The termites are upset during the excavation, but eventually, everything settles down so both the termites and trogons can get on with their business.

MOTMOTS

The motmots, like the trogons, tend to sit still. Like the trogons, they are beautiful. The Rufous Motmot is the largest, and at least one hung around the feeders and the entrance to the Lodge. The Broad-billed Motmot has a rufous head, but is a lot smaller than the Rufous. Sometimes, I could see the broad bill on the bird. Whooping Motmots are gorgeous when seen in good light. They are in between the size of the Rufous of the Broad-billed. I saw the racquets on the tail of one blowing in the wind. Motmots sometimes move their tails back and forth like a pendulum. I frequently heard their whooping call. They were split from the Blue-crowned Motmot, the species I saw in Belize who also whoops. At Cara Iguana, we were looking at a Tody Motmot when Eliecer spotted the Spectacled Owl. It is a small green bird with a brown cap and a large bill.

KINGFISHERS

I did not see a lot of kingfishers on the trip. A few active and vocal Ringed Kingfishers were around the Ammo Ponds, including on the wires directly across the street. I saw one Belted Kingfisher on the trip to the Caribbean slope from Canopy Lodge. I saw a couple of Amazon Kingfishers near Canopy Tower and a couple more in the Darién. I saw one American Pygmy Kingfisher in the Darién, and two Green Kingfishers at Chan Chich.

PUFFBIRDS

I had good luck with puffbirds on the trip. I had great looks at a pair of Barred Puffbirds on the trip to the Caribbean slope. They are brown with bars and have a large bill. White-whiskered Puffbirds look like a slightly compressed version of the Barred. They are small and sit quietly on branches. They have a bit of white around the chin. Pied Puffbirds are also small. They are one of the three black-and-white puffbirds in Panama. We saw one in the Darién who had a white throat, a small white eye line, and a narrow black breast band. Black-breasted Puffbirds were common around the Tower. They are larger than the Pied, with a wider black breast band and more white behind the eye. White-necked Puffbirds are larger than the Black-breasted and do not have as much black on the head. The bill is also larger. We saw a perched Gray-cheeked Nunlet at the Camp. It is about the size of a sparrow, with a gray cheek and cap, rufous underparts, and a large bill. At the Del Tallo Reserve in the Darién, I saw a White-fronted Nunbird. It is slaty gray with a red bill and white on the face.

JACAMARS

I had excellent looks at jacamars. In the Darién, I saw a male and female Great Jacamar perched next to each other the day we looked for the Harpy Eagle. The male has white on the throat, while the female is uniform rufous below with no white. At Chan Chich, I had numerous looks at Rufous-tailed Jacamars, who are smaller. They have iridescent green plumage and a rufous belly. The male has a white throat, and the female's is a bit more tan. Jacamars look like a cross between a hummingbird and a kingfisher. Near the water, we saw a pair who were flycatching. I watched a female Rufous-tailed Jacamar for about ten minutes in a telescope. I could see the bristles around her bill. I also watched what she did while she was perched. Her eyes darted around a lot, and she would occasionally spring from the branch, grab a fly, and then return to almost the same spot. The Dusky-backed Jacamar is found only in the Darién and parts of Colombia. We found one perched high in a tree by a river. It has a dark back and breast, is rufous below, and has a white throat. It is quite small. When I downloaded photos I took at the site, I discovered that there were two Dusky-backed Jacamars there.

BARBETS, TOUCANS

Spot-crowned Barbets hung around the area where we ate at the Lodge. We also saw pairs of them excavating a nest at both the Lodge and in the Darién. This is the Eastern race, and the males have a bit of yellow on the breast. Keel-billed Toucans were common in all four venues. When flying, their bill makes them look as if they are holding a banana. The vocalization of the toucans sounds like a loud cricket. One day at Chan Chich, we drove past a tree that had 17 toucans in it. The many colors on the bill and the red in the vent area allows for the creation of many colorful photographs -- I took one which a friend said I must have altered

with Photoshop. I saw a few Black-mandibled Toucans, who are a little larger than the Keel-billed. This species used to be called the Chestnut-mandibled Toucan. Its bill is mostly dark with yellow on top of the upper mandible. Collared Aracaris were at all four venues, but not in great numbers. A few hung around the Lodge. We saw Yellow-eared Toucanets in Cerro Azul. They spend a lot of time in the treetops, and they are easier to hear than to see. They have a bill like the Black-mandibled Toucan and have some yellow feathering behind their ears. After seeing parts of them, I finally got a look at an entire bird. Also difficult to see is the Emerald (or Blue-throated) Toucanet. It appeared to be a mostly green bird as it moved in the treetops, but it actually has a lot more coloring on it if you can see the entire bird. It has yellow on its upper mandible.

WOODPECKERS

My favorite woodpecker on the trip was the Pale-billed, who looks like a cross between a Pileated and an Ivory-billed. It has striped underparts, unlike the Pileated who is black below. I saw quite a few at Chan Chich, and many were at close range. One morning, I saw one in a tree with a Lineated and a Chestnut-colored Woodpecker. The Lineated was about the size of the Pale-billed. It has striped underparts, but the red on the head of the Paled-billed extends through the chin, while the red on the Lineated stops above the eye. The Chestnut-colored Woodpecker has a dark brown body with black barring, and the crested head is tan, which contrasts the darker body. All three birds were foraging in a Cojoton or glue tree whose fruit contains a sticky substance that can be used as glue. I saw a Crimson-bellied Woodpecker in the Darién, who looks like a Pileated with red underparts that are finely barred. I saw a few Crimson-crested Woodpeckers in Panama, who resemble the Pale-billed. They have a dark bill and red on the head and crest that extends below the bill like a Pale-billed, but not under the chin. Cinnamon Woodpeckers are in the same genus as the Chestnut-colored. They are light underneath, and the head is the same color as the body. I saw some around Gamboa and in the Darién. Their call is loud.

The Red-crowned Woodpecker was the most common species before I went to the Darién. It looks and sounds like a Red-bellied, who is in the same genus. I saw Black-cheeked Woodpeckers in all four venues. They are in the same genus and sound like a Red-bellied. They were not as common as the Red-crowned. A male and female Black-cheeked Woodpecker came to the bird table at the Harrisons' house and ate rice. At the Discovery Center, we saw one excavating a nest hole. On our trip to Panama's Caribbean slope, we saw one chase a Lineated who was at the same tree. At Cerro Jefe, we found three Stripe-cheeked Woodpeckers, a Panama endemic. The male was feeding a young bird. This species is one of the green woodpeckers with a red cap. Another is the Golden-green Woodpecker. I saw a female in the Darién who had a golden crest and was quite attractive. On the El Salto Road in the Darién, I had a nice look at a Red-rumped Woodpecker, another green woodpecker. When it occasionally twitched its tail, I could see the red rump. One of the most handsome of this

group was the Spot-breasted Woodpecker. In the Darién, we saw a male and female who were bill-to-bill. They have yellowish underparts that are lightly spotted. In the Darién, I saw a few Olivaceous Piculets. They look like tiny brown balls, and it was difficult to see many of their eye stripe.

