Trinidad: Yellow-hooded Blackbird -Chrysonus icterocephalus

A visit to some water treatment ponds on 1/17/13 provided exciting views of the Yellow-hooded Blackbird,
Chrysonus icterocephalus. Like many blackbirds, the Yellow-hooded are gregarious and like to be near water. The sedentary (non-migratory) male builds a nest, displays for a female, and after she lays eggs and begins incubating he leaves to build another nest, and so on. They are late breeders, peaking in June to August. The males will chase away any female Shiny Cowbirds that approach near the nesting area. They are said to be "noisy" and "rather unmusical".

The male is shown here, with his extensive luxuriant golden yellow hood. The colors are much like our Yellow-headed Blackbird - same family, but different genus. There are only 2 species in the genus Chrysonus, and 2 subspecies of the Yellow-hooded, with this one being the nominate ssp., C. i. icterocephalus. Click on the image to view a larger version.


The Icterids number some 103 species, including the Bobolink, Meadowlarks, Blackbirds, Grackles, Cowbirds, Orioles, Caciques, and Oropendulas.

Best reference I found for the Yellow-hooded Blackbird:
http://www.oiseaux-birds.com/card-yellow-hooded-blackbird.html

Photos are from 1/17/13, and are significantly cropped because of the distance.

Trinidad: Violaceous Euphonia

Steve Howell described the Euphoias (genus Euphonia) as "small stubby tanagers". Most authorities back then placed the euphonias inThraupidae, the Tanager Family. More recently the euphonia were moved into Fringillidae, the Old World Finchs (see below). Regardless of where they appear in the guidebook that are a delight to see and hear. The Violaceous Euphonia is the only common euphonia in Trinidad. We saw this one at close hand from the veranda at Asa Wright. There are 27 euphonias in all, 3 in Trinidad-Tobago.

The male Violaceous Euphonia is described as "bluish black", but sometimes we get to see the purple hues of the head and back, and even a bit of white in the wing. The deep golden yellow of the forehead and underparts has a dramatic glow. The female, which I don't clearly remember seeing, in olive green on the back and yellow green below. They eat a wide variety of fruits and are essentially non-migratory. As you might guess, they sing with a pleasing voice, which has led to the popularity of euphonias as caged birds.

Some of the changes in the Tanager family included moving our Piranga tanagers (Summer, Scarlet, and Western Tanagers) to the Cardinal Family. For details see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanager

Howell & Webb, Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America, 1995.

Trinidad: Crested Oropendola

Lots of birds have bright color in the iris of the eye, from the red seen in grebes to the turquoise of the cormorants. The glowing sapphire eye of the Crested Oropendola ranks among the most beautiful we've ever seen. Never did get a good shot of one of these active birds, but I've included on to show the rump and tail.

"Yellowtail" is another common name for the Crested Oropendola, Psarocolius decumanus insularis. It's a big bird in the Blackbird family (Icteridae), with the male at 17" and the female 13". The male supposedly has a crest, but I never saw one, although this common species was seen often on both islands. The female builds a strong hanging basket of a nest, almost always with a group of other Oropendolas, as these gregarious birds are extremely colonial. Both sexes are promiscuous - not a real common mating strategy, but perhaps one serving to reduce community conflicts? These omnivorous birds take insects, berries, flowers, fruits and even nestling birds. Their ivory bills are almost as impressive as their eyes, and the long bright yellow tail makes it easy to spot.

Oropendolas are widely distributed in the tropics and semitropics of the New World, from southern Mexico to Amazonia. There are 11 Oropendola species in three genus Psarocolius. The Crested Oropendola has 4 subspecies, withC. d. insularis found only in Trinidad-Tobabo. It supposedly has the brightest chestnut-colored rump.

Some other Icterid species build similar hanging nest, including the Caciques and a number of the Orioles. The Crested Oropendola nests from January to May, and I managed a short video of one building a new nest:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenblumin/8504781371/in/photostream

Trinidad: Bearded Bellbird - Procnias averno

The first morning at Asa Wright began with an orientation hike on the forested paths of the preserve, leading down to a lekking site of the Bearded Bellbird, Procnias averano. We soon heard a repeated "BOCK!" call, which became quite loud as we approached a lek tree where this male was calling. Seems they spend a lot of time on there, always hopeful of attracting a female. When several males gather I guess they make enough noise to attract a female, who has already built a nest. She will visit each male at the lek and then make her choice. After mating she returns to her nest alone, as the male has no family responsibilities, and in fact is quite free to shake his wattles to impress another lady.

