Yet another Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo!
The spectacular photo above, and those at the base of this day's report, were graciously contributed by Will and Gill Carter of Weslaco, Texas. This Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo was found on Pipeline Road, only 1 km or so from the entrance, on January 6th. This is likely the same bird found by noted Panamanian guide Guido Berguido the day before, January 5th. The Carters observed the bird at length, and reported that it occasionally collided (literally) with an opportunistic Rufous Motmot; apparently the ground-cuckoo generally obtained the contested insect treat (not surprising, as ground-cuckoos are quite aggressive and at home on solid ground).
One could get the wrong idea from the relative abundance (and quality) of Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo photos on this page, that the species is not so hard to find in central Panamá. This could not be farther from the truth; the preponderance of ground-cuckoo reports on this site can be boiled down to two factors: first, birders are willing to spend whatever time necessary to observe, and to obtain a good photo, of a Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo (the Carters watched this bird for 3 hours- most birds are lucky to earn 3 minutes of a notoriously-impatient birders' time!); second, most, if not all, of the potential contributors to this site are aware of the species' relative scarcity, and will report a sighting of a ground-cuckoo before that of an equally rare but less glamorous species. For the record, any sighting of a Neomorphus ground-cuckoo species is an occasion worth celebrating; Dr. Robert Ridgley, one of the greatest birder/ornithologists of our time, recently commented that he spent the better part of three decades doing field work in Ecuador, where 3 species of Neomorphus ground-cuckoos occur, without seeing a single one ! Visitors to central Panamá who see Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo should be eternally grateful for the hard work of the guides at the Canopy Tower and Canopy Lodge that presented them with this unique opportunity to view a member of one of the world's most elusive genera.
In other news, a bunch of intriguing reports can be found on the Xenornis website, a delightful rare bird website serving the whole of Panamá. One report in particular stands out, one from David Klauber, a fellow New York native, and a frequent visitor to Panamá (I advised Dave prior to his visit regarding the El Valle ground-cuckoos, but I'm afraid he missed them). Dave reports two Cave Swallows seen at Playa Corona (on the Pacific coast of Coclé Province) on January 1st. Dave, by the by, is one of North America's top birders (his list for the continent is approaching 1600 species), and his observations are to be considered credible. This report of Cave Swallow would be only the fourth ever recorded in Panamá, and the first in about 20 years- although I suspect that this species is often overlooked due to its similarity to the more common Cliff Swallow. Dave also reports a Spotted Barbtail near Cerro Gaital (seldom-seen at this location), and a Caspian Tern on 12/29 at Las Macanas Marsh, just south of this site's coverage area in Herrera Province (there are few records of this species from Pacific Panamá). Most intriguing is Dave's report of a dark, "western-type" Red-tailed Hawk at Tocumen Marsh on 1/12; this species is a somewhat rare migrant in Panamá, and there are few reports regarding the subspecies' involved. It is generally presumed that most trans-Isthmian migrant raptors come from east of the Rocky Mountains, so Dave should be commended for his careful observation.