FALCONS, CARACARAS

The most common caracara on the trip was the Yellow-headed. I saw them at all four venues. At the Gamboa Resort, a young one was perched in a tree, begging for food. It was brownish and did not have a tan head. When we were waiting near the Harpy Eagle nest, I saw a Red-throated Caracara perched on a branch. It is black with white on the belly and has red facial skin. We saw a bunch of Crested Caracara the day we went to the Pacific coast. On the El Salto Road, a Bat Falcon flew over. At a private farm in the Darién, we saw a lot of American Kestrels. I also saw them on two other days in the Darién. I saw one on our Pacific coast trip, but the best falcon that day was an Aplomado Falcon. We saw one perched in a tree. It is dark gray with a dark stripe through the eye. My favorites of the trip were a pair of Laughing Falcons, who called loudly from a tree near the kitchen at Canopy Camp. The laugh sounds more uneasy than happy. I frequently heard them call in the Darién.

PARROTS

Most of the parrots I saw were flying, and you can tell many of them apart by their wingbeat. The Mealy slightly moves its wingtips, the Red-lored has a shallow wingbeat, while the Blue-headed has a deep wingbeat. The Red-lored Parrots sometimes fly as if they don’t know where they are going. They were common, and I saw them at the three venues after I left the Lodge. I saw one in a tree eating one of the fruits from the Cojoton or glue tree at Chan Chich. The ones at Chan Chich appeared to be of a different race, because they had more yellow on their cheeks. Mealy Parrots are loud and a bit larger and more elongated than the Red-lored. They have a big white eye ring. The Blue-headed Parrot looks smaller than the Mealy and Red-lored. I had nice views of one at the Metro Park. They have a red vent, and the scientific species name is menstruus. They have a blue head and a grayish eye ring. About the same size as the Blue-headed were a pair of Brown-hooded Parrots at Chan Chich. Their heads were brown instead of blue. I saw a pair of White-crowned Parrots at Chan Chich who have a white forehead.

Orange-chinned Parakeets were the most common parrot on the trip. I saw them throughout Panama. They are small and chunky and fly very fast. At the Summit Ponds, I saw a pair ripping open a seed pod in a tree. On the road to the Darién, we stopped at a store where the owner had one as a pet. A lot of people in Panama take parrots out of the wild and keep them as pets. At Chan Chich, I watched a pair of Olive-throated Parakeets mating in the top of a bare tree. They were at it for a long while. In the same area, we saw another pair who had

excavated a nest hole in a termite nest. At a farm in the Darién, we scoped a Great Green Macaw nest which was extremely far away, and we saw a bird in the nest. I heard Chestnut-fronted Macaws at the Camp and had a fleeting look at one as it flew. In the area of the Darién where we saw the Dusky-backed Jacamars, we saw a Spectacled Parrotlet, who is small and green with blue around the eye. It was perched in a tree.

ANTBIRDS

Antbirds are one of the few families where the females are often more colorful than the males. Antbirds can be difficult to find, because they often skulk on the dark forest floor. I found that my Zeiss 10x40 binocular did not let in enough light when I tried to look for birds on the forest floor during my 2012 trip to Panama, which is why I bought a pair of Swarovskis. Even with the new binocular, antbirds are still difficult to find, but I had some good looks at quite a few.

In the Darién, I saw a pair of Ocellated Antbirds, one of the most beautiful birds in the family. Ocellated means having eyelike spots. I could see the blue facial skin and the scalloping on the back. Also in the Darién, I saw a pair of Bare-crowned Antbirds. The male is almost all black with bare blue skin around the eye and on his forehead. The female is rufous with pale blue skin around the eye. They were following an army ant swarm, which caused them to perch for prolonged periods as potential prey was flushed. I did not have much trouble seeing Spotted Antbirds. They often perched near the path and allowed close views. They are brown on the back with a very broad band of black spots on the breast. They have a gray cap and a black throat. The male Dusky Antbird is all gray with black wings and very narrow white wingbars. I had an unsatisfying look at a Bicolored Antbird in the Darién. It is brown on back and white below, with bare skin around the eye. The male White-bellied Antbird looks similar but has a black face and throat. The Chestnut-backed Antbird is all dark with chestnut on the back, which can be difficult to see when the bird is in a dark forest. It also has bare skin around the eye which can be a better fieldmark. A lot of antbirds have the bare facial skin. The Dull-mantled Antbird has similar plumage to the Chestnut-backed but does not have the bare facial skin.

Antshrikes are in the same family but have thicker bills than birds with "antbird" in their name. I heard Black-crowned Antshrikes on most days I was at Canopy Tower and had close views of a few. They used to be called Western Slaty Antshrikes in 2012. The males are gray with white spots on their black wings, while the females are brown with similar wings to the males. I saw a female hopping in a bush near the road, and I could see the spots on her wings and the tiny white hearts on her black tail. Fasciated Antshrikes were fairly common at the Lodge and the Tower. The male and female are heavily barred, with the male blackish with a solid black cap and the female brownish with a solid brown cap. We saw a couple near the Ammo Ponds around the same time we saw a pair of Barred Antshrikes in the same place. The male Barred has black-and-white

stripes and a crest, and he looks like a character on Sesame Street. He has a light eye, as does the female who is brown above and tan below, with a few black-and-white stripes on her cheek. In the Darién, I saw a pair of Black Antshrikes. The male is all black, while the female is rufous with a black head that is striated. Also in the Darién, a Russet Antshrike was foraging high in a tree, and it looked like a female of other species of antshrikes. I had an unsatisfying look at a Great Antshrike when we were on El Salto Road in the Darién.

The male White-flanked Antwren is a black bird with white spots on the wings and some white on the flanks. The female is brownish. I saw them during my stays at both the Tower and the Lodge. Male Dot-winged Antwrens look similar, but they have white spots under the tail like a Yellow-billed Cuckoo. The male Checker-throated Antwren looks like the females of other antwren species and had a black-and-white checkered throat. The female's throat is not checkered. I saw this species in all three venues in Panama. I missed getting a good look at a Moustached Antwren who was backlit in a tree, and I had an unsatisfying look at a Pacific Antwren. A lot of these birds are very small and forage actively in foliage. At Las Minas, I could see the spots on the crown of a Spot-crowned Antvireo. At Chan Chich, a Plain Antvireo popped up over my head, and I could see the yellowish underparts.

ANTPITTAS, ANTTHRUSHES

On the Pipeline Road, I saw a Streak-chested Antpitta looking for food in the leaf litter. I did not see the bird vocalize, but I did see it inflate its body a few times. I saw one inflating his body in 2012, and it immediately became one of my favorite birds in the world. On Semaphore Hill Road, a Black-faced Antthrush ran in front of our vehicle. I had a much better look at one near the compost pile at the Lodge. It is rufous with a black face and a stubby little tail that it cocks.