Bellbirds are fruit-eaters, plucking small fruits in flight, and later regurgitating the seeds. They are big (11") birds, in the large and diverse Cotinga family (70 species). The black-and-white male has a rich brown head, and rather grotesque messy wattles. The female has a green back, streaky breast, and lacks wattles. They have long broad bills and strong feet. There are 4 Bellbirds in the genus Procnias. Photos from Jan 13, 2013.

The male Bellbird we watched that day was the only one calling, and did not give out the rapid song sometimes heard. Good video with Bellbird calls at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKgKe24-_G4

One last shot, giving a view of the wings and back:

Trinidad: Purple Honeycreeper - Cyanerpes caeruleus

The Purple Honeycreeper, Cyanerpes caeruleus longirostrisis, is a small tanager species that is both common and unmistakeable. The blue-purple color of the body of the male is nicely complimented by the black of the wing, mask and throat. The blazing yellow feet led some to call it the Yellow-legged Honeycreeper. In the second photo the male has probably just finished bathing and has yet to smooth his feathers - he almost looks like a different species!

The female is also quite attractive, with her green back, streaked underparts, buffy face and throat, and pretty blue-purple mustachial stripe. There are 5 subspecies of the Purple, ranging south to Brazil and Peru. This long-billed subspecies, C. c. longirostris, is found only in Trinidad.

As mentioned before, the Honeycreepers are nectar specialists, but the Purple Honeycreeper also uses the long curved bill to pierce fruits to suck the juice. The Purple also eats insects and small berries such as from the Trema tree.

Trinidad: Green Honeycreeper - Chlorophanes spiza

The male Green Honeycreeper, a very common sight at Asa Wright, is shown here in all his blue-green finery, with a black face and cap. His iris is red, and the lower mandible is yellow. The female and the immature birds are quite green, and I presume the mottled bird in the 3rd photo is a young male molting from green into his adult male plumage. Sorry, but I totally forgot to get a shot of the green female!

The Honeycreepers used to have their own family (Coerbidae), but they've been moved in with the Tanagers, and are now are in the larger family of Emberiziae. This is not exactly "need to know" stuff, for sure. What is of interest is that the Honeycreepers are specialized nectar feeders, just like the hummingbirds, with bills adapted to reach deep into the nectary of a flower. There are only 5 Honeycreepers - 4 of them in the genus Cyanepes, and this one, alone in the genus Chlorophanes. Chlorophanes spiza does, however, feature 7 subspecies, and this one is probably the nominate race,  C. s. spiza. As a group they range from Mexico down to Brazil.

Here's the molting young male, to show the marked difference between the green shade of the younsters and females and the blue-green of the adult male.

Trinidad: White-lined Tanager - Tachyphonus rufous

The White-lined Tanager, Tachyphonus rufous, is a common species at the Asa Wright feeders (Trinidad). The all-black looking male actually has white feathers "lining" his wingpits (axilliaries), which I guess is what earned the species the otherwise enigmatic name. The female White-lined, on the other hand, stands out from the crowd with her lush chestnut plumage. She's radiant even in the rain! By the way, we experienced very brief showers during out trip, and in general the birds welcomed it chance to bath. The rainy season usually tapers off in December.

The White-lined Tanager is a common bird, with a range down to Argentina. The pair stays together most of the year, foraging on fruit and insects. The White-lined is one of are nine tanager species in the genus Tachyphonus.

Trinidad: Blue Dacnis - Dacnis cayana

The Blue Dacnis, Dacnis cayana, is in the Tanager family, and is known by some as the Turquoise Honeycreeper. We didn't see this species as often as the other tanagers at Asa Wright, and it rarely perched long enough for a photo, but the striking color of the male is perhaps worth sharing.

