23-3-2017 HOTEL BOUGANVILLEA, COSTA RICA - BALTIMORE ORIOLE (MALE) (Icterus galbula) COURTESY OF MRS VALERIE FISHER

The Baltimore oriole (Icterus galbula) is a small colorful bird that received its name from the resemblance of the male's colors to those on the coat-of-arms of Lord Baltimore. It is the state bird of Maryland. It is also the namesake and mascot for the Baltimore Orioles baseball team.

The adult male of this species is orange on the underparts shoulder patch and rump. All of the rest of the male's plumage is black. The adult female is yellow-brown on the upper parts with darker wings, and dull orange-yellow on the breast and belly. Adult birds always have white bars on the wings. The juvenile oriole is similar-looking to the female, with males taking until the fall of their second year to reach adult plumage.

Baltimore orioles are found in the Canadian Prairies and eastern Montana in the northwest eastward through southern Ontario, southern Quebec, and New Brunswick, and south through the eastern United States to central Mississippi and Alabama, and northern Georgia. They migrate to winter in the Neotropics as far north as Mexico and sometimes the southern coast of the United States, but predominantly in Central America and northern South America. These birds prefer large, leafy deciduous trees, but do not generally reside in deep forests. They can be found in open woodland, forest edge, and partially wooded wetlands or stands of trees along rivers. They are very adaptable and can breed in a variety of secondary habitats. In recent times, they are often found in orchards, farmland, urban parks, and suburban landscapes as long as they retain woodlots. In Mexico, Baltimore orioles winter in flowering canopy trees, often over shade coffee plantations.

23-3-2017 HOTEL BOUGANVILLEA, COSTA RICA - RIVOLI'S HUMMINGBIRD (Eugenes fulgens) COURTESY OF MRS VALERIE FISHER

19-3-2017 BUTTERFLY WORLD, COCONUT GROVE, MIAMI - RED BILLED FIREFINCH (MALE) (Lagonosticta senegala)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/14051-Lagonosticta-senegala

19-3-2017 MIAMI, FLORIDA - MALACHITE BUTTERFLY (Siproeta stelenes)

19-3-2017 MIAMI, FLORIDA - PURPLE HONEYCREEPER (MALE) (Cyanerpes caeruleus)

The Purple Honeycreeper, Cyanerpes caeruleus, is a diminutive and vibrant member of the tanager family Thraupidae. This Neotropical avian jewel is adorned with a striking plumage; the male boasts a deep purple hue with contrasting black wings, tail, and underbelly, and sports vivid yellow legs. The female and immature birds present a more subdued palette, with green upperparts and yellowish-buff underparts streaked with green. A cinnamon throat and a distinctive blue moustachial stripe complete their attire. Both sexes have a long, black, decurved bill, with the Trinidadian subspecies C. c. longirostris exhibiting a notably longer bill than its mainland counterparts.

When identifying the Purple Honeycreeper, look for the male's unmistakable purple and black coloration and the female's green and buff streaked appearance. The long, curved bill is a key feature for nectar feeding, and the bright yellow legs of the male are quite distinctive. Juveniles resemble females but may lack the blue moustachial stripe.

This species is primarily a denizen of the forest canopy, but it also adapts to human-altered landscapes such as cocoa and citrus plantations. It thrives in a variety of forest types, including low-growing premontane rainforests rich in epiphytes and mosses, as well as elfin forests and páramo at higher elevations.

The Purple Honeycreeper is found across northern South America, from Colombia and Venezuela through the Amazon Basin and the Guianas. Its range extends west of the Andes to parts of southern Panama and reaches the western fringes of the Pantanal. It is generally seen at elevations up to 1,000 meters above sea level but has been recorded as high as 2,300 meters.

19-3-2017 MIAMI, FLORIDA - PURPLE HONEYCREEPER (FEMALE) (Cyanerpes caeruleus)

20-3-2017 MIAMI, FLORIDA - INDIAN SILVERBILL (Euodice malabarica)

20-3-2017 MIAMI, FLORIDA - BOAT TAILED GRACKLE (FEMALE) (Quiscalus major)

The boat-tailed grackle (Quiscalus major) is a striking bird, with the male boasting a glossy, iridescent black plumage and a distinctive keel-shaped tail, measuring 37–43 cm in length. The female, considerably smaller at 26–33 cm, is cloaked in tawny-brown with darker wings and tail. Both sexes exhibit a robust physique, but it is the male's long dark bill and pale yellowish or brown iris that often catch the observer's eye.

