Dear Tweeters,

I had a few hours in Panama City, Panama a couple of weeks ago. I was on my way to Ecuador!

I managed to get a few hours of birding in during my Panama layover, although my taxi driver could not find the Tocumen Marsh (alas and alack).

I did not bother acquiring the field guide for Panama, since it was only a very short visit. If any Tweeters can help ID any of the following birds, I would appreciate it. All were seen in either the urban areas of Tocumen, near the airport, or in surrounding countryside to the east (between the Tocumen airport and Chepo).

1. Small dove species, smaller than Mourning Dove. Quite a few were seen in gritty urban areas. Color brown. Some dark bars or spots on wings. Tail square and dark.

2. Small dove species, in rural area, very ruddy, with grey head, black tail, pink legs; similar to, and possibly the same species as, number one described above (I observed this one more closely than I did the ones in the urban area).


3. Dove species, even smaller than above-described birds. Very plain. Ground-dove-like. Two seen in rural area, near a scrubby pasture and pond. No indication (from plumage or behaviour) that these were juveniles--seemed to be a pair of adults.

4. Seedeater-like bird, or perhaps grassquit species. All bluish black, except with small white spot or mark visible on wing. Sweet song delivered from ground or low perch. Female was only glimpsed, but looked dull in color.

5. Kingbirds, very like Tropical Kingbirds, but not observed closely. Many seen along roadsides of rural area.

6. Butorides heron species, two or more flushed from marshy remnant near farm pond, west of Chepo. No close observation of neck color was made. I was hoping that location might indicate whether Green or Striated would be the more expected species, although I suspect that Panama might be a hybridization zone.

7. One gallinule- or jacana-like bird, seen flying from marshy remnant near farm pond, W of Chepo. Bright orange-yellow legs. No white seen in wings as bird flew. Leg color and lack of wing flashes appear to eliminate both Common Moorhen and jacana species from consideration.

8. Progne species, numerous at airport. These martins were about the same size as Purple Martins. They had noticeably large bills, at least insofar as breadth. Birds foraged for flying insects around airport terminal, and appeared to settle in to roost in jetways and other structures. ?Time of year (third week of June) might indicate that Purple Martins would not be present here in Panama? That would leave Grey-breasted and Southern Martin. Is Southern Martin (P. elegans) still considered a full species?

9. Ani species, not Greater Ani, seen briefly from speeding taxi, in shrub along rural roadside, relatively dry area with farm ponds scattered here and there.

Besides the puzzler birds described above, I managed to ID about fifteen species of birds--not bad, considering how tired I was, the time of day (blazing hot midafternoon) and the utter inability of the cabby to fathom what I thought were some pretty good directions to the Tocumen Marsh. Here's what I managed to ID:

Neotropic Cormorant, Cattle Egret, Great Egret, Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Crested Caracara, American Kestrel, Wattled Jacana (rather unwary as it foraged on a tiny mudflat by a farm pond), Rock Pigeon, Amazon Kingfisher, Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Blue-grey Tanager, Ruddy-breasted Seedeater, and Great-tailed Grackle.

Oh, really cool--my first Black Vulture in Panama was observed flying above wilderness area along Pacific Ocean--from the airplane! We had to have been at least five thousand feet up, beginning our descent, when I spotted this unmistakable bird soaring above the green forest!


Tweeters, any suggestions (other than that I buy a Panama bird book!) would be much appreciated.

Yours truly,

Gary Bletsch ?

Near Lyman, Washington (Skagit County), USA ? garybletsch at yahoo.com ?

PS Obligatory Washington bird content: Lazuli Bunting, American Robin, and Savannah Sparrow are all I heard singing in my yard near Lyman today. Spring appears to have petered out while I was away.... ?


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