Bird, Travel & Art Photos, Birding Sites, Bird Information

Friday, June 22, 2018

WHITE-LORED GNATCATCHER, PALO VERDE NATIONAL PARK,GUANACASTE,COSTA RICA, 6/13/18

We can ID the bird in the first photo as a female White-lored Gnatcatcher by its very small size (