OVENBIRDS, WOODCREEPERS

I did not see many ovenbirds. I finally saw a Scaly-throated Leaftosser, a skulking bird whose name sounds as if it were made up by someone trying to ridicule birdwatchers. It is a small brown bird with a scaly throat, and it spends most of its time on the forest floor tossing leaves while looking for food. We saw one at the Del Tallo Reserve in the same area where we were looking at the Ocellated Antbirds. I also heard one and saw it fly at the end of my final full day at Chan Chich. The most common ovenbird was the Plain Xenops. I saw these acrobatic little birds at all four venues. They often climb on branches like a woodcreeper, but they also hang from low branches while feeding. In the Darién, we saw a pair of Double-banded Graytails at a nest. They are small gray birds with a white eye line. The nest was large and made of sticks.

I saw about a dozen species of woodcreepers. They are brown birds who climb on tree trunks, with more variation in size and bill shape than in plumage. The

most common one in Panama was the Cocoa Woodcreeper, seen at all three venues. I found one near the Ammo Ponds who behaved as if it were nailed to the tree. It has a large gray bill and a loud call. The Ivory-billed Woodcreeper was the most common one at Chan Chich. It looks similar to the Cocoa but has a whiter looking bill. Some of the woodcreepers seem to be seen only in limited areas. The Straight-billed was seen on our Pacific coast trip. It has a light bill. I saw my only Streak-headed and Black-striped Woodcreepers in the Darién. At Chan Chich, I saw a Tawny-winged Woodcreeper and could see the contrast of the wing color with the rest of the body. Both the Olivaceous and the Wedge-billed are small with short bills. The Olivaceous is a fast climber. At Cerro Jefe, I saw a Spotted Woodcreeper, but I never saw the underparts, which were against the tree it was climbing up. In the Darién, I saw a couple of Plain Brown Woodcreepers, who do not seem to have many distinguishing eye stripe. The Northern Barred Woodcreeper has barring that can be seen in good light, which is often not the case for birds in a forest. The Strong-billed Woodcreeper has a bill that is slightly bigger than the Cocoa's, but the bill is not enormous. A couple of times, we heard Red-billed Scythebills. They like to skulk in low vegetation, but we could not locate one while we were in the Darién.

TYRANT FLYCATCHERS

I saw more than 50 flycatchers during the trip. The most exciting was a male Northern Royal Flycatcher with his crest spread at Chan Chich. Luis and I were looking at a perched bird when he flew at us with his crest open. The crest is red with black dots. I had asked some of the guides if they had ever seen the crest erected, and most could count the number of times on one hand over the past couple of decades. We also saw one of their nests, which looks like hanging foliage, as well as the birds building a nest. The first Royal Flycatchers I saw were at the Del Tallo Reserve where a pair was building a nest. The birds are brown with a golden tail and a hammerhead appearance.

I saw Fork-tailed Flycatchers at all four venues, mostly in agricultural areas. Many were males with long forked tails, but I saw a few who appeared to be first-year birds. Fork-tailed Flycatchers are kingbirds with long tails. I saw Tropical Kingbirds on 24 days of the trip. On the trip to Panama's Pacific coast, I saw about 50. At Las Minas, one who was missing its tail. In the Darién, I saw a Tropical Kingbird nest being raided by a Purple Gallinule. The nest was in a bush, and I watched as the small helpless birds flew at the much larger gallinule. At Chan Chich, I saw a Tropical Kingbird (who are simply called TK's) perched next to an Eastern Kingbird. In the Darién, I saw a flock of about ten Eastern Kingbirds fly past. I had not known that they travel in flocks. I saw them at all the venues except Canopy Lodge. I saw a couple of Olive-sided Flycatchers, but they did not give their QUICK, THREE BEERS call. They are in the same genus as pewees. I saw Eastern Wood Pewees, but not nearly as many as during my 2012 trip. Eliecer said that he has been seeing far fewer Eastern Wood Pewees and Red-eyed Vireos this year. Most of the Eastern Wood Pewees I saw were in

the Darién, where I also saw a lot of Tropical Pewees. The two pewees look similar. I heard an Acadian Flycatcher call and saw one in the Darién. I also saw a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher on the day I arrived at Chan Chich. Quite a few Great Crested Flycatchers were around during my stays at the Tower and Camp. Chan Chich has a Myiarchus flycatcher called the Brown-crested who looks a lot like the Great Crested. The Dusky-capped, whom I saw at the three venues after I left the Lodge, is a little smaller than the Great Crested. I saw Panama Flycatchers when I was at the Lodge and the Tower. This species has a skinny profile and looks like someone has grabbed it and stretched it.

I saw Piratic Flycatchers hanging around a tree where Rose-throated Becards and Social Flycatchers were nesting. The Piratic commandeers the nests of other birds. I think of them as antisocial flycatchers. They look a bit like a Streaked Flycatcher, being large and having vertical streaks on their white breast. Their song is a quick two notes, and I heard more of them than I saw. The Streaked Flycatcher is large and has a black tip to its pink bill. I had a close look at one on the trip to Panama's Caribbean slope. Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers were common around Chan Chich. They are a little smaller than the Streaked, and their call sounds like a squeeze toy.

Great Kiskadees were fairly common throughout Panama, but I did not see any in Belize. They are very vocal, and I heard them in many areas. At the Gamboa Resort, I saw a nest in the open on a utility pole. It was a large structure with an opening in the front, and it appeared to contain three chicks. Lesser Kiskadees have smaller bills. They are typically found near water. Boat-billed Flycatchers have large bills. I saw one at Chan Chich building a nest in a tree that already had a Rose-throated Becard nest. Social Flycatchers were fairly common, except in the Darién. They seemed especially common at Chan Chich, and they came to the fountain near the dining area. I had good looks at Rusty-margined Flycatchers at the Summit Gardens. They look like the Social with a rusty wing patch. Some of them were perched at close range next to the water so that I could see both the bird and its reflection.

Some flycatchers have plumage or song that separates them from the others. The Bright-rumped Attila has a song that builds up in about six parts before releasing on the seventh. At the Metro Park, one sang like this for about an hour. At Chan Chich, I saw one by the water, and it bathed like vireos, dipping in the water for a moment and flying right back out. Rufous Mourners are large birds who are all rufous. On the Pipeline Road, I heard its mournful two-note song. I saw two perched Long-tailed Tyrants. They are black, white, and gray, and their long tail is actually a pair of bare feather shafts with thin racquets on the end. On the Caribbean slope, I saw one repeatedly lift his tail above his head. When they fly, the tail looks like wires trailing behind. I saw a Pied Water-Tyrant in an agricultural area in the Darién. It is a small black-and-white bird who walked along the edge of a waterhole, sometimes perching on the top of little piles of mud. Ochre-bellied Flycatchers are different shades of brown, and because they

often perch low and in the open, they are not difficult to identify. Both in the Darién and Chan Chich, they came down to bathe and drink, and they stayed in the water for a long time. Ruddy-tailed Flycatchers are also a distinctive brownish color, different from most other flycatchers. They are small and have tan underparts. The Sulphur-rumped and Black-tailed Flycatchers look and behave like Yellowstarts, fanning their tail a lot.

