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Welcome to The Canopy Report Watchlist, a list of the bird species regarding which I am most interested in receiving
reports and/or photos. I feel it is necessary to explicitly articulate these species of interest as pertaining to this website for the simple reason
that the most memorable bird sightings for the average birder do not necessarily coincide with those sightings that are of most interest from
an ornithological standpoint. For example, Blue Cotinga Cotinga nattererii
is most eagerly sought-after by first time visitors to the Canopy Tower (I still leap out of my seat at a glimpse of this stunning bird), but is neither
unusual nor rare in central Panama. Whereas Least Bittern Ixobrychus exilis is a rather routine (albeit beloved) bird for many North American birders,
it is infrequently found in Panama, and is noteworthy in this forum (I am personally guilty of under-valueing this species- my first sighting note regarding this species
in Panama reads simply "a lovely bird found at Ammo Dump"). Some species bridge the gap- Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo Neomorphus geoffoyi is a gem
for either the enthusiast or the scientist. And so to help contributors to these pages distinguish between the birds that are merely intersting and those
that are both interesting and rare, I offer the following list. This list includes only species which have been seen on field trips out of either
the Canopy Tower and/or the Canopy Lodge, or in a few cases by independant birders visting the same sites. This list is a work in progress, and certainly not
exhaustive; several species of gulls, terns, shorebirds, and North American migrants could also be included, but for the sake of brevity I have omitted them here. The
reactions of your Panamanian guide will likely tell you whether a sighting in these categories is noteworthy. My criteria for inclusion in this list is basically that a species
is either rare anywhere in its range or noteworthy in this region. I welcome comments regarding my selections.
Each of the species' names below links to a page detailing my reasons for including this species, as well as basic information regarding the species' distribution
in central Panama. At the very bottom of the page is a list of species I consider most likely to be found in the future in this region- more details are provided below.
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