el Órgano oficial de la Sociedad

Audubon de Panamá.
Volumen 32, número 1. Enero
de 2009.
the toucan
Martín Pescador Verde:
ave del año 2009
Osvaldo Quintero

El Tucán 32(1). Enero de 2009. 1

El ave del año
2009: Martín
Pescador Verde
Como parte de las celebraciones de los 45
años de la Sociedad Audubon de Panamá,
a finales del 2008 se organizó un concurso
nacional de fotografía digital de aves. Ade-
más de buscar promocionar la observación
de aves en Panamá, el concurso buscaba la
selección del Ave del año para 2009, a ser
usado en nuestros materiales de comunica-
ción y educación para este año. El ganador
del concurso fue el Dr. Osvaldo Quintero, y
su fotografía de un Martín Pescador Verde
se lleva la portada de esta edición de El
Tucán.
En Panamá se encuentran las seis especies
de martines pescadores de las Américas, y
El Tucán—The Toucan
El Tucán es publicado trimestralmente
por la Sociedad Audubon de Panamá y se
distribuye en nuestra página web. El Editor
es Darién Montañez (publicaciones@pan-
amaaudubon.org). Cualquier contribución
escrita es bienvenida, en inglés o español,
de preferencia artículos que traten sobr la
avifauna de Panamá, la conservación del
ambiente u otros temas similares. Si se in-
cluye el nombre del autor, el artículo refleja
las opiniones de quien lo escribe; en caso
contrario, el Editor asume responsabilidad
por el artículo.
Conferencias Mensuales
El segundo jueves de cada mes, la Sociedad
Audubon de Panamá organiza una conferen-
cia en el Salón Las Oropéndolas del Parque
Natural Metropolitano a las 6:30 pm. Du-
rante ese evento también se anuncian las
giras y otras actividades de la sociedad.
2 El Tucán 32(1). Enero de 2009.
el Martín Pescador Verde, Chloroceryle ame-
ricana es el más ampliamente distribuido.
Es un residente bastante frecuente de ríos
y lagunas en todo el país, aunque se en-
cuentra más frecuentemente en las tierras
bajas. También se encuentra en manglares
y costas rocosas.
Tanto los machos como las hembras son
verde metálico por encima, con chispas
blancas en las coberteras alares y manchas
blancas a los lados de la cola, y principal-
mente blancos por debajo. Los machos,
como el ave de la portada, tienen una ban-
da color castaño en el pecho, mientras que
las hembras tienen dos bandas más estre-
chas verde metálico.
Se le ve solo o en parejas, posado en ra-
mitas sobre el agua a la espera de un pez
desprevenido, que es su principal tipo de
alimento. Anidan en barrancos lodosos,
generalmente cerca del agua.
Casa #2006-B, Llanos de Curundu
Ciudad de Panamá.
Apartado 0843-03076, Rep. de Panamá.
Teléfono/fax (507) 232-5977
www.panamaaudubon.org
info@panamaaudubon.org
 ally endemic Glow-throated Hummingbird’s
delight. Our delight was to witness a tiny
gem of a female bird feeding and perching
for long moments.
Seeing more and more of these small
hummingbirds sheltering with us from the
wind and thick fog, our Western Panama
Carla Black

experts—Volcán residents all—began to

have doubts; surely some of those birds
were identical to the Scintillant Humming-
birds that nest in their gardens. This was
confirmed when a beautifu—and rarely

Cerro Santiago seen—male Scintillant flashed his brilliant

orange-red gorget at us from high on a bank

Adventure (the glow-throated has a rosy-red gorget).

We still do not know how many Scintillants
Laura Reyes and how many Glow-throateds we saw in
this hummingbird bonanza, but undoubt-
Purple mountain views that will take your edly representatives of both of these al-
breath away, elfin forests that are laden with most identical Selasphorus hummers were
moss and sprinkled with orchids, magical present.
mist that suddenly makes everything disap- Some other purplish metallic hummingbirds
pear; this is Cerro Santiago. It is the home that we spotted on this trip were the Purple-
of the indigenous Ngöbe-Buglé people. throated Mountain-Gem, and the Magenta-
This also was the destination of a Panama throated Woodstar.
Audubon Society’s birding adventure in
April, 2008.
The trip was organized by William Adsett,
better know as Bill, not only an expert
birder, but a superb driver. Our guide was
Celestino Mariano, a local Ngöbe leader. We
all had cars that rode high off the road and
had four-wheel drive, but frequently only
three wheels were touching the ground! This
abominable road was to take us to see birds
that we had only dreamed of seeing up to
this point in time. White-collared Swifts with
their large black wings doing aerodynamic
maneuvers swooped down across the road
as if to encourage us on our way.
As we drove higher, the strong cold winds
began to sweep across the steep slopes that
bordered each side of the road making the
Glen Lee

low heather-like shrubs covering this area

tremble in its path. The nectar from the
soft pink flowers of this shrub is the nation-