I saw five species of Elaenias. The Greenish and Forest Elaenias looked smaller and lighter than the Yellow-bellied and the Lesser. Some of the elaenias had ruffled crests. The only one who looked different was the Gray Elaenia, who was gray and stockier than the others. I saw males the two days I went to the Pipeline Road. The Tyrannulets are small birds who can be difficult to sort out. The Brown-capped Tyrannulet is small, with an olive back, yellow belly, and brown head. It looks as if it is missing its tail. The Yellow-bellied Tyrannulet is similar, and I saw one in Belize. I saw two Yellow Tyrannulets on the Pacific coast trip, and they have yellowish wingbars. Southern Beardless Tyrannulets are nondescript little gray birds. The Yellow-crowned Tyrannulet is a small olive-and-yellow bird with wingbars and a black-and-yellow crown. On the Caribbean slope, we saw a pair of Paltry Tyrannulets at a nest which was irregularly shaped and hanging from the end of a branch in the open. At the Canopy Camp, I saw a Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher, who has a black cap and a white throat. At the Ammo Ponds, I saw a Common Tody-Flycatcher at its nest, which looked very large. A lot of flycatchers build very large nests relative to the size of the bird. Near the entrance to the Plantation Trail at the base of Semaphore Hill Road was a nest of a Black-capped Pygmy-Tyrant, who has the distinction of being either the smallest or one of the smallest passerines in the world. We did not see the bird, who at 2.5 inches is smaller than all but one of the hummingbird species in Panama. It is not much larger than the Bee Hummingbird of Cuba, who is the smallest bird and the smallest homeothermic creature in the world.

Many flycatchers are small olive-green or brown birds. The Yellow-olive Flycatcher and the Yellow-margined Flycatcher look distressingly alike. The Eye-ringed Flatbill has a prominent white eye ring, while the Olivaceous Flatbill has a smaller eye ring. I saw a perched Brownish Twistwing who was dark brown but not twisting its wings. The Olive-striped Flycatcher is about the size of an Empidonax but darker below because of the streaking on the breast. I saw a Sepia-capped Flycatcher when we were waiting for the bathing birds at Chan Chich, and I could see the brownish cap. I saw and heard both Northern and Southern Bentbills, who look and sound alike. The Southern was in Panama, and the Northern was in Belize. They are small olive birds with a bill that looks long and curved. The call is a single burry sound that is high-pitched.

TITYRAS, BECARDS

I saw Masked Tityras at all four venues. They are mostly white with a black mask. They have a croaking call. The only Black-crowned Tityra was in the

Darién. I saw a Speckled Mourner on the Pipeline Road and another in the Darién. It is a rufous-colored becard with an eye ring and some faint streaking below. The Rufous Mourner is a tyrant flycatcher, which is confusing. Cinnamon Becards are much smaller than the mourner and are lighter below. I saw some near the tents at the Canopy Camp. On the El Salto Road, I saw a pair of White-winged Becards. The male is black, white, and gray, while the female is brownish with a yellowish breast. These birds appeared to be warbler-sized. I saw a young One-colored Becard in the trees near the entrance to the Del Tallo Reserve in the Darién. It appeared to have rufous on the wings and was not one-colored. A pair of Rose-throated Becards was building a nest in a tree down the road from the Chan Chich Lodge. When I saw it the first time, it was a large open leafy cup. When I went back the next day, it was an enclosed leafy ball. The tree also had the nest of other species, including Social Flycatchers. I had seen one of the becard nests many years ago at the Roadside Rest in Southeastern Arizona. I also saw some Rose-throated Becards building a nest in a tree in Belize, and this one had a Boat-billed Flycatcher building a nest in the same tree with a Masked Tityra nearby. I need to read about the becards and whether they favor nest locations in trees where other birds are nesting.

COTINGAS

I saw a couple Purple-throated Fruitcrows at the Rainforest Discovery Center. They are mostly black, but if you see the throat in good light, it appears to be the color of red wine. I saw more on the Pipeline Road. At the Discovery Center, we scoped distant Blue Cotingas. I tend to see only the females from a reasonable distance -- they are brown and spotty. In the Darién, a German Shepherd followed us around the San Francisco Reserve. We heard a Rufous Piha, whose call sounds like someone calling a dog. Whenever it called, the dog looked around to see who was whistling. I saw a Rufous Piha briefly at Chan Chich.

MANAKINS

A highlight of the trip was seeing a displaying Red-capped Manakin at Chan Chich. The male appeared to slide a short way along a branch. I could not see him moonwalking, but I did see his yellow leggings. Another time, I saw a male and female hopping on a branch. In the Darién, I watched a male Golden-headed Manakin come down to drink. It is only 3 inches long, and I was surprised to hear it utter a sound resembling the peent of an American Woodcock. Golden-headed Manakins are manic little birds who seem to do everything very quickly. Another time in the Darién, I saw a young male Golden-headed Manakin, who was olive and has a yellow cap. At the Canopy Camp, I saw a bird who was probably a female Golden-headed Manakin, who was all green. She came down to drink in front of us and had eyes that looked like huge headlight because so much of the white of the eye shows. I had a nice look at a male Blue-crowned Manakin near the hummingbird feeders at the Rainforest Discovery Center. In the same area, I saw a male Golden-collared Manakin. These birds have a yellow beard that

hangs below the bill. They are black and green with a bright golden collar. They look bigger and chunkier than the three species mentioned above. We found a lek near the Camp, and the birds tended to display both early in the morning and near dusk. We heard an area where they were displaying, making a sound like snapping sticks, but I did not see them doing this. They also make a sound resembling a joy buzzer. White-collared Manakins make a snapping noise while displaying. I saw a young male at Chan Chich doing this, but never an adult male. At Cerro Azul, I saw a White-ruffed Manakin. This round little bird is jet black with a white throat. On the Pacific coast trip, I saw a male Lance-tailed Manakin. He was black with a sky blue back, bright red crown, and orange legs. We later saw a female, who is mostly olive green. At the Metro Park, I saw a male pop into the open. I later saw a young male, who is green with a red cap.

VIREOS

Red-eyed Vireos were fairly common once I left the Lodge. Quite a lot of them were around Chan Chich. Some were vocalizing, unlike most of the other migrant birds. Yellow-green Vireos look similar, but they have yellow on their flanks. They were common in Belize but not as numerous in Panama. I saw a Yellow-throated Vireo at Chan Chich, and others saw one near the Lodge. I had nice looks at Green Shrike-Vireos in a couple of places. At breakfast one day at the Tower, someone talked about having trouble seeing one, even though one hears their three-note call a lot. I said they can be frustrating until one pops into the open right in front of you. About two minutes later, one popped onto a branch right outside where we were having breakfast and gave us long looks. I could see the yellow throat and the blue on the collar. I saw and heard Lesser Greenlets at all four venues. Their song sounds a bit like a typical vireo song. They are small and have a gray head. The Scrub-Greenlet is larger and is yellow underneath. At the Summit Ponds, a Golden-fronted Greenlet landed right over my head. It has brown on its head.

