Bearly Believable – Birding Bolivia (1 Viewer)

[pbjosh]

I’ve also enjoyed reading your report, already keen to return and hopefully see some new parts of the country and have a rematch with a couple of the hardest birds

 

[temmie]

Highlights for me were many but Red-fronted and Blue-throated Macaws, Hooded Mountain Toucan, Scimitar-winged Piha, and two new Antpittas are perhaps my favorites.

Did you see any of the other Beni specialities like Beni Greenlet, Beni Blackbird, Beni Tody-flycatcher, Beni Unspotted Wren, Beni Reedfinch, Beni Softtail, Beni Parrotlet or Beni Cacholote?

 

[pbjosh]

Did you see any of the other Beni specialities like Beni Greenlet, Beni Blackbird, Beni Tody-flycatcher, Beni Unspotted Wren, Beni Reedfinch, Beni Softtail, Beni Parrotlet or Beni Cacholote?

You know, the low-listers and stringers that were on the same tour I was kept getting excited over trivialities but I tried to keep above it at all and not let it bother me

In reality though, the more I think back about it, I’m mildly dubious of that Greenlet. Like the Black-capped AW in Apolo - it’s interesting but ultimately perhaps genetics will have to come into consideration. The Antwren potentially still doesn’t have a known female plumage - and THAT would be really interesting if it pans out in the end - but is otherwise another Black-capped AW by voice and appearance of the “males” that we and everyone else sees/saw. The Greenlet doesn’t strike me as dramatically different from Gray-eyed neither vocally nor by plumage. Presumably it’s another case of birds that are divided between the Chaco / the SE Andean foothills and E Brazil / the Atlantic forest (ala Black-goggled Tanager, Palkachupa / Swallow-tailed Cotinga, Laniisoma, etc) and seemingly could go either way taxonomically.

 

[Frank van Drogen]

John (and Steve!), thank you so much for this trip report! Seems to have been an amazing journey, and even though I was a bit late to the show I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and really appreciate the photos.

 

[leif10]

What a wonderful trip! Thanks for sharing. I have only worked my way through the first couple pages but I was interested to learn about the Azara's night monkeys showing up in daytime and learned a new word "cathemeral" - wikipedia says "Night monkeys are the only truly nocturnal monkeys with the exception of some cathemeral populations of Azara's night monkey, who have irregular bursts of activity during day and night."