Long-tailed Sylph

Guango Lodge, Ecuador

November 19, 2015

The long-tailed sylph is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forest. It has an average lifespan of 3 to 4 years in the wild.  The long-tailed sylph feeds on nectar (as of many other hummingbirds), insects, and, at times, small spiders. Flowers with higher sugar content are often preferred. They can be seen at hummingbird feeders, as well. A long-tailed sylph can lick nectar up to 13 times per second!  The male long-tailed sylph carries characteristic elongated tail feathers.  Female sylphs, whose tails are of a more modest size, pick out and mate with the males with the longest tail feathers.  Females do not possess these long tail feathers, as to make laying and incubating eggs easier.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-tailed_sylph

Sword-billed Hummingbird

Guango Lodge, Ecuador

November 19, 2015

The sword-billed hummingbird is a neotropical species of hummingbird from the Andean regions of South America. It is characterized by its unusually long bill; it is the only bird to have a beak longer than the rest of its body and uses its bill to drink nectar from flowers with long corollas.  It has coevolved with the species Passiflora mixta. While most hummingbirds preen using their bills, this hummingbird must use its feet to scratch and preen due to its bill being so long. This uncommon bird is also one of the largest hummingbird species.  Lengths are 13–14 centimeters (5.1–5.5 in) from the tail tip to the base of the bill, with males slightly larger on average than females.  The bill can additionally be over 10 centimeters (3.9 in) long. Individuals weigh between 10–15 grams (0.35–0.53 oz), making it one of the largest species of hummingbirds.  Males have a coppery bronze head, bronze green back, bright green underbelly, blackish green throat, and bronze green tail. Females have a similarly colored head and back, a white belly speckled with green, a more olive colored throat, and grayish white edging around the tail.  The sword-billed hummingbird is a specialist species, feeding on the nectar of specific flowers. Its abnormally long beak allows it to feed from flowers with long corollas, especially from the genera Passiflora and Datura, which include the most heavily hummingbird-pollinated plant species.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sword-billed_hummingbird