JAYS

Black-chested Jays are fairly common in Panama, but they typically do not allow close approach. One exception was in the Darién, and I photographed one on a private farm who was perched with a feather in its mouth. It had an iridescent purple hood, a white breast, and a bright white eye. The tip of its tail was white. At Chan Chich, the Brown Jay replaced the Black-chested. It has similar plumage, with brown where the Black-chested has black or purple. It has a dark eye. One of the first ones I saw was sleeping in a tree when we were spotlighting on the night I arrived.

SWALLOWS

The three most common swallows were Gray-breasted Martins, Barn Swallows, and Southern Rough-winged Swallows. All were seen at all four venues. In the

Darién, I saw a martin inadvertently buzz a chicken, who did not appreciate it. I saw martins on 17 days of the trip and Barn Swallows on 11. On the Pacific coast trip and on the first day at Canopy Camp, I saw large flocks of migrating Barn Swallows with about a thousand birds. I probably missed counting Barn Swallows on a lot of days, because after awhile, I was filtering them out. I saw Southern Rough-winged Swallows on the trips from both the Tower and the Lodge, but never in great numbers. Quite a few were around the Ammo Ponds, and I saw them hit the water to get a drink. I saw a Northern Rough-winged Swallow at the Ammo Ponds who looks a little darker than the Southern. On the same day, I saw one Cliff Swallow. I saw quite a few Mangrove Swallows at the Summit Ponds. I also had a good look at one who perched along the river at Little Bahia between trips to look for food. I saw a couple of Blue-and-white Swallows at La Mesa. My only new swallow for the trip was the White-thighed, who is small and looks all dark brown. I could not see the white thighs.

WRENS

Wren vocalizations are more enjoyable than their plumage. On the Pipeline Road, I was able to see and hear Song Wrens, whom the field guide describes as sounding like a haywire cuckoo clock. A couple popped into the open, and I could see the rufous throat and bare blue skin around the eye. At Chan Chich, one of my favorite songs was from the Spot-breasted Wrens. They were all over the grounds around the lodge, and they have a variety of vocalizations which were a key component of the soundtrack of my visit to Belize. One song sounds like, Look up, I'm over here. I eventually got a look at the dark spots on its underparts, which from a distance can make the breast look grayish. At Canopy Lodge, the Bay Wren's loud song was part of the soundtrack. One of these wrens found a spot near the dining area where his song reverberated, and it was so loud that it startled me. I heard a couple Scaly-breasted Wrens (formerly the Southern Nightingale-Wren) but never saw one. A common sound in the forests is the song of the White-breasted Wood-Wren, another skulker. Their cheeks have a black-and-white pattern.

I saw Southern House Wrens in numerous places in Panama, and they look like the ones in the north. One of the first birds we saw one morning on the El Salto Road in the Darién was a Bicolored Wren, the second largest wren species in the world at 8.5 inches, only smaller than the Giant Wren of Mexico. It looks a little like a Carolina Wren on steroids — it has a white eye line. It is a South American species who was discovered for the first time in Panama two years ago in Saviza. We saw three White-headed Wrens, who used to be the largest wren species in Panama. They were fairly far away on the road, bathing in dust. We later saw much closer ones, and we saw them again at the site near the Harpy Eagle nest. Both of these large wrens are in the same genus as the Cactus Wren. At Chan Chich, I had a quick look at a Band-backed Wren, but I was not able to see any of the spots on its breast. Also on the El Salto Road, we saw Black-bellied Wrens, who have a white throat, black face, and barred underparts.

On the Caribbean slope trip, I saw a Rufous-and-white Wren, who is large with a rufous back and white underparts. The Rufous-breasted Wren has a rufous breast and a dark cheek with white speckles. The Buff-breasted Wren looks a bit like a Carolina with only a short faint dark line behind its eye rather than a thick dark stripe. The Plain Wren also looks like a Carolina with a dark line behind the eye that is more pronounced than on the Buff-breasted but not as pronounced as on the Carolina. The black barring on the back of the Plain Wren is fainter than on the Buff-breasted. The White-bellied Wrens I saw at Chan Chich also look like this group but are a little smaller. They usually stay high in trees, but I was able to see one gathering nesting material at eye level.

GNATCATCHERS

Tropical Gnatcatchers are like Blue-gray Gnatcatchers with a dark cap. They move around a lot, and the best look I had of one was from the tower at the Discovery Center when I was looking down at it. Long-billed Gnatwrens are difficult to observe. They like to forage in tangles of trees. Tawny-faced Gnatwrens are beautiful little birds with a rufous cheek and a white throat. We saw one in the same area of the Pipeline Road where we saw the Streak-chested Antpitta.

THRUSHES

Clay-colored Thrushes were one of the most common birds on the trip, being plentiful at all four venues. Sometimes, they sound like American Robins, but they have a large repertoire of vocalizations, many of which do not sound thrush-like. They are active participants in the dawn chorus. I saw a Pale-vented Thrush not far from the Lodge. Its scientific name is Turdus obsoletus. White-throated Thrushes sang along the water at Chan Chich. One stayed in a tree for a bit, and I could see the white throat and the prominent yellow eye ring. They have a large repertoire of songs. I saw a few scattered Swainson's Thrushes, but not nearly as many as I did in 2012. On both nights when we were spotlighting at Chan Chich, we found a Wood Thrush perched in a tree -- they were the only two I saw on the trip. On the Candelario Trail, we saw an Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush. It has a dark brown back with orange soft parts — bill, legs, and eye ring. It was skulking on the forest floor.

MIMIDS

I saw Tropical Mockingbirds on five days around the Tower and Lodge. They behave like Northern Mockingbirds. At Chan Chich, I saw a couple Gray Catbirds, who probably were either on their way north or getting ready to leave.

WOOD WARBLERS

I went on this trip when I did partly because I wanted to see migrant birds who were either on their wintering grounds or on their way north from their wintering grounds. I saw 23 species of wood warblers, 20 of whom migrate north. One of the three who does not is the Rufous-capped Warbler. It was a fairly common bird around the feeders at the Lodge. It is small and cocks its tail like a wren. By the water near the Lodge I saw Buff-rumped Warblers. They reminded me of waterthrushes, although they seem faster and warier, and I did not see them bobbing their tail as actively. In the woods around Chan Chich, I had a good look at a Golden-crowned Warbler hopping on a low branch. It is a small olive-and- yellow warbler with black-and-yellow crown stripes.

Of the migrant warblers, most of them behaved the same way as they do when I see them in the north. At Chan Chich, I saw Ovenbirds on three days, and they walked on the paths with their tail cocked. I saw one Louisiana Waterthrush in the Darién, with its pink legs and large white eye line. I saw Northern Waterthrushes more often than any other warbler. They were in all four venues, and one day at Chan Chich, I saw six of them, with some looking for insects under leaves. I frequently heard their loud chip note. I did not hear many of the other warblers vocalizing. I saw Tennessee Warblers during my stay at the Lodge, including some who came to the feeders. During my stay at Canopy Tower, the most common species was the Bay-breasted. Some were in basic plumage, but I also saw males in breeding plumage. At the Metro Park, I saw both breeding and basic Bay-breasted Warblers feeding on the ground.