The Blue Dacnis is one of 8 species in the genus Dacnis, and the Blue Dacnis ranges from Central America well down into South America. This is probably the nominate subspecies, Dacnis cayana cayana. Despite the borderline quality of the photo, we can see the black mask, black nape and tail, a hint of a red eye, and the obvious lush turquoise blue. The bill is not as long as the local honeycreepers (who are unrelated to the Hawaiian Honeycreepers), but they are close relatives. The female is green, with some blue in the head, or so I read in the guidebook.

Trinidad: Turquoise Tanager - Tangar mexicana

Some Trinidad birds are so striking and unique that identification is straightforward, like the Turquoise Tanager, a beauty that looks like no other bird there. The Turquoise male and female look alike (same with the Bay-headed, btw), so it's even simpler.

But identifying a bird and capturing a good photo are quite different matters. Often the Turquoise Tanager was so close and active, feeding on fruit in a Trema tree, that I couldn't track it in my scope. The few blurred shots here hardly do justice to its features. The bright yellow of the belly is a stark contrast to the blacks and blues of the face and back. You'll just have to go to Asa Wright and see for yourselves. Species is absent from Tobago. Photos were taken January 13, 2013.

There are 5 subspecies of the Turquoise Tanager, some ranging down to Brazil. Trinidad's is Tangara mexicana vieilloti, the one with the yellowest underparts, as seen in one photo here. I don't have a clue why the species name contains "mexicana", as the Turquoise Tanager is not found in Mexico, at least not when Steve N.G. Howell wrote his book.

Trinidad: Palm Tanager - Thraupis palmarum

The Palm Tanager, Thraupis palmarum, is a close relative of the Blue-gray Tanager, and is probably even more common. The Palm has a range that extends from Nicaragua to souther Brazil. Breeding by the Palm Tanager has been documented in every month (ffrench), but occurs mostly from Maarch to August. Wild hybrids with the Blue-gray Tanager have been documented. Male and females have similar plumage.

The Palm Tanager is far from the showiest bird in the tanager family, sporting a dull mixture of olives and grays, with the darkest grays on the flight feathers and tail. They are social birds, sometimes foraging in small flocks, while eating a variety of fruit, nectar and insects. There are 4 subspecies in all. As mentioned recently the genus Thraupis has seven members, with 3 found on Trinidad-tobago. The Blue-capped Tanager is the 3rd of the group on Trinidad, but is found only in forests above 2,000', and is not seen often.

Trinidad: Blue-gray Tanager - Thraupis episcopus

Continuing with the Tanager family we have the delightful Blue-gray Tanager, a large (7.5") tanager in the genusTraupis. The Blue-gray is a common bird, seen often throughout the tropics. The bird here is the supspecies Thraupis episcopus nesophilus, with a range down to northern Brazil. There are 12 other subspecies of the Blue-gray in Central and South America, and 6 other species in the Thraupis genus.

I'll quickly forget the taxonomy, but not soon forget the palette of soft blues and grays that adorn this handsome species. The female is quite similar in plumage, but said to be duller. The colors vary with the light and I tried to select some shots that feature the startling violet shoulder patch.

Trinidad: Bay-headed Tanager

Asa Wright has a spacious viewing veranda that is almost in the canopy of nearby trees. Most of the birds visit the hummingbird feeders at eye level, or feed lower on fruit put out on benches along the path below. Some birds, like the Bay-headed Tanager (Tangara gyrola), seemed to prefer to take small fruit from a tree, as seen here (Tremor Tree?), flitting about as if to dare the photographer to attempt a shot. Well, at least I the fruit is in focus! The Bay-headed is said to forage higher in the trees than some of the other tanagers. One of my favorites.

This pretty tanager is mostly green, with a striking rufous head. This one has a lot of bright yellow on the nape and back, a feature seen in the Rufous-winged Tanager (Tangara lavinia). Normally the yellow neck collar is said to be rather narrow. I presume this is the Trinidad supspecies of T. Gyrola, orT. g. viridissima. Clements lists 9 suspecies for the Bay-headed Tanager, and a total of 49 species in the genus Tangara.