Adult males are entirely black with a shimmering iridescence and a pronounced tail. Females are smaller, with a shorter tail and brownish coloration. The wingspan ranges from 39–50 cm. Juvenile males resemble the adults but lack the iridescence, while immature females are duller with possible blotches on the breast. Eye color varies geographically, with Gulf Coast and inland birds having dark eyes, and Atlantic birds pale eyes.

The boat-tailed grackle is a coastal denizen, favoring saltwater marshes and, in Florida, inland waters. It is not uncommon to find them in urban settings, rummaging through refuse or perched in parking lots.

This bird is a permanent resident along the coasts of the Southeastern United States, with a presence that extends to several Gulf Coast cities and towns.

23-1-2018 MARCHUQUERA, VALENCIA - WAVE MOTH (Idaea minuscularia)

24-1-2018 GANDIA MARJAL, VALENCIA - MALLARD X MUSKOVY DUCK (Anas platyrhynchos × cairina moschata)

22-3-2017 TROGON LODGE, COSTA RICA - SOOTY CAPPED CHLOROSPINGUS (Chlorospingus pileatus)

24-1-2018 GANDIA MARJAL, VALENCIA - DOMESTIC MUSCOVY DUCK (Cairina moschata var. domestica)

24-1-2018 GANDIA MARJAL, VALENCIA - GREYLAG GOOSE (Anser anser)

24-1-2018 GANDIA MARJAL, VALENCIA - EURASIAN COOT (Fulica atra)

24-1-2018 GANDIA MARJAL, VALENCIA - BLACK REDSTART (FEMALE) (Phoenicurus ochruros)

24-1-2018 GANDIA MARJAL, VALENCIA - EUROPEAN ROBIN (Erithacus rubecula)

24-1-2018 GANDIA MARJAL, VALENCIA - GREY HERON (Ardea cinerea)

24-1-2018 KINSHAZA, DEM RUPUBLIC CONGO - BONOBO (Pan paniscus)

The bonobo (/bəˈnoʊboʊ, ˈbɒnəboʊ/; Pan paniscus), also historically called the pygmy chimpanzee (less often the dwarf chimpanzee or gracile chimpanzee), is an endangered great ape and one of the two species making up the genus Pan (the other being the common chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes). While bonobos are, today, recognized as a distinct species in their own right, they were initially thought to be a subspecies of Pan troglodytes, due to the physical similarities between the two species. Taxonomically, the members of the chimpanzee/bonobo subtribe Panina—composed entirely by the genus Pan—are collectively termed panins.

Bonobos are distinguished from common chimpanzees by relatively long limbs, pinker lips, a darker face, a tail-tuft through adulthood, and parted, longer hair on their heads. Some individuals have sparser, thin hair over parts of their bodies. The bonobo is found in a 500,000 km2 (190,000 sq mi) area within the Congo Basin of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Central Africa. The species is predominantly frugivorous, compared to the often highly omnivorous diets and hunting of small monkeys, duiker and other antelope exhibited by common chimpanzees. The bonobo inhabits primary and secondary forest, including seasonally inundated swamp forest. Because of political instability in the region, and the general timidity of bonobos, there has been relatively little field work done observing the species in its natural habitat.

22-3-2017 TROGON LODGE, COSTA RICA - GENUS BOMAREA (Bomarea costaricensis)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/466005-Bomarea-costaricensis

22-3-2017 HOTEL BOUGANVILLEA, COSTA RICA - GRAYISH SALTATOR (Saltator coerulescens)

The cinnamon-bellied saltator or northern grey saltator (Saltator grandis) is a passerine bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It was formerly considered conspecific with the greyish saltator (Saltator coerulescens), but was split as a distinct species by the IOC in 2021. It is found from Mexico to Panama.

In El Salvador, it is well known as dichosofui after the "elaborate" version of its call, which sounds like a drawn-out ¡dichoso fui!, Spanish for "I was happy!"

A fairly common, though sometimes shy, bird of tropical lowlands in both dry and moist areas of northern South America. Favors forest edges, second thickets, hedgerows, and tangles, especially where morning glory flowers grow, on which it feeds silently. In Mexico and Central America it can be distinguished from other Saltator species by its grayish (not golden-green) upperparts, more pronounced white eyebrow, and flat breast. Immatures are somewhat different in appearance, with a yellowish streak on both the face and upperparts. Listen for its sweet song of long whistles and babbles.