I tended to see more migrant warblers at Chan Chich than in Panama. Black-and-white Warblers were fairly common. I saw males, females, and first year birds. American Redstarts were flitting in the trees, along with a couple Yellowstarts. I had nice looks at breeding Magnolias, including one behind the cabanas on the day I arrived. Some of the Chestnut-sided Warblers were in breeding plumage. While I waited for birds to come down to the stream near sunset, Gilberto and I saw a male Wilson's Warbler right in front of us. A couple of times, a Kentucky Warbler came down to bathe -- I tend not to see many of them anymore. A female Hooded Warbler came down to bathe, and I had close looks at a male just down the road from the cabanas. I had a couple of nice looks at Worm-eating Warblers near the water. The most surprising sighting of the trip was seeing a bright male Pine Warbler near the water. This species is not supposed to be below northeastern Mexico. A female was recorded as far south as Colombia. The bird I saw was terribly out of range.

I saw a Canada Warbler at the San Francisco Reserve in the Darién. I had missed seeing a few whom others had seen when I was at the Lodge. Yellow Warblers were at all four venues, including a male on the ground drinking and bathing near a sprinkler at the Gamboa Resort. I never had a great look at any of the Mourning Warblers during my stay at the Lodge, although I did have a quick

look at one in basic plumage in the Watercress area. In the same place, I saw a number of Golden-winged Warblers, a species I almost never see in the US.

Even though all of the guides I had were excellent, some might not have much experience seeing the migrants who come north. When I was in Cerro Azul, we were looking at a Rufous-winged Tanager when Michael saw a bird in the top of a bare tree and was not sure what it was. When I looked, it was a gorgeous breeding male Blackburnian Warbler with a glare orange throat. A female was hopping in the same tree. In the Darién, we were looking at a mixed flock when I found a breeding male Blackpoll Warbler. I got our guide Nando on it, and it was a life bird for him. In 2012, we were at the Metro Park when our guide identified a bird as a Swainson's Thrush, and when I looked, I could see that it was a Veery. I also saw a Veery at Wildsumacho in Ecuador, which would have been a first Ecuador record for the species. I sometimes wonder whether some of these birds might be passing through with greater frequency than reported, but local people are not used to seeing them.

TANAGERS

The tanagers are a diverse family which includes a lot of birds not called tanagers and fails to include some that are. The Blue-gray Tanager was seen all over Panama, but I did not see any in Belize. I saw Palm Tanagers during my stays at the Tower and the Lodge, but I saw few in the Darién and none in Belize. I saw Golden-hooded Tanagers at all four venues, but never many. A few bathed in the fountain next to the eating area at Chan Chich. Crimson-backed Tanagers look like a swarthy version of a Scarlet Tanager, and they were common around the Lodge and in areas near the Tower. Plain-colored Tanagers were common throughout Panama. They are black, white, and gray birds, but sometimes, you can see a patch of blue on the wings when they fly.

Some of the Tangara tanagers are among the most beautiful birds in the world. None of them seem very large. One of the species I missed on my 2012 trip was the Rufous-winged Tanager. On our visit to Cerro Jefe, I saw about six very well. They are green with a rufous cap and wings, a blue belly, and some yellow on the nape. Once, we saw some in the same tree with Bay-headed Tanagers, who have a similar array of colors in a slightly different combination. I saw a lot of Bay-headed during my stay at the Lodge, and I also saw one at Chan Chich. Also at Cerro Jefe we saw a Speckled Tanager, who is lime-colored with white underparts, black wings, and speckles all over. Silver-throated Tanagers are yellow with a white throat and dark wings.

Both the White-lined and the White-shouldered Tanagers are mostly black, but the White-lined has less white on the wing. Sometimes, the white is barely visible. I saw White-lined during my stay at the Lodge and White-shouldered at the Tower and the Camp. I had close looks at the White-shouldered at the Metro Park. The female White-shouldered looks like a small version of the Gray-headed

Tanager, who has a gray head, olive back, and yellow underparts. I saw the Gray-headed in the Darién, and I had nice looks at them by the water at Chan Chich. Also by the water were Black-throated Shrike-Tanagers. This species, which looks like a stocky oriole with yellow and black plumage, tends to be the leader in mixed flocks, so if one is around, you have a good chance of seeing other species. The most common tanager at Chan Chich was the Yellow-winged. It looks like a Plain-colored Tanager with a yellow spot on its wing. During my stay at Canopy Lodge, Flame-rumped Tanagers were fairly common. The males are all black with a bright yellow rump, while the females have a brown back, yellow underparts, and a yellow rump. They were frequent visitors at the feeders. On our Caribbean slope trip, we saw a Sulphur-rumped Tanager, who is a grayish bird with a yellow rump. On the Candelario Trail, I saw a Tawny-crested Tanager, a black bird whose crest looked more golden than tawny. At Chan Chich, I saw one Crimson-collared Tanager, who is mostly black with a red collar and cap. I heard a Rosy Thrush-Tanager on a trip from the Canopy Lodge but never saw it. And the same day I saw a Dusky-faced Tanager, who made a brief appearance at the feeders. It is a swarthy green bird with a brownish cap.

The honeycreepers are beautiful little birds. At the Harrisons' feeders, I saw Green, Shining, and Red-legged Honeycreepers at the feeders at the same time. The Green is bigger than the other two. The males of the Shining and Red-legged are both purple, with the Shining having bright yellow legs. The females of both species are green with white underparts, but the Shining has more black patterning on her breast. I saw Green Honeycreepers at all four venues. Red-legged Honeycreepers were more common at all venues except the Darién. The Blue Dacnis looks a bit like a honeycreeper, and I saw them while I was at the Tower and a couple in the Darién. Michael calls them Baby Cotingas because the males look like a small version of a Blue Cotinga. On the Caribbean slope trip, I saw a Scarlet-thighed Dacnis, who is darker below than the Blue Dacnis. I looked up at the bird in a tree, and I could see its scarlet thighs. Bananaquits are shaped like a dacnis and behave like one. They have a white eye line as well as a white handkerchief like a Black-throated Blue Warbler. In the Darién, we saw White-eared Conebills. They forage in the tops of trees and are difficult to see well, but I saw the white ear a couple of times. They are very small dull birds.

The Buff-throated Saltator was fairly common around Canopy Lodge and sometimes came to the feeders. The similar looking Black-headed Saltator has a white throat and more black on the head. I saw a few at all venues except the Darién. The Streaked Saltator is a smaller bird, and I saw them at Cara Iguana and in the birding areas around Gamboa. The Slate-colored Grosbeak is a lovely dark gray bird with a bright red bill. I saw one at the San Francisco Reserve in the Darién and the next day on the Pipeline Road. I saw Blue-black Grassquits on a number of days. They are called Yo-yo Birds or Johnny Jump-Ups, because the males jump more than a foot in the air. Sometimes, they do this when other males are around, which I saw in Cerro Azul, but I also saw one do it in the Darién when no other males were in sight. The female is buffy below and has a

brown back with buffy wingbars. Grassquits are tiny and appear to be the size of a kinglet. Yellow-faced Grassquits are tiny olive birds with yellow over the eye and on the throat. They were common during my stay at Canopy Lodge. I saw some feeding on the ground at Cara Iguana with Indigo Buntings. Others were in agricultural fields. I saw Yellow-bellied and Ruddy-breasted Seedeaters across the road from the Ammo Ponds. These birds are small and require patience to sort out. Variable Seedeaters were common in Panama, and as their name would indicate, there was variation in their plumage. The males are black with varying amounts of white. Many had white underparts and a black breast band. The females are brownish. On our trip to the Pacific coast as well as at the stream at Canopy Camp, I saw Thick-billed Seed Finches. The males are almost all black with a large gray bill.