Andean Emerald

Purpled-throated Woodstar

Tandayapa. Ecuador

Sparkling Viotetear

Quito

Ecuador

Sparkling Viotetear

Quito

Ecuador

Western Emerald

Tandayapa

Ecuador

Andean Emerald

Tandayapa

Ecuador

Purpled-throated Woodstar

Tandayapa

Ecuador

Green-crowned Woodnymph

Milpe

Ecuador

Green Thorntail

Milpe

Ecuador

Green-crowned Brilliant

Milpe

Ecuador

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird

Tandayapa

Ecuador

Buff-tailed Coronet

Guango Lodge

Ecuador

Black-tailed Trainbearer

Antisana

Ecuador

Fawn-breasted Brilliant

Tandayapa

Ecuador

Long-tailed Sylph

Guango Lodge

Ecuador

Long-tailed Sylph

Guango Lodge

Ecuador

Tourmaline Sunangel

Guango Lodge

Ecuador

White-necked Jacobin

Milpe

Ecuador

Strong-billed Woodcreeper

Tandayapa

Ecuador

Broad-winged Hawk

Refugio paz de Aves

Ecuador

Southern Yellow-Grosbeak

Quito

Ecuador

Roadside Hawk

San Isidro

Ecuador

Masked Trogon

Refugio paz de Aves

Ecuador

Giant Hummingbird

Antisana

Ecuador

Shining Sunbeam

Antisana

Ecuador

Speckled Hummingbird

Guango Lodge

Ecuador

Chestnut-breasted Coronet

Guango Lodge

Ecuador

Long-tailed Sylph

Guango Lodge

Ecuador

Sword-billed Hummingbird

Guango Lodge

Ecuador

Sword-billed Hummingbird

Guango Lodge

Ecuador

Sword-billed Hummingbird

Guango Lodge

Ecuador

Sparkling Viotetears

Antisana

Ecuador

Paramo Ground-Tyrant

Papallacta Pass

Ecuador

Rufous-brested Chat-Tyrant

Guango Lodge

Ecuador

Crimson-rumped Toucanet

Tandayapa

Ecuador

Blue-winged Mountain-Tanager

Tandayapa

Ecuador

Rufous Motmot

Tandayapa

Ecuador

Red-headed Barbet

Tandayapa

Ecuador

Andean Cock-of-the-Rock

Refugio paz de Aves

Ecuador

Antisana

Ecuador

White-lined Tanager

Rancho Suamox

Ecuador

White-lined Tanager

Rancho Suamox

Ecuador

Male Torrent Duck

Rio Papallacta

Ecuador

Torrent Ducks

Rio Papallacta

Ecuador

Torrent Tyrannulet

Rios Papallacta

Ecuador

White-ringed Flycatcher

Rio Silanche

Ecuador

Black Flowerpiercer

Antisana

Ecuador

Masked Flowerpiercer

Guango Lodge

Ecuador

Stout-billed Cinclodes 

Antisana

Ecuador

Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe

Papallacta Pass

Ecuador

Palm Tanager

Refugio paz de Aves

Ecuador

Pale-edged Flycatcher

San Isidro

Ecuador

Blue-gray Tanagers

Rancho Suamox

Ecuador

Inca Jay

San Isidro

Ecuador

Golden-naped Tanager

Refugio paz de Aves

Ecuador

Orange-bellied Euphonia

Milpe

Ecuador

Pacific Hornero

Rio Silanche

Ecuador

Green Honeycreeper

San Miguel los Blancos

Ecuador

Ochre-breasted Antpitta

Refugio paz de Aves

Ecuador

Guira Tanager

San Miguel los Blancos

Ecuador

Pacific Parrotlet

Rio Silanche

Ecuador

Mountain Cacique

Guango Lodge

Ecuador

Cinamon Flycatcher

San Isidro

Ecuador

Golden Tanager

San Miguel los Blancos

Ecuador

Buff-throated Saltator

Rancho Suamox

Ecuador

Carunculated Carcara

Antisana

Ecuador

Dusky-faced Tanager

Rancho Suamox

Ecuador

White-bellied Antpitta

San Isidro

Ecuador

Chestnut-crowned Antpitta

Guango Lodge

Ecuador

Golden-olive Woodpecker

Rancho Suamox

Ecuador

Giant Antpitta

Refugio paz de Aves

Ecuador

Lemon-rumped Tanager

San Miguel los Blancos, Ecuador

November 15, 2015

Black-cheeked Woodpecker

Rancho Suamox

Ecuador

Laughing Falcon

Rancho Suamox, Ecuador

November 17, 2020

The laughing falcon, also called the snake hawk (erroneously, since it is not a hawk), is a medium-sized bird of prey in the falcon family. This Neotropical species is a specialist snake-eater. Its common name refers to its distinctive voice.  The laughing falcon is 46 to 56 cm (18 to 22 in) long and has a wingspan of 79 to 94 cm (31 to 37 in).  As usual among birds of prey, the females are bigger, weighing 600 to 800 g (1.3 to 1.8 lb) compared to the males' 410 to 680 g (0.90 to 1.50 lb).  Adults have a pale buff head, changeable between a more brownish and an almost white hue according to feather wear and individual variation. The broad black face mask stretches across the neck as a narrow collar, bordered with white.  On the crown, the feather shafts are dark, producing a somewhat streaked effect.  The namesake call is a long series of separate, rather human-like cries, each one often rising sharply in pitch in the middle and sometimes falling sharply at the very end.  It is found from both coastal slopes of Mexico through Central and South America south to the Peruvian Amazon and Bolivian Amazon region, practically all of Brazil, and northern Argentina and Paraguay, at altitudes up to 1,500 m (4,900 feet) (rarely to 2,400 m (7,900 feet) in Colombia), though it is often absent from mountainous regions.  It catches mainly snakes, including venomous ones such as coral snakes, and also lizards, and, to a lesser extent, small rodents, bats and centipedes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laughing_falcon

Dark-backed Wood-Quail

Refugio paz de Aves

Ecuador

White-booted Racket-tail

Tandayapa, Ecuador

November 14, 2015

The white-booted racket-tail is a species of hummingbird. It is found in the Andean cordillera of northern Venezuela, western Colombia, and on the eastern slope of the Andes in Ecuador.

Racket-tails have pronounced sexual dimorphism (sexes have different plumage). Only the male has elongated outer rectrices (tail feathers) that are about 7.5 to 9 cm long. These tail feathers have bare shafts with long terminal oval shaped flags that have pointed ends. In perching birds, the rackets are held parallel with a slight overlap of the flags. Both sexes are shining green above with a small white postocular spot. The underparts of the male are also shining green with an iridescent green throat patch that can be seen in good light. The female has white underparts with many large dark green spots and its black tail has white tips. Both sexes have white colored leg puffs (booties), although the male's are longer and fluffier.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-booted_racket-tail