Trinidad-Tobago: Bananaquit

Here's the ubiquitous and colorful Bananaquit, Coerba flaveola. We not only encountered the Bananquit every single day, we usually saw scores of them, and a few even entered the dining room at Asa Wright to inspect our plates. The Bananaquits readily sip from the hummingbird feeders, often dominating them, and are seen on the flowers of virtually every flowering tree in Trinidad-Tobago. They also eat fruit, and probably some insects.

The ornithologists have not decided where to put the Bananaquit in the taxonomic heirarchy. It once was given it own monotypic family (Coerebidae), and today is often included in the Tanager Family (Thraupidae). The AOU remains on the fence about it, placing it in Incertae sedis, which means "position unknown", a group of birds that have uncertain relationships with established families. Some authorities suggest that the multitude (30+) of Bananaquit subspecies differ enough that they should be split into 3 or more distinct species! Richard ffrench (Birds of Trinidad-Tobago) wrote that some authors considered it to be a Wood-warbler!

Will follow this up with more birds from the Tanager Family, so taxonomy buffs may want to check this current Wiki reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanager

You'll note that some of your favorite U.S. Tanagers, in the genus Piranga, have been taken out of the Tanager Family and are now in with the Cardinalidae! Heck, if they can more the Falcons to a position between the Woodpeckers and the Flycatchers, anything's possible! 

Trinidad: Merlin - Falco columbarius

Our group was treated to a good diversity of "raptors" during the trip mostly on Trinidad. Other than the Merlin here, we saw Turkey and Black Vultures, Osprey, Pearl Kite (!!!), Double-toothed Kite, Common Black Hawk, Great Black Hawk, Savanna Hawk, Broad-winged Hawk, Gray Hawk, Short-tailed Hawk, Zone-tailed Hawk, Yellow-headed Caracara, Peregrine Falcon and the Long-winged Harrier. Most of these species were seen in flight, so no photos from me, but this Merlin was on a snag along one of our drives, so we stopped to look.

We saw Merlins on several days, more often than I had expected. Have since learned that most of the eastern breeding Merlins are the nominate race Falco columbarius combarius, aka Boreal or "Taiga" Merlin. They are highly migratory, with the majority heading south of the U.S. border for the winter, many enjoying hunting grounds in the West Indies, and some going as far south as Peru! Same bird looking to the right:

This bird "looked" large, although apparent size is often misleading. Female Merlins are 25-30% larger than the males, and the absence of rufous on the flanks and legs is also consistent with a female, but I'll leave such judgements to GGRO folk and others. As you can see here, Merlins have weak mustache stripes compared to most falcons, and show prominent vertical spots on the underparts.

Trinidad: Tufted Coquette No. 2

This will be the last of the Trinidad-Tobago hummingbird photos, but more stuff to follow.

When we watch birds and try to photograph them we prefer to find them in good light, and of course sitting relatively still. I had few opportunities to see the Tufted Coquette on a perch, and in this case the male Coquette was illuminated by harsh back-lighting. These shots almost hit the "delete" pile, but I realized they show some features that I had missed when watching the bird flitting about.

There are 10 species of Coquettes, comprising the genus Lophornis. Six of them are said to have rufous crests. The first photo here shows the orange crest from the side, shining brightly. It also shows the amazing dark-tipped neck plumes, which I guess are the "tufts" referred to in the common name. The red bill is transluminated. The second shot showed me 2 features I had not noted when in the field, namely the bright green sheen of the throat and the rufous tail.

So how about the other 9 Coquettes? They include the White-crested, Short-crested, Festive, Rufous-crested, Dot-eared, Black-crested, Frilled, Peacock, and Spangled Coquettes, but you'll have to do quite a bit of traveling to find them all.

Trinidad: Tufted Coquette No. 1

Birders visiting a new area often have certain target species in mind, special birds they hope to view during their trip. High on the list of Trididad-Tobago "must-see" species is the tiny but glorious Tufted Coquette, one of the smallest hummingbirds in the world and one of the most spectacular. There are about 335 hummingbird species, and the Coquettes rate in the top five by many, as in this list from one hummingbird lover:

http://10000birds.com/twenty-hummingbirds-to-see-before-you-die.htm

I'll save the taxonomy details for post #2, but for now just drink in this little gem, measuring about 6.6 cm (2.6" ) and weighing all of 2.3 grams (that's less than a tenth of an ounce!!). We watched these active hummer feeding on their favorite flowers at Asa Wright, which was fortunate since they seldom came to the feeders. Few of the Tufted Coquettes stopped  to perch, but luckily this male obliged during our orientation walk on the very first morning. The strange spiked feathers seen here on the left of his neck are black-tipped rufous plumes, present only on the male. The white band near the rump is present in both sexes, and the bill is rather short and straight. This bird rocks!