BUNTINGS

I had a nice look at an Orange-billed Sparrow near the gate at the Canopy Lodge. I had just come back from the compost pile, and the bird was close to the path. It is beautiful when seen in good light. It is green, with an orange bill and black and white on the head. During my stay at the Lodge, I saw a couple of Black-striped Sparrows, who are mostly green with black and gray stripes on the head. They sometimes sing incessantly. I did not get much of a look at the skulking Chestnut-capped Brush-Finch at Las Minas.

CARDINALS

The family called cardinals is strange. It contains tanagers who are not in the tanager family, buntings who are not in the bunting family, and seedeaters, grosbeaks and sparrows who are not in the same family with other birds with those names. And on this trip, I did not see any birds called cardinals.

I saw quite a few Summer and Scarlet Tanagers in breeding plumage. At Cara Iguana and at Canopy Camp, I saw both in the same binocular field. At the Canopy Lodge, one of the guests was a novice birder from Arlington, Virginia, where I live. When I asked what her favorite bird was on the trip, she said the male Scarlet Tanager. When looking at so many beautiful tropical birds, it is easy to take for granted the beauty of some of the birds who visit the US. I saw Hepatic Tanagers, and they have a dark bill, unlike the light bill on the Summer. Male Red-crowned and Red-throated Ant-Tanagers look similar. I saw the Red-crowned near the water at Chan Chich, and the male had a very red throat. The female is brown. I saw them at the Canopy Lodge and in Belize. I saw Red-throated at all the venues except the Darién. At Cerro Jefe, I saw a couple of Carmiol's Tanagers, who are olive birds with large bills. I also saw one when we were looking for the Sapayoa on our drive to the Darién and a couple more on the Pipeline Road.

Male Blue Buntings are attractive birds. Quite a few are around the cabanas at Chan Chich. They are dark blue with black trim. The female is solid brown. I saw Indigo Buntings at Cara Iguana, including some feeding on the ground with Yellow-faced Grassquits. I saw Rose-breasted Grosbeaks in a few places. I saw a Black-faced Grosbeak at Chan Chich, who is a dull green bird with a dirty yellow head and breast and a black face like a Northern Cardinal. I also saw a Blue-black Grosbeak there. It is a solid black bird with a large bill. Its body twitched every time it called. I also saw one well at the Summit Ponds, but mostly, I heard them without seeing them. White-collared Seedeaters were the common finch around the Chan Chich Lodge. They look a bit like Variable Seedeaters with wingbars. Also at Chan Chich, I saw a Green-backed Sparrow, who has a green back and black-and-white crown stripes.

BLACKBIRDS

My favorite blackbirds were the oropendolas. I saw both Crested and Chestnut-headed Oropendolas while I was in Panama. The Crested is larger and less common. At Canopy Camp, there were long hanging Chestnut-headed Oropendola nests that had fallen off of trees for reasons unknown to me. Some of these birds displayed near where we ate. At Chan Chich, I visited a colony of Montezuma Oropendolas. These nine-syllable birds were displaying and building nests. The nest is a large hanging sack that functions like an incubator. There are leaves in the bottom, and after the eggs are laid, the female does not spend much time sitting on them. The male has sky blue cheeks, pink wattles below the blue, and a black bill that is red toward the tip. In the Darién, we saw a colony of Black Oropendolas. They can be seen only in the Darién and an inaccessible region in Colombia. The male has inflatable blue cheeks and red at the top and the base of its black bill. Quite a few were displaying in the colony, and Giant Cowbirds were flying among the hanging nests, sometimes going inside them to lay eggs. I saw a lot of Giant Cowbirds in the agricultural areas near Canopy Lodge. They are large, but not as large as an oropendola. A lot of Shiny Cowbirds were in the same area.

Great-tailed Grackles were the most numerous blackbird in Panama. They have adapted to both agricultural and developed areas. Around the lodge at Chan Chich, I saw a lot of Melodious Blackbirds. Their vocalizations are loud but do not seem long enough to qualify as melodious. Along the Pan American Highway in the Darién, I saw male Red-breasted Blackbirds, who have a beautiful red breast. Mixed in was one female Yellow-hooded Blackbird. The Red-breasted Blackbirds used to be called Red-breasted Meadowlarks. I saw quite a few Eastern Meadowlarks in the fields around Chan Chich. Some stay in Belize all year. I did not see many caciques on the trip. I saw a few Yellow-billed Caciques, the most difficult of the three species to see, at the Summit Ponds. They are not like the other caciques — they do not vocalize much, and they do not nest in colonies. They are all black with a pale bill and a pale eye. At the Discovery Center ponds, I saw a Scarlet-rumped Cacique and later saw a Yellow-rumped. Both have blue

eyes and a light bill. Both are loud, and the Yellow-rumped is a skilled mimic -- I don't know about the mimicking ability of the Scarlet-rumped. The Yellow-rumped has more yellow on the wings and hind end than the Scarlet-rumped has scarlet.

I saw Baltimore Orioles in all four venues in varying plumages, including bright breeding males. Both the Yellow-backed and the Yellow-tailed Orioles are stunning, with yellow heads and a black face and throat. At the Summit Ponds, I had nice looks at Yellow-backed, who have a yellow back and an all-black tail. The yellow plumage looks electric. I also saw one at the Metro Park. At the Gamboa Resort, I saw a Yellow-tailed hopping on branches. It has a black back and yellow edges to its tail. The common oriole around the Chan Chich Lodge was the Black-cowled, who is also black and yellow. It has a full black hood like the Baltimore. Some of them came to the fountain near the dining area to drink and bathe.

GOLDFINCHES

By far, the most common euphonia was the Thick-billed. It was common at the feeders at the Lodge and less common in the areas around the Tower. The male has a yellow crown and a yellow throat. I saw a few Yellow-crowned Euphonias during my time at the Tower and the Lodge. They have a dark throat. Fulvous-vented Euphonias, who can be seen from the observation deck at the Tower, also have a dark throat, and they have a rufous vent. The Tawny-capped Euphonia, whom I saw on four days during my stay at the Lodge, has a dark throat and a tawny cap. The Yellow-throated Euphonia in Belize seemed to replace the similar looking Thick-billed Euphonia. The Yellow-throated has yellow on the face that does not extend as far back as on the Thick-billed. I saw one Olive-backed Euphonia at Chan Chich -- it looks a bit like a female of some of the other euphonia species. Euphonias are goldfinches, and I saw a few Lesser Goldfinches on the trip. A female was perched in a tree. I also saw one fly from off the road in Cerro Azul, and it showed a lot of white in the wings.

