Every November my monthly column features birds and their roles in nature in appreciation for support of humans from serving as pollinators to scavengers. For 2019, photos illustrate birds and other wildlife in Panama with some species or their cousins that occur in the Yucatan.
Canopy Tower
Atop Canopy Tower
Transformed from a US military site built in 1965 for protection of the Panama Canal, the metal Canopy Tower became a world class destination for birders in 1995. The giant, soccer-like sphere held radar equipment. Now that area offers visitors a chance to observe nature at the canopy level and beyond.
Enjoy Nature’s Gifts!
Collared Aracari
Blue-gray Tanagers
Crowned Woodnymph
Geoffroy’s Tamarin, a primitive primage
Chestnut-headed Oropendula
Gray-headed Chachalacha
Brown-throated three-toed sloth
Greater Ani
Crimson-backed Tanager
Double-toothed Kite in cecropia tree
Mantled Howler
Purple Gallinule
Black-chested Jay
LIST OF SPECIES:
Collared Aracari. Pteroglossus torquatus
Blue-gray Tanager, Thraupis episcopus
Crowned Woodnymph, Thalurania colombica
Geoffroy’s tamarin, Saguinus geoffroyi
Chestnut-headed Oropendula, Psarocolius wagleri
Gray-headed Chachalacha, Ortalis cinereiceps
Brown-throated three-toed sloth, Bradypus variegatus
Greater Ani, Crotophaga major
Crimson-backed Tanager, Ramphocelus dimidiatus,
Double-toothed Kite, Harpagus bidentus
Mantled howler, Alouatta palliata
Purple Gallinule, Porphyrio martinica
Black-chested Jay, Cyanocorax affinis
DISCLAIMER: References do not agree on details about these species:
Sal a Pajarear Yucatan, Birds & Reserves of the Yucatan Peninsula, A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America, Birds of Panama
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/group/three-toed-sloths/
https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/sloth
https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Saguinus_geoffroyi/
https://enacademic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/6877723
Cherie Pittillo, “nature inspired,” photographer and author, explores nature everywhere she goes. She’s identified 56 bird species in her Merida, Yucatan backyard view. Her monthly column features anecdotes about birding in Merida, Yucatan and also wildlife beyond the Yucatan.
Contact: [email protected] All rights reserved, ©Cherie Pittillo
2 comments
Some of your best images ever!
Ah, thanks, Bruce. Some clean backgrounds help, but typically the time to find and photograph limits the time I can wait for the perfect background or the background closes in on the bird anyway.