El Tucán 32(1). Enero de 2009. 3

Rafael Luck
We set up camp in a pasture with a moun-
tainous view a way before the village of
Ratón, which is the end of the road. The
cold drizzle of the rain made the hot spa-
ghetti meal taste even better. More rain met
us at dawn, but we were undaunted and set
out on our wet quest. What could we possi-
bly see under such unfavorable conditions?
To our surprise perched on a low branch
extending over the road, we could make out
a dark medium sized bird. We stopped and
jumped out of our cars. Our closer inspec-
tion revealed bright yellow thighs with a
dark green back and belly. We had had our
first sighting of the other national endemic
species of the area, the Yellow-green Finch.
As the morning progressed the sun came
out and, we were able to spot many other
specials among which were the following:
the bright yellow face and belly of the Col-
lared Redstart, the radiant blue cap and
orange belly of the Elegant Euphonia, and
the hook at the end of the bill of the Slaty
Flowerpiercer.
Evening brought with it the red-orange glow
of a fiery sunset. The Ngöbe women living
on a hill near our camp cooked us a deli-
Bill Adsett
Glen Lee
4 El Tucán 32(1). Enero de 2009.
cious Sancocho and rice. We ate gathered
together with them in their thatched roof,
dirt floor dwelling; thankful and thoughtful.
The night was still ahead of us and a full sil-
very moon was waiting to help us with some
owling. Bill had an idea of where he had
seen an owl on a previous trip, so we head-
ed there. Searching the trees with our spot
light, two bright yellow eyes reflected back.
As if on stage, a magnificent owl with his
cinnamon-colored face and reddish brown
feathers with black vermiculations, stared
back at us intently. The Bare-shanked
Screech-Owl called repeatedly, flew away,
and returned several times as we watched
his spectacular performance. It was a high-
light of our trip.
The only thing left to say is, “When can we
go again?”
Date: April 18-21, 2008
Number of species: 75
Participants: William Adsett, Rafael Luck,
Juan Rodriguez Staff, Glenn Lee, James
Cone, Olmedo Miró, Genover (Ito) Santamar-
ia, Angel Rodriguez, Carla Black, Solange
Anchor, Laura Reyes
First Supplement p. 31
Correct count of Rails, Gallinules and Coots
to 16.
to the Panama p. 34

Audubon Society
Change count of Gulls, Terns, and Allies to
31.

Annotated Move South Polar Skua, Pomarine Jaeger,

Checklist of the
Birds of Panama
George R. Angehr and
Darién Montañez
By which a number of mistakes are corrected,
one species is eliminated from a lump, one
species added from a split, and four species
added from new records, and thus brings the
total number of bird species recorded from the
Republic of Panama to 976.
Parasitic Jaeger and Long-tailed Jaeger to
family Skuas and Jaegers (4)—Salteadores
y Págalos—Stercorariidae, inserted after
Gulls, Terns, and Allies.
p. 35
Change sequence of gulls to Swallow-tailed,
Bonaparte’s, Gray-hooded, Gray, Laughing,
Franklin’s, Belcher’s, Ring-billed, Herring,
Lesser Black-backed, Kelp, Sabine’s.
Change genus name of Bonaparte’s and
Gray-hooded Gulls from Larus to Chroico-
cephalus.
Change genus name of Gray, Laughing and
Franklin’s Gulls from Larus to Leucophaeus.