Good summary on the Tufted Coquette from the Cornell Ornithology Lab:

http://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species/identification?p_p_spp=241211

Tobago: Rufous-breasted Hermit

Only got one shot of a Hermit, as they don't seem to perch as often as the other hummers. The Rufous-breasted Hermit is present on both islands. This one came to a feeder at Newton George's house, up the hill from Blue Water Inn on Tobago, and a good spot for the elusive White-tailed Sabrewing. Newton George, AKA "NG" is a renowned Tobago birding guide, btw, although we did not have chance to go in the field with him.

There are over 300 species of hummingbirds, and over 10% of the (35 species) are in a sub-family called Hermits (Phaethornithinae). Most of the Hermits have a decurved bill, adapted to extract nectar from certain flowers like those of Heliconias. Hermits are said to be less iridescent than the average hummer, and show less difference between male and female. As a group they tend to be restricted to tropical and semitropical forest edges and undergrowth, rather than open spaces.

The Rufous-breasted is one of only 3 species in the genus Glaucis. The genus Phaethornis includes an amazing 26 species of Hermits, including the Little Hermit and Green Hermit that our group saw at Asa Wright on Trinidad.

My gear isn't quite up to hummingbird flight shots, but still worth sharing.

Trinidad: Blue-chinned Sapphire

Lucky for us that the blue sheen of the Blue-chinned Sapphire is not limited to the chin but rather mixes with the emerald green in an ever-changing and hypnotic melange of color. The male is shown here, in 3 poses on the same perch.

The female is described as having white-tipped green feathers on her underparts. The Blue-chinned Sapphire is fairly common on Trinidad, less so on Tobago, and  ranges well south to Brazil and Peru. Note the straight bill with the reddish lower mandible, and white thighs. The tail is "steel blue" (ffrench, Birds of Trinidad and Tobago). A previous common name for this species was Blue-breasted Sapphire.

You may want to skip the somewhat confusing taxonomy that follows.

The IOC World Bird List places the Blue-chinned Sapphire in the genus Chlorestes, as does ffrench, so we'll go with that convention. Others treat it as a member of the genus Chlorostilbon, which contains about 18 species with the word "Emerald" in the common name. Clements (2007) had it in genus Chlorostilbon, fwiw, but has since moved it back to the monotypic Chlorestes. The current Clement's Checklist is at (http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist) and contains a full list of 10,000+ bird species and numerous subspecies, and where they are found.

The IOC, btw, is the International Ornithological Committee, aka IOU.

Trinidad: Copper-rumped Hummingbird

The Copper-rumped Hummingbird was a common sight on our T-T trip, but I never did get a good photo of the copper rump! They are present on both Trinidad and Tobago, with a different subspecies on each island. Male and female are similar. Color is coppery-green on the back and more coppery-brown toward the rump, with royal blue in the wings. The tail is slightly notched and the bill shows pink or reddish color in the lower mandible. When viewed from the front the iridescent green from neck to belly is stunning. There are a few other hummers on T-T with similar striking green underparts, including the Blue-chinned Saphire (rare on Tobago), Blue-tailed Emerald (Trinidad only) and the White-tailed Sabrewing (Tobago only).

Most authorities place the Copper-rumped in the genus Amazilla, which is usually divided into 3 groups. The Copper-rumped is in the Saucerottia group with 6 other species. Clements and others briefly had the Copper-rumped in the genus Saucerottia, but it got lumped back with the Amazillas, all 29 of them! Now for that smashing frontal view:

And one last shot of this common but beautiful hummer. Note the pink/orange lower mandible and the dark blue tail.