OLD WORLD SPARROWS

I saw House Sparrows on a couple of days when we were in urban areas.

MAMMALS

In 2012, I made a video about a Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth who spent a lot of time outside a dining room window at Canopy Tower. I did not see the sloth during my six-night stay at the Tower, but he was there when I returned from Canopy Camp. He was doing a lot of scratching. The only other one I saw was in the Darién. I saw more Hoffman’s Two-toed Sloths. I saw and heard a lot of Mantled Howler Monkeys in Panama, and I had especially good looks at some feeding near the Discovery Center tower. They sound fierce with their loud howls, but because they mostly eat leaves, they are fairly sluggish creatures. They often would howl before sunrise. Chan Chich has Black Howler Monkeys. One afternoon, we saw about a half dozen. One was a mother howler with a baby on her back. The howlers have a bone in their throat that serves as an amplifier, creating the same effect as someone blowing over an empty bottle. One day near the water at Chan Chich, we saw a troupe of White-bellied Spider Monkeys crashing through the palm trees. They are remarkably acrobatic, using their long arms to swing on branches like trapeze artists. Each adult weighs about 17 pounds, about the same as one of the howler monkeys. A number of times, one of the spider monkeys stopped either directly above us or very close. The spider monkeys are much more aggressive than the howlers and are known to kill others of their kind if one tries to wander through the area of another group. On the Plantation Road in Panama, we saw a Colombian Spider Monkey. It is not native to Panama and had probably escaped or was released by someone who had been keeping it as a pet. White-faced Capuchins are smaller than the howlers. They have mostly black fur with cream-colored fur around their face and shoulders. Their facial skin looks to be a similar color to a Caucasian human. I saw them on the Pipeline Road and in the Darién. Geoffroy's Tamarins were fairly common in the Darién. These primates look like marmosets and are found only in Panama and Colombia. They have black faces, so the facial features do not stand out. They have white underparts and extremely long black tails.

On my first night at Chan Chich, I was fortunate to see an Ocelot when we went out spotlighting. I had asked Luis in the afternoon about my chances of seeing one, and he said they are very difficult to find. We had been riding for only about two minutes when the guide spotted it. It looked small, about the size of a bobcat. On the same trip, we saw a Gray Fox. On a spotlighting trip a few nights later, we saw a raccoon. A large numbers of White-tailed Deer were in the fields around Chan Chich. Barbed wire fences surrounded the fields, having four strands each about a foot apart. I watched as some of the deer went through the one-foot spaces rather than trying to jump over the fences.

In Panama, I saw both Red-tailed and Variegated Squirrels. In 2012, a Variegated Squirrel at the beginning of the Pipeline Road climbed up my leg and also onto someone's shoulder, but none were as aggressive on this trip. The Variegated looked grayish, while the Red-tailed looked reddish. The Deppe's Squirrel was the most common at Chan Chich. I saw one in a tree trying to eat a

large nut. I saw a few White-nosed Coatis, including one crossing the road at the Gamboa Resort. I also saw a few in the Darién. As we were leaving the resort, I saw a young Lesser Capybara in the road near the entrance. It was much smaller than the adults. Central American Agoutis were common, scampering around Semaphore Hill Road and other places. And I saw one Nine-banded Armadillo on our visit to the Caribbean slope.

REPTILES, AMPHIBIANS

I saw quite a few reptiles during the trip. Panama had American Crocodiles, and I saw one at the Rainforest Discovery Center ponds and at the San Francisco Reserve in the Darién. I also saw the smaller Spectacled Caiman in Panama, who seemed more common. Some were small young ones. The eyes on some of the caimans gave them a crazed look. Belize had Morelet's Crocodiles. I saw one by the water not far from where the Royal Flycatchers were building a nest. They have fierce looking teeth. As for turtles, I saw Tropical Sliders in the water at the Summit Ponds. At Chan Chich, I saw a Box Turtle, and there was a Furrowed Wood Turtle by the side of the Road. It was small and brown, and I moved it so that it would not get run over.

I saw four snakes. On the Pipeline Road, we saw a Fed de Lance in an area a few feet below the road. It looked brown and thick. At the Canopy Camp, a woman discovered a Green Vine Snake on top of her toilet tank. She told me about it, and I went into her tent and photographed it. I was surprised to see that it had a blue tongue. One night when we were spotlighting at Chan Chich, we saw a False Coral Snake. And I nearly stepped on a small Tropical Rat Snake in Belize. It looked like a small stick. I also saw a lot of lizards. Panamanian Whiptails were fairly common. They are small thin brown lizards, and I often saw them in the leaf litter. Basilisks were fairly common. They rested on the rocks in the river near the Lodge. One day, I saw one come to the feeders at the Lodge, take a bite of banana, and promptly spit it out. I also saw a strange Basilisk at Chan Chich. Its tail looked like a tuning fork. Apparently, the tail was damaged, but instead of falling off, it merely atrophied. A new tail grew, even though the old one was still there.

I saw a tiny Panamanian Rocket Frog while I was in the Darién. It is brown and about an inch long. I also heard Smoky Jungle Frogs outside my room at the Lodge, but I never saw one.

ARTHROPODS

On one of the spotlighting drives from Chan Chich, I saw a Red-rumped Tarantula, who is a large black hairy spider. When taking a night walk with Luis, we saw wolf spiders, who are large and have a red abdomen. We saw a whip scorpion, who is another arachnid. It was almost entirely brown. We saw a hissing cockroach who was on the trunk of a tree. It appeared to be gray with a

rusted back bumper. But my favorite insect was a click beetle who appeared to have two luminous LED lights in the front.

I saw a lot of butterflies but could identify only a small number of them. Florida Whites were fairly common around Chan Chich, and sometimes I would see large groups of them in the same place. In the Darién, I saw a Pale Owl butterfly. When its wings were closed, it had an eyespot that resembled the eye of an owl. I saw a lot of Common Morphos and the larger Blue Morphos. The latter have a wobbly erratic flight that is difficult to photograph. The closed wing of a Blue Morpho looks like brown paper. A Variable Cracker was perched on the trunk of a tree in the Darién. It has patterned blue wings with a white bar near each wingtip. I saw a Banded Longwing at the Rainforest Discovery Center. It is orange with black stripes. On the Pipeline Road, I photographed a Whitened Crescent, who is black with a broad white stripe on the lower wing and small stripe near the tip of the wing. In Canopy Tower, I photographed a Yellow-tufted Prepona, who Linda and Jerry Harrison and Jenn Sinasac called a cheater because I found it within the Tower building. They did not have a photo of it in the butterfly guide, so they ran to take a picture. From the window of the Tower I saw a Multesima Metalmark, who is mostly orange with a black top edge to the wings. At Canopy Lodge, I saw Three-banded Crescents, who are orange with broad black wingtips. The wingtips have three white bands. I saw Banded Peacocks, who are brownish with a broad white band across the lower wing and a somewhat shorter orange band above the white band. And I saw Crimson-patched Longwings, who have long narrow black wings with a broad vertical red stripe near the tip and a narrow white stripe near the bottom.