Honduras by the numbers -- Part I

          Readers of this blog will know that I just returned from almost five weeks in Honduras.  One of my main reasons for going was to meet with bird clubs there to explore the idea of developing a network of sister bird clubs between North America and Central America.  That part of my trip was a rousing success as I have reported previously. 

A reunion of sorts took place on 6 November at Pico Bonito

Lodge.  Two of my new friends from bird clubs in Honduras,

Hector Moncada (on left, from San Pedro Sula) and
Francisco Rovelo (on right, from Gracias), were there
participating in an education workshop put on by BirdSlueth

International (from Cornell University) and I was participating

in the Honduras Birding for Conservation Tour.

Photo Credit: Jody Enck.

          The two other successful aspects of my trip were to participate in the Lake Yojoa Birding Blitz in mid October and to also participate in the Honduras Birding for Conservation Tour during the first half of November.  If making a couple dozen new friends and seeing hundreds of species of birds equals success, then I had the grandest of successful times!

          Upon reading some of my earlier blog posts in late October, one of my new friends from Zamorano University noticed that I wrote a lot more about the people I was meeting and experiences I was having than about the birds I was seeing.  This post is to "correct" that deficiency.  All the bird species in photos below are species that I saw.

          One can find about 765 species of birds in Honduras assuming you have the time and wherewithal to scour every corner of this geographically and ecologically diverse country and have lots on luck on your side.  One of these bird species, a beautiful

little hummingbird called the Honduran Emerald, is found nowhere

Honduras' only endemic bird species: the Honduran Emerald.

Photo Credit: Beaks and Peaks Adventure and Birding Tours.

else on Earth except in Honduras.  Another 75 of so species are resident rainforest birds that you can find only in the largely inaccessible eastern reaches of Honduras called Mosquitia -- or farther south in Central America.  Of the 765 bird species one can encounter in Honduras, only about 140 or so (excluding seabirds) are our North American "Birds of Summer" -- Neotropical migratory birds that breed up in North America and winter in, or migrate through, Honduras.

          According to my records, I ended up seeing/hearing 387 species of birds in Honduras -- almost exactly half of the birds that occur in the entire country.  Of these, 174 were Life Birds for me.  (For non-birders, a Life Bird is a species that you have never seen/heard before in your life).  This means that about 45% of the species I encountered in Honduras were completely new to me.  That's a great trip!

          Below is a breakdown of what I encountered.  These numbers are not exact (in terms of the numbers of migrants vs. resident birds, etc.).  I provide approximations just to give you a sense of what I encountered.

Tinamous
4 species occur in Honduras.  

Great Tinamou for those of you who don't know what

a Tinamou is.  Photo Credit: Wikipedia.  

All species are residents (not Neotropical migrants).  I saw/heard 2 of the 4 species, and both were Life Birds for me. 

Ducks and Geese
About 15 species occur in Honduras, and 8 or so of these are migrants that also occur in North America.  I saw 6 species of ducks and 4 were migrants. 

Chachalacas, Curassow, Guans
6 resident species occur.  I only encountered one: Plain Chachalaca.

New World Quails Partridges

The mythical Ocellated Quail.  Photo Credit: Beaks and Peaks

Adventure and Birding Tours.

8 resident species occur.  I was lucky enough to see/hear 4 species, all of which were life birds for me.

Grebes
2 resident species occur.  I saw Pied-billed Grebe (yes, these birds migrate south from New York State for the winter, but the subspecies in Honduras is a resident one).

Shearwaters, Storm-Petrels, Tropicbirds, Frigatebirds
About 10-12 of these ocean-living birds have been recorded in Honduras.  The Magnificent Frigatebirds I encountered were a new Life Bird Species for me.  

American Flamingo, Jabiru, Wood Stork 
Of these 3 mostly resident species, I encountered Wood Storks.

Boobies, Cormorants, Anhinga, Pelicans
8 of these species can be found in Honduras.  Although some show some seasonal patterns of occurrence, none are Neotropical migrants.  I saw 3 of these species.

Herons, Egrets, Bitterns, Ibises, Spoonbill
23 species occur in Honduras.  None of the 13 species I saw are Neotropical migrants although some do migrate short distances.

Vultures, Hawks, and Eagles

White-breasted Hawk -- a Central American subspecies

of our more familiar Sharp-shinned Hawk. 

Photo Credit: Jody Enck.

A whopping 39 species occur in Honduras, and about a dozen show seasonal occurrence.  Still, only about 5 are truly Neotropical migrants breeding in North America and wintering in Honduras or farther south.  I saw 21 species, including Cooper's Hawk and Broad-winged Hawk which are Neotropical migrants. 

King Vulture, a truly remarkable bird.  Photo. Credit: Beaks

and Peaks Adventure and Birding Tours.

I also was fortunate to see all 4 species of vulture that occur in Honduras: Black, Turkey, Lesser Yellow-headed, and King.




Rails, Crakes, Gallinules, Coots, Sunbittern, Sungrebe, and Limpkin
About 16 species can be found in Honduras, with American Coot ad Sora (a rail) being migrants.  I saw/heard 10 of those.  I missed out on a "big one," though.  I was in a boat in the mangroves of Cuerro y Salado Wildlife Refuge from which several people spotted a

Two Rufous-necked Wood-Rails in front being photo-bombed

by a Russet-necked Wood-Rail (right in the center of the

photo, heading right).  Photo Credit: Jeff Gordon.

Rufous-necked Wood-Rail photo-bombing 2 Russet-naped Wood-Rails.  I was so fixated on the Russet-naped pair that I only got a quick glimpse of the Rufous-necked species running behind the other 2 birds.  Luckily, our leader, Jeff Gordon, President of the American Birding Association, got a picture!  Although I could not count it on my life list, our team got to count it on the team list.  The photo provided the first documented evidence of this species for the Department of Atlántida in Honduras.  I did see the bird running behind the other two in front, but did not get a good look at it.

Shorebirds: Sandpipers, Plovers, and allies
40 species occur in Honduras, and about 15 of these are migrants that winter in Honduras.  I saw 14 of the 40 species of shorebirds.

Gulls and Terns
26 of these species have been reported in Honduras, and none of those are what you would call Neotropical migrants.  Indeed, with the exception of Laughing Gull, most gull species occur as uncommon visitors.  The tropics are more about Terns than Gulls.
I saw Laughing Gull, Royal Tern, and Sandwich Tern.

Doves and Pigeons
22 species occur in Honduras, with Mourning Dove being the only true migrant.  I was fortunate to see 14 species, but I did not see a Mourning Dove!

Cuckoos, Lesser Roadrunner, and Anis
11 species occur, with 3 or 4 being migrants, including our familiar Yellow-billed Cuckoo and Black-billed Cuckoo.  I saw 6 species, including the Neotropical migrant Yellow-billed Cuckoo.

Owls
16 species of owls can be found in Honduras if you are willing to explore the wilds in the dark and have lots of luck on your side.  I was lucky enough to encounter 4 species of owl.

Great Potoo, a really amazing and somewhat strange bird.

Photo credit: Bill Thompson III.

Nightjars and Potoos

8 species of Nightjar and 2 species of Potoo occur.  I saw 2 species of Nightjars and had great looks at multiple Great Potoos.

Swifts

For those of us in the northeastern U.S. where we can encounter only Chimney Swift, the 10 species of Swift in Honduras make it well worthwhile to check out every flock you see.  I was lucky enough to spot half of the species that are possible to see.

Hummingbirds
There are 42 or 43 species of Hummingbirds in Honduras, apparently including Buff-bellied Hummingbird which was

Even in the rain, this Crowned Woodnymph shows off its

spectacular colors.  Photo credit: John van Dort and

Macauley Library 37692311.

photographed for the very first time in Honduras during the 2016 Honduras Birding for Conservation Tour.  Of all of these Hummingbirds, 5 or 6 exhibit seasonal occurrence, and one (Ruby-throated Hummingbird) is a true Neotropical migrant.  When I counted up the Hummingbird species I saw, I was astounded to note that I saw 25 species!  And, yes, I did see several Ruby-throated Hummingbirds.  Maybe one of those spent the summer in my local patch in New York State.

Black-headed Trogon.  Photo Credit:

Bill Thompson III.

Resplendent Quetzal and Trogons
In addition to the Quetzal, 7 species of Trogon occur.  I was fortunate enough to see a pair of Quetzals and 4 species of Trogon.










Motmots

Turquoise-browed Motmot.  Photo Credit: Jody Enck.

7 species can be found in Honduras.  I enjoyed seeing 3 of those species.  Even with my little point and shoot camera, I was able to get decent pictures of both Lesson's Motmot and Turquoise-browed Motmot.


Kingfishers, Puffbirds, and Jacamars
6 species of Kingfisher, including the migratory Belted Kingfisher, occur in Honduras along with 3 species of Puffbirds and 2 Jacamar species.  I was lucky to see 5 species of Kingfisher, including Belted and the really tiny American Pygmy-Kingfisher.  I missed out on the Puffbirds, but did encounter Rufous-tailed Jacamars.

Toucans, Emerald Toucanet, and Collared Aracari
5 species can be found in Honduras.  These are among the most iconic species of the Rainforest and similar habitats.  I encountered 3 of these species on multiple occasions. 

A pair of Olivaceous Piculets, the smallest woodpeckers in the

hemisphere.  Photo Credit: Beaks and Peaks Adventure and

Birding Tours.

Woodpeckers
16 species occur, including the migratory Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.  Woodpeckers are among my most favorite bird species because their behavior makes them some of the easiest species to study for long periods of time.  I saw 11 species, including Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Olivaceous Piculet.
Falcons
13 species of Falcon can be spotted in Honduras, including the migratory Merlin and Peregrine.  I saw/heard (yes, several Falcon species are easily identifiable by voice) 7 species, including both migrant species.  My favorite to both see and hear probably was Laughing Falcon.  The most amazing Falcon-related experience I had was watching a Bat Falcon pluck and eat a female Three-wattled Bellbird near the Pico Bonito Lodge.  Although not countable on my Life List, the Bellbird was the first of its species recorded from the Department of Atlántida in Honduras.

Parrots, Parakeets, and Macaws

White-fronted Parrots, named for the white on their foreheads.

Photo Credit: Beaks and Peaks Adventure and Birding Tours.

17 species of this noisy and beautiful group of birds occur in Honduras.  I saw 7 species, including Scarlet Macaws from a restored, free-flying population near the Copan ruins in western Honduras.

I will cover the rest of the birds I saw in Honduras in a second post on this subject.