Trinidad: Long-billed Starthroat

The Long-billed Starthroat, Heliomaster longirostris, doesn't come often to feeders, so we were pleased when our excellent guide Mahas spotted this female atop a high shrub in the Aripo Savannah. The female has a green cap and a bit of iridescence in the gorget, whereas the male (not shown) has a blue cap and a purple/raspberry throat. Guess we'll have to go back some day and find the male! (sigh). Both have a white spot behind the eye and a white malar stripe.

The Long-billed Starthroat is a medium sized hummer, with a long bill and a rather slender build. They are scarce in Trinidad and not found on Tobago. The Trinidad Long-billed is the nominate race, i.e. H. l. longirostris, with a range from Costa Rica down to Brazil and Bolivia. There are only 3 Starthroats (Heliomaster genus), another example of how many of the  hummingbird genera have a limited number of species.

Trinidad: Black-throated Mango

Trinidad-Tobago bird are of course different from those in the U.S, and many are different from those in Central America, since Trinidad is very close to Venezuela. We saw about 180 species there, 70 of them new for us.

The Black-throated Mango is a medium-sized, and striking to view on the rare occasions when it sits still, as it did during the shower at Theo Ferguson's "Yerette". There are 7 "Mango" hummers, comprising the genus Antracothorax. The Black-throated ranges down to Brazil, whereas some of the others are limited to Caribbean islands.

Hummingbird common names are interesting. Of the 18 species seen in the U.S., fully 16 have the word "hummingbird" as part of the common name. Quite the opposite in Trinidad-Tobago, where only 2 of 17 species have "hummingbird" in their name. They include: Hermits (3), Jacobins (1), Sabrewings (1), Violetears (1), Mangos (2), Coquettes (1), Saphires (1), Emeralds (2), Goldenthroats (1), Starthroats (1) and Woodstars (1), plus the Ruby-topaz Hummingbird and the Copper-rumped Hummingbird.

Note here how the black of the throat continues down to the abdomen, attractively outlined with bright blue on the neck and chest. The wine colors of the tail are distractingly pretty, although not seen brightly here. The female has a black stripe from throat down to abdomen, outlined in white. Green-throated Mango similar, but of course it has a green throat in decent light. I missed that one!

Trinidad: Brown Violet-ear

One of the highlights of the Trinidad portion of our trip was a Jan 17, 2013 visit to Yerette, Theo Ferguson's self-described Home of the Hummingbird. Theo is an engaging hummingbird fanatic and expert photographer. His home is an ideal setting for viewing the hummingbirds of Trinidad, with up to 13 species possible in a single day. Our visit was punctuated by some overcast and light rain, muting the colors but delighting the hummers who took a break from the feeders to take a rain bath.

Shown here is the Brown Violet-ear, surely one of the least iridescent of all humminbirds. The Violet-ears, all 4 of them, make up the genus Colibri. The Brown Violet-ear is a good-sized hummer with a blue-green throat and violet ear, ranging widely from Belize down to Brazil. Not seen as often as many of the other hummer species in Trinidad, and only rarely on Tobago. Overcast limited the shutter speed here to 1-60th sec., so some sharpness is lost, yet even in the rain we get to see some color. Female's  plumage is similar to male, but duller. This may be the male.

Trinidad-Tobago: White-chested Emerald

We just returned from a wonderful trip to Trinidad-Tobago, an island(s) state just off the coast of Venezuela. On Trinidad we stayed at the magical Asa Wright preserve, a coffee plantation converted to a nature preserve, formerly know as Springhill. Our group of 10 spent many hours on the veranda, mesmerized by a constant stream of hummingbirds, tanagers, honeycreepers and even the occasional Motmot or Jacamar. Asa Wright ranks among the best bird-watching spots anywhere.

We were lucky to see most of the 17 hummingbird species found in Trinidad-Tobago, often at close range and in good numbers. A few of these species are quite rare in T-T, and only about 6 of them are found on Tobago. One of my favorites is the small White-chested Emerald, who delights viewers with sudden bursts of color with the merest turn of his or her head (the sexes appear alike). I had trouble choosing my favorite shot, so I included a bunch. And you may want to check out the video (link below), which can looks best at "full screen". Stay tuned for more. These were taken July 13, 2013.