Cotopaxi Ecuador American Kestrel? (1 Viewer)

C

CLC

Member

• Jan 7, 2018

• #1

Distant blurry photo, but could this be anything other than an American Kestrel? Taken in June, Cotopaxi National Park, near the lagoon, so about 3800 meters elevation. The bird flew very quickly, so this is the only one I got...

Yes, it would be strange to go Ecuador for a lifer that has probably flown through my yard, but I don't count unless I or someone is near certain. And they are fast. If a kestrel, I almost never see them perched...

Thanks!

 

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RafaelMatias

Unknown member

• Jan 7, 2018

• #2

It looks to me as a flycatcher of sorts...

 

C

CLC

Member

• Jan 7, 2018

• #3

I don't see a high-alitude flycatcher with similar coloration patterns, but I might have missed something in the book... This was high-elevation grassland/small bushes, what they call paramo in Spanish. None of the bushes were more than 4-5 feet high.... Sorry, can't give a better idea of size. I only saw it long enough for one not very good picture...

 

njlarsen

Gallery Moderator

Opus Editor

Supporter

• Jan 7, 2018

• #4

I don't know if Vermilion F. reaches that high, I feel there is some red in this one.

Niels

 

RafaelMatias

Unknown member

• Jan 7, 2018

• #5

Does Brown-backed Chat-tyrant (Ochtoeca fumicolor) occur at Cotopaxi? First impression was of D'Orbigny's Chat-tyrant (that's precisely why I suggested "flycatcher"), which however does not occur in Equador. O. fumicolor seems to be the closest species to D'Orbigny's (but with noticeably paler wingbars), and 3800 m is well within its altitudinal range, as is habitat. There's one visible pale (colour impossible to ascertain correctly from this photo) wingbar.
In any case you can exclude any species of Falcon.

 

Graham Osborne

Well-known member

• Jan 7, 2018

• #6

RafaelMatias said:

Does Brown-backed Chat-tyrant (Ochtoeca fumicolor) occur at Cotopaxi? First impression was of D'Orbigny's Chat-tyrant (that's precisely why I suggested "flycatcher"), which however does not occur in Equador. O. fumicolor seems to be the closest species to D'Orbigny's (but with noticeably paler wingbars), and 3800 m is well within its altitudinal range, as is habitat. There's one visible pale (colour impossible to ascertain correctly from this photo) wingbar.
In any case you can exclude any species of Falcon.

Click to expand...

Ochthoeca fumicolor looks a good fit to me. Ridgely & Greenfield give an altitude range of 2800-4200m. On Habits they say "Found singly or in pairs, often perching conspicuously atop a bush, small tree of Espletia spike". One I missed when I was there in 2015.

 

Graham Osborne

Well-known member

• Jan 7, 2018

• #7

Graham Osborne said:

Ochthoeca fumicolor looks a good fit to me. Ridgely & Greenfield give an altitude range of 2800-4200m. On Habits they say "Found singly or in pairs, often perching conspicuously atop a bush, small tree of Espletia spike". One I missed when I was there in 2015.

Click to expand...

I meant to add that the map in Ridgely & Greenfield suggests that it should occur at Cotopaxi.

 

Motmot

Eduardo Amengual

• Jan 7, 2018

• #8

Agree it looks best for Brown-backed Chat-tyrant

 

pbjosh

missing the neotropics

• Jan 8, 2018

• #9

My first impression is a Bush-Tyrant, not a Chat-Tyrant. The photo leaves a lot to be desired. It does look more like a pale eyebrow than a pale throat, which favors a Chat-Tyrant, but just throwing it out as a first impression.

 

C

CLC

Member

• Jan 9, 2018

• #10

My book has vermillion flycatcher as up to 3000 meters, so Cotopaxi would be too high. Altitude (and habitat) is right for Brown-backed Chat Tyrant, however, and I had not thought of that species.

Thanks for the responses, all. I will probably leave this as unknown/possible, unless someone makes a definitive case. I will also try to see what I can do with the photo...

And yes, the photo is not good...this was a new camera for me, and my first half-way decent one (a Nikon super-zoom). I still have a lot to learn about using it. I have other Cotopaxi bird questions to post when I get some time, and those pictures are better...!