23-3-2017 SAN GERARDO DE DOTA, COSTA RICA - TALAMANCA HUMMINGBIRD (Eugenes spectabilis)

23-3-2017 SAN GERARDO DE DOTA, COSTA RICA - SOOTY THRUSH (Turdus nigrescens)

23-3-2017 SAN GERARDO DE DOTA, COSTA RICA - RUFOUS COLLARED SPARROW (Zonotrichia capensis)

The rufous-collared sparrow or Andean sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis ) is an American sparrow found in a wide range of habitats, often near humans, from the extreme south-east of Mexico to Tierra del Fuego, and the island of Hispaniola (split between the Dominican Republic and Haiti) in the Caribbean. It has diverse vocalizations, which have been intensely studied since the 1970s, particularly by Paul Handford and Stephen C. Lougheed (UWO), Fernando Nottebohm (Rockefeller University) and Pablo Luis Tubaro (UBA). Local names for this bird include the Portuguese tico-tico, the Spanish copetón ("tufted") in Colombia, as well as chingolo and chincol, and comemaíz "corn eater" in Costa Rica.

The rufous-collared sparrow is 13.5–15 cm (5+1⁄4–6 in) long and weighs 20–25 g (0.71–0.88 oz). The adult has a stubby grey bill, and a grey head with broad black stripes on the crown sides, and thinner stripes through the eye and below the cheeks. The nape and breast sides are rufous, and the upperparts are black-streaked buff-brown. There are two white wing bars. The throat is white, and the underparts are off-white, becoming brown on the flanks and with a black breast patch.

Young birds have a duller, indistinct head pattern, with brown stripes and a buff ground colour. They lack the rufous collar, and have streaked underparts.

There are between 25 and 29 subspecies. In general, the smaller forms occur in coastal mountains, intermediate birds in the Andes, and large, darker, forms breed on the tepuis. The largest of the tepui subspecies, Z. c. perezchincillae, has grey underparts, and the rufous collar extends as a black band of freckles across the breast. This form might be separable as a distinct species, or it might just be a particularly distinct population due to genetic bottleneck effects.

24-3-2017 RANCHO NATURALISTA, COSTA RICA - BLUE GREY TANAGER (Thraupis episcopus)

The blue-gray tanager (Thraupis episcopus ) is a medium-sized South American songbird of the tanager family, Thraupidae. Its range is from Mexico south to northeast Bolivia and northern Brazil, all of the Amazon Basin, except the very south. It has been introduced to Lima (Peru). On Trinidad and Tobago, this bird is called blue jean.

The blue-gray tanager is 16–18 cm (6.3–7.1 in) long and weighs 30–40 g (1.1–1.4 oz). Adults have a light bluish head and underparts, with darker blue upperparts and a shoulder patch colored a different hue of blue. The bill is short and quite thick. Sexes are similar, but the immature is much duller in plumage.

The song is a squeaky twittering, interspersed with tseee and tsuup call notes.

24-3-2017 RANCHO NATURALISTA, COSTA RICA - VARIEGATED SQUIRREL (Sciurus variegatoides)

24-3-2017 TROGON LODGE, COSTA RICA - BANDED MAPWING BUTTERFLY (Hypanartia dione ssp. arcaei)

naturalist.org/taxa/429031-Hypanartia-dione-arcaei

24-3-2018 RANCHO NATURALISTA, COSTA RICA - SOOTY CAPPED CHLOROSPINGUS (Chlorospingus pileatus)

21-1-2018 VILLALONGA CAMPO, VALENCIA - MEADOW PIPIT (Anthus pratensis)

21-1-2018 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - LONG TAILED TIT (Aegithalos caudatus)

25-3-2017 RANCHO NATURALISTA, COSTA RICA - GREY HEADED CHACHALACA (Ortalis cinereiceps)

The grey-headed chachalaca is a medium-sized bird, similar in general appearance to turkeys, with a small head, long strong legs, and a long broad tail. They are 48 to 58 cm (1.6 to 1.9 ft) long and weigh 490 to 540 g (1.1 to 1.2 lb). They have fairly dull plumage, grayish brown above and paler below. The head is dark grey with a red dewlap and the blackish tail is tipped with buff. Their primary flight feathers are bright chestnut. Juveniles are browner overall, especially on the head.

The grey-headed chachalaca is found from Mosquitia in eastern Honduras through eastern Nicaragua and most of Costa Rica and Panama into Colombia's Chocó Department. In addition to mainland Panama it occurs on Isla del Rey, where it might have been introduced by native Americans. It inhabits a variety of humid landscapes characterized by dense vegetation such as thickets, secondary forest, brushy abandoned fields, and thinned forests. It shuns the interior of dense forest though it can occur in their edges. In elevation it ranges from sea level to 1,700 m (5,600 ft).

The grey-headed chachalaca forages typically in groups of six to 12 but sometimes up to 20, usually in the vegetation but sometimes on the ground. Its diet is about 75% fruit, 17% leaves, and 8% invertebrates. In the dry season it visits rivers to drink in the morning and evening.