Honduras by the numbers -- Part II

          In my last blog post, I covered all birds I encountered on my recent trip to Honduras, from Tinamous through Parrots.  Just a reminder that I was in Honduras to try to establish a network of sister bird clubs between the U.S. and Honduras.  That effort was met with enthusiasm by everyone I met there.  Many thanks to all the birders from those clubs as well as people not affiliated with clubs for showing me the most wonderful hospitality imaginable.  I never would have gotten to as many places in the country nor seen as many birds as I did without the generosity and kindness of many, many people.  Thanks to you all.   

          When we last left out intrepid blogger, he was mentioning all the Parrots, Parakeets, and Macaws he saw in Honduras.  Let's pick up the story with some birds with the word "ant" in their name.

Antshrikes, Antvireos, Antwrens, Antbirds, Antpittas, Ant-Thrushes, and Leaftossers
These are some of the denizens of the Rainforest and similar habitats.  As their name implies, they often are associated with ant

lack-faced Ant-Thrush.  Photo Credit: Animalia-Life.com.

swarms.  Mostly they don't eat the ants, but rather east the insects and other small animals that are trying to escape the huge columns of ants.  23 of these species occur in Honduras, including 5 Antshrikes, 2 Antvireos, 4 Antwrens, 6 Antbirds, 3 Antpittas, 1 Ant-Thrush, and 2

Plain Antvireo.  Photo Credit: Eleanor Briccetti.  

Leaftossers.  As you might guess, none of these are Neotropical migratory birds.  Sadly, I only managed to see 6 of these 23 species, including 3 different species of Antshrikes, Plain Antvireo, Dusky Antbird, the Black-faced Ant-Thrush.  I even got to watch the Antvireo attending an ant swarm -- until I realized the ants were swarming up my pants legs!
          Note to self: when watching a group of birds attending an ant swarm getting closer and closer to you, don't forget to look down at some point.  You may be lucky enough to see the ants swarming around your feet before they start crawling up your legs.

Woodcreepers

Northern Barred Woodcreeper.  Photo Credit: John van Dort and

Maculey Library 37832151. 

14 species occur in Honduras.  These are not related to the Brown Creeper familiar to birders in the U.S.  They are in a completely different family.  Superficially they are shaped like a Brown Creeper on steroids.  And, they do hunt up the boles of trees somewhat like the birds with which we are familiar, but that is about where the comparison ends.  I was lucky enough to see 9 species of Woodcreeper in Honduras.

Plain Xenops, Foliage-Gleaners, Striped Woodhaunter, and Spinetails
More residents of the Rainforest.  In addition to the Xenops and the Woodhaunter, there are 3 species of Foliage-Gleaners and 2 species of Spinetails.  I was fortunate to see Plan Xenops, all 3 Foliage-Gleaners, and Rufous-breasted Spinetail.  The Spinetail was the last new bird our team recorded (about 5 minutes from the end) on the Honduras Birding for Conservation Tour. 

Flycatchers and Other Catchers of Flies, including Tyrannulets, Pygmy-Tyrant, Tyrants, Elaenias, Flatbill, Spadebills, Tody-Flycatcher, Pewees, Wood-Pewees, Black Phoebe, Bright-rumped Attila, Rufous Mourner, and Kingbirds

Great-crested Flycatcher.  Photo Credit: Larkwire.com.

This huge group of birds (62 species occur in Honduras) certainly includes some of the Neotropical migratory species we northerners think of as "our birds of summer."  Quite a few Empidonax and Myiarchus Flycatchers fall into this group, along with Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, and several Kingbirds with which we are familiar here in the U.S.  I was lucky to see more than one-half of

Bright-rumped Attila.

Photo Credit: Planetbirds.blogspot.com.

these species, tallying 34 flycatcher-like birds while in Honduras.  12 of these were old friends - Neotropical migrants that I have seen many times in the U.S.  While I really enjoyed seeing these old friends,

who can't like seeing new species with spiffy names like, Northern Bentbill, Eye-ringed Flatbill, Bright-rumped Attila, and Paltry Tyrannulet?


Lovely Birds and Dancers: Cotingas, Bellbird, Piha, and Manakins

Lovely Cotinga.  Photo Credit: Pico

Bonito Lodge.

9 total species occur in this group: 2 Cotingas, 1 Bellbird, 1 Piha, 4 Manakins and 1 Piprites (that used to be a Manakin).  Fortunately, I got to see Lovely Cotingas and 2 species of Manakins.  As it turned out, my awesome Honduran guide for the Birding for Conservation Tour, Esdras Lopez, has a dream of doing natural history research on Lovely Cotingas because they are a bit of a mystery.  Let me know if you would like to travel to Honduras to help him out with this endeavor.


Tityras, Northern Schiffornis, Speckled Mourner, and Becards
Another group of tropical birds we never see in North America.  8 species occur in Honduras.  I was fortunate to see 4 of those species.

Peppershrike, Shrike-Vireo, Greenlets,

Rufous-browed Peppershrike.

Photo Credit: Pinterest.

and Vireos
You may only recognize the name Vireo out of this list if you live

in North America.  Indeed, 6 of the 13 species of Vireo that occur in Honduras are Neotropical migrants.  Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Green Shrike-Vireo, and 2 species of Greenlets do not range into North America.  I saw 6 species of Vireo, both Greenlet species, and the Peppershrike in Honduras.  I certainly recognized some of "my birds of summer" among the Vireos I saw.