p. 24
Reverse sequence of Highland and Great
Tinamous.
p. 26
Remove period after Christmas Shearwater.
Split Galapagos Shearwater—Pardela
de Galápagos—Puffinus subalaris from
Audubon’s Shearwater. Status: Mst, habitat:
p, WP: R, CP: r, EL: Cp. Change Audubon’s
Shearwater to status: B, WP: blank, CP:
blank, EL: Ra.
p. 29
Change count of Hawks, Eagles, and Kites
to 41.
Change Latin name of Slender-billed Kite
from Rostrhamus hamatus to Helicolestes
hamatus.
p.30
Lump Mangrove Black-Hawk with Common
Black-Hawk.
p. 38
Reverse sequence of Brown-hooded and
Saffron-headed Parrots. Change genus
names from Pionopsitta to Pyrilia.
p. 42
Change English name of Brown and Green
Violet-Ear to Violetear.
Change name of Rufous-cheeked Hum-
mingbird to Pirre Hummingbird—Colibrí de
Pirre.
p. 45
Change Latin name of Gray-cheeked Nunlet
from Nonnula ruficapilla to Nonnula frontalis.
p. 46
Change genus name of Golden-olive Wood-
pecker from Piculus to Colaptes.
p. 47
Lump family Woodcreepers with Ovenbirds
and Allies. Change family to Ovenbirds,
Woodcreepers, and Allies (40)—Horneros,

El Tucán 32(1). Enero de 2009. 5

Trepatroncos y Aliados­— Furnariidae. Move
Tawny-throated, Gray-throated and Scaly-
throated Leaftossers to beginning of family
sequence.
p. 49
Change genus name of Checker-throated
Antwren from Myrmotherula to Epinecrophyl-
la. Relocate to follow White-flanked Antwren.
p. 50 Gray-and-gold, Golden-hooded, Speckled,
Split family Antthrushes and Antpittas.
Place antthrushes in Antthrushes (3)—For-
micarios—Formicariidae. Place Black-
crowned Antpitta in Gnateaters (1)—Jejen-
eros—Conopophagidae. Place antpittas in
Antpittas (1)—Tororois—Grallariidae.
Change count of Tyrant Flycatchers to 94.
p. 54
Correct genus name of Boat-billed Flycatch-
er from Megarynchus to Megarhynchus.
Change Latin name of White-ringed Fly-
catcher from Conopias albovittatus to Cono-
pias parvus.
Add Crowned Slaty-Flycatcher—Mosquero
Coronado—Empidonomus aurantioatrocrista-
tus after Piratic Flycatcher. Status: V, habi-
tat: f/o/g, CF: X. Single record from Cerro
Azul, December 1, 2007.
Change count of Tyrant Flycatcher Allies to
13.
Move Sapayoa to family Broadbills
(1)—Eurilaimos—Eurylaimidae, inserted
after Woodpeckers.
p. 59
Add Northern Wheatear—Collalba Gris—
Oenanthe oenanthe before Black-faced
Solitaire. Status: V, habitat: g, WP: X. Single
record from Playa La Barqueta, October 23,
2008.
Change count of Thrushes to 17.
6 El Tucán 32(1). Enero de 2009.
p. 62
Correct Spanish name of all Yellowthroats
from Antefacito to Antifacito.
p. 64
Change name of Olive Tanager to Carmiol’s
Tanager—Tangara de Carmiol.
p. 65
Change sequence of Tangara Tanagers to
Green-naped, Spangle-cheeked, Plain-color-
ed, Rufous-winged, Bay-headed, Emerald,
Silver-throated.
Change count of Buntings and Allies to 36.
p. 66
Add Large-billed Seed-Finch—Semillero
Piquigrande—Oryzoborus crassirostris after
Nicaraguan Seed-Finch. Status: B, habitat:
s/g, EL: Re. Species first recorded in El
Real, June 15, 2007
Change genus name of Sooty-faced Finch,
Chestnut-capped Brush-Finch and Stripe-
headed Brush-Finch to Arremon. Relocate to
follow Orange-billed Sparrow.
p. 67
Correct the Spanish family name of Cardi-
nals and Allies to Cardenales y Aliados.
p. 68
Change count of American Orioles and Allies
to 22.
Add Yellow-hooded Blackbird—Negro
Capuchiamarillo—Agelaius icterocephalus af-
ter Eastern Meadowlark. Status: B, habitat:
g, EL: Rw. Species first recorded in El Real,
June 16, 2007.
p. 69
Correct count of Waxbills and Allies to 2.
The Panama Records Committee is evaluat-
ing what to do with the Great Tit—Carbon-
ero Común—Parus major, recorded around
Gamboa in November 2006. This bird was
most likely ship-assisted, as are a number
of other species currently in the main list.