BACKYARD BIRDING IN MERIDA, YUCATAN AND BEYOND – THANKS GIVINGS FOR NATURE’S GIFTS IN THE YUCATAN AND PANAMA, PART 1 of 2

Every November my monthly column features birds and their roles in nature in appreciation for support of humans from serving as pollinators to scavengers. For 2019, photos illustrate birds and other wildlife in Panama with some species or their cousins that occur in the Yucatan.

Canopy Tower

Atop Canopy Tower

Transformed from a US military site built in 1965 for protection of the Panama Canal, the metal Canopy Tower became a world class destination for birders in 1995. The giant, soccer-like sphere held radar equipment. Now that area offers visitors a chance to observe nature at the canopy level and beyond.

Enjoy Nature’s Gifts!

Collared Aracari

Blue-gray Tanagers

Crowned Woodnymph

Geoffroy’s Tamarin, a primitive primage

Chestnut-headed Oropendula

Gray-headed Chachalacha

Brown-throated three-toed sloth

Greater Ani

Crimson-backed Tanager

Double-toothed Kite in cecropia tree

Mantled Howler

Purple Gallinule

Black-chested Jay

LIST OF SPECIES:

Collared Aracari. Pteroglossus torquatus

Blue-gray Tanager, Thraupis episcopus

Crowned Woodnymph, Thalurania colombica

Geoffroy’s tamarin, Saguinus geoffroyi

Chestnut-headed Oropendula, Psarocolius wagleri

Gray-headed Chachalacha, Ortalis cinereiceps

Brown-throated three-toed sloth, Bradypus variegatus

Greater Ani, Crotophaga major

Crimson-backed Tanager, Ramphocelus dimidiatus,

Double-toothed Kite, Harpagus bidentus

Mantled howler, Alouatta palliata

Purple Gallinule, Porphyrio martinica

Black-chested Jay, Cyanocorax affinis

DISCLAIMER: References do not agree on details about these species:

Sal a Pajarear Yucatan, Birds & Reserves of the Yucatan Peninsula, A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America, Birds of Panama

https://www.mcgill.ca/pfss/files/pfss/distribution_of_mantled_howler_monkeys_in_bella_vista_and_limones_chiriqui_panama.pdf

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/group/three-toed-sloths/

https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/sloth

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Saguinus_geoffroyi/

https://enacademic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/6877723

Cherie Pittillo, “nature inspired,” photographer and author, explores nature everywhere she goes. She’s identified 56 bird species in her Merida, Yucatan backyard view. Her monthly column features anecdotes about birding in Merida, Yucatan and also wildlife beyond the Yucatan.

Contact: [email protected]  All rights reserved, ©Cherie Pittillo