Jays and Common Raven
In addition to Common Raven, 8 species of Jay occur in Honduras.  Besides Steller's Jay that does not really look like the North American version, and Green Jay and Brown Jay that barely sneak across the Mexican border into south Texas, North Americans would not recognize the beautiful Jays of Honduras.  Fortunately for me, I got to see 5 species.

Swallows and Martins
About a dozen species of Swallows and Martins can be found in Honduras, and about one-half of those are Neotropical migrants.  I got to see 8 species of Swallows and Martins during my time in the country.

Brown Creeper
Note that this bird is not related closely to the Woodcreepers I covered above.  It looks a lot like the Brown Creepers with which we are familiar in North America, but it is a different subspecies.  I did not see one while I was in Honduras.

Wrens, Wood-Wrens, and Gnatwren

Long-billed Gnatwren.  Photo Credit: Flickr.

19 species of Wren, Wood-Wren, and Gnatwren occur in Honduras.  I saw 9 species of Wren, 1 species of Wood-Wren, and the Long-billed Gnatwren.






Gnatcatchers
3 species occur in Honduras, including the Neotropical migrant Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.  I saw a clean sweep of all 3 species.

American Dipper
Yes, this bird of fast-moving, mountain streams occurs in Honduras.  No, I did not see it.

Bluebirds, Solitaires, and Thrushes

Wood Thrush.  Photo Credit: EJPhoto.com.

17 species can be found in Honduras, including about 4 Neotropical migrants.  My favorite bird of the north woods, Wood Thrush, is among the migrants that winter in Honduras.  I saw 7 species.  And, yes, seeing Wood Thrushes put a smile on my face on several days.

Mimids, American Pipit, and Cedar Waxwing
Blue-and-White Mockingbird, Tropical Mockingbird, the Neotropical migrant Gray Catbird occur in good numbers along with the rarer, visiting Pipit and Waxwing.  I saw the first three species and missed seeing any Pipits or Waxwings.

Warblers
About 53-55 species of Warblers can be found in Honduras.  Of

Golden-cheeked Warbler.  Photo Credit: John van Dort and

Macauley Library 37959441.

these, 38 are Neotropical migrants.  You might say that Warblers are definitely among "our birds of summer" in North America.  I saw 38 species of Warblers including 33 Neotropical migrant species!  One day I got stunning views of several threatened Golden-cheeked Warblers.

(Real) Tanagers and Shrike-Tanagers

Golden-hooded Tanager.  Photo Credit: Beaks and Peaks

Adventure and Birding Tours.

These are not the birds we northerners call Tanagers, like Scarlet Tanager and Summer Tanager (which are really more closely related to Cardinals).  12 species of (real) Tanagers occur in Honduras.  I was lucky enough to see 6 of those.


Honeycreepers, Blue Dacnis, and Cinnamon-bellied Flower-Piercer
3 species of Honeycreeper occur along with these 2 other species.  I only saw Red-legged and Green Honeycreepers.

Seed-Finches, Seedeaters, Grassquits, and Bananaquit
10 of these small, mostly seed-eating birds occur in Honduras.  I saw 5 species.

Saltators and Slate-colored Grosbeak

Buff-throated Saltator.  Photo Credit: Hidephotography.com.

3 species of Saltator occur along with this particular Grosbeak.  I was lucky enough to encounter all 3 species of Saltator, including Buff-throated, Black-headed, and Grayish.


Sparrows, Ground-Sparrows,
Brushfinch, and Chlorospingus
16 species occur in Honduras, and 3 are Neotropical migrants.  I saw 8 species, but none of the migrants.

Cardinal Tanagers and Ant-Tanagers
This group includes Scarlet, Summer, Hepatic, and Western Tanagers that North Americans know as birds of summer.  It also includes 3 other tropical species of Tanagers and 2 species of Ant-Tanagers.  I saw both species of Ant-Tanagers and 4 of the 7 species of Tanagers.

Northern Cardinal, Grosbeaks, and Buntings
8 species occur, 3 of which are Neotropical migrants.  I saw 5 species, including the migratory Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Painted Bunting, and Indigo Bunting.

Blackbirds and Allies

Spot-breasted Oriole.  Photo Credit: Beaks and Peaks

Adventure and Birding Tours.

In addition to 2 species of Blackbirds, these include Great-tailed Grackle, Eastern Meadowlark, 2 species of Cowbirds, Dickcissel, and 10 species of Orioles.  I managed to see both species of Blackbirds, the Grackle, the Meadowlark, both species of Cowbirds, and 7 species of Orioles.

Oropendulas
2 species occur in Honduras.  I got to see both of them.

Chlorophonia and Euphonias

Blue-crowned Chlorophonia.  Photo Credit: Beaks and Peaks

Adventure and Birding Tours.

7 species of Euphonia occur in addition to Blue-crowned Chlorophonia.  I saw the Chlorophonia and 5 species of Euphonia.






Last but not Least
Red Crossbill, Black-headed Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, and House Sparrow all occur.  I saw them all.  I do want to note, however, that I only saw 2 House Sparrows in 4 and one-half weeks of birding in Honduras.  One was during the Lake Yojoa Birding Blitz early in my trip.  The other was at a gas station where we stopped during the Honduras Birding for Conservation Tour.  On the day we saw it on the Tour, it was our "bird of the day" because it was so hard to find. 

Birds.  They lead us to do some very crazy things.  They also lead us to make new friends, to stretch our imaginations, and to broaden our dreams.  In Honduras, birds led me to do all these things.