Photo ABCs

Colombia Birding: Cali: Steely-vented Hummingbird, White-necked Jacobin

The Steely-vented Hummingbird is found only in Colombia and a small area of Venezuela.

Here is one at Villa Cielo, near Cali, in December of last year:

An immature male White-necked Jacobin:

Colombia Birding: Cali: Thick-billed Euphonia, White-lined Tanager

More birds photographed at Villa Cielo, near Cali, Colombia, one December morning of last year:

An immature male Thick-billed Euphonia. When mature the back will be a more uniform blue color:

Not every tanager is an explosion of color. Here is a White-lined Tanager. The male is nearly all black, the female is a rusty color:

Here is a female White-lined Tanager, photographed at another location a few days later:

Colombia Birding: Cali: Green Hermit, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird

The Green Hermit is one of many spectacular hummingbirds found in Colombia.

Here is one on the grounds of Villa Cielo.

Thanks to the guide there who took me down a slippery trail to its preferred territory.

A Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, photographed the same morning:

Colombia Birding: Cali: Flame-rumped Tanager, Crimson-backed Tanager

The Flame-rumped Tanager is found only in Panama, Colombia and Ecuador. It comes in two flavors, or subspecies, Lemon-rumped, or Flame-rumped. The male is mostly black with a yellow (lemon) or red (flame) rump, the female has black on the back with yellow or red below.

In a future post I'll have a differently colored Flame-rumped Tanager.

Here is the striking Crimson-backed Tanager, looking a lot like the Scarlet Tanager which can be seen in the eastern United States:

Both birds photographed at Villa Cielo, near Cali, Colombia, in December of last year.

Colombia Birding: Cali: Green Honeycreeper, Andean Motmot

The Green Honeycreeper is common in various areas of southernmost Mexico, Central and South America. Interestingly, only the female is green, the male is a vivid blue (we'll see one in a later post).

In my travels in Mexico I have seen two species of motmot, which range from 12-15 inches in length, including their long, racket-shaped tails.

I was completely unprepared for the size of the Andean Motmot, which is huge, measuring 19 inches, with an imposing girth.

This one came to the feeders at Villa Cielo. I had to back up to fit all of it in the frame.

Seeing this bird, and another later, was one (of many) avian highlights of my trip!

Colombia Birding: Cali: Scrub Tanager

Another tanager species, photographed at Villa Cielo, near Cali, Colombia:

 

Colombia Birding: Cali: Blue-gray Tanager

While in Cali, Colombia, I visited Villa Cielo, a lovely retreat which has lodging, grows its own coffee, and has a multitude of bird feeders and a pleasant viewing area.

It takes a strenuous walk up a steep hill to reach the grounds (taxi drivers are unlikely to ascend the steep, narrow grade), but the amazing display of birds and delicious food and coffee make the visit more than worthwhile.

Blue-gray Tanagers were the most abundant, and among the least colorful, tanagers I saw in Colombia.

This fledgling, however, was interesting to watch as its begging for food consisted of a whole-body tremble:

Mashed banana, incoming!

Another Blue-gray Tanager:

Colombia Birding: Cali: Buff-rumped Warbler, Rusty-margined Flycatcher

The Buff-rumped Warbler is a ground-dwelling warbler found in Central and northern South America.

On the ground was exactly where this one was:

Another Rusty-margined Flycatcher:

Photographed at EcoHotel El Castillo, near the Rio Pance, in Cali, Colombia, in December of last year.

Colombia Birding: Cali: Blue-necked Tanager, Spot-breasted Woodpecker

Four species of tanager are regularly found in the United States.

How many can be found in Colombia?

Over one hundred!

Perhaps the country should be renamed Tanager!

Some of these birds come in the wildest colors, such as the Blue-necked Tanager:

In upcoming posts I'll have photos of at least ten more species of tanager, some even more colorful!

A Spot-breasted Woodpecker:

Photographed at the EcoHotel El Castillo, near Cali, Colombia, in December of last year.

Colombia Birding: Cali: White-necked Jacobin, Black-throated mango, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird

A steady stream of hummingbirds visits the feeders at the dining terrace of EcoHotel El Castillo, near Cali, Colombia.

A White-necked Jacobin flashes its impressive tail:

A female Black-throated Mango:

A Rufous-tailed Hummingbird:

Photographed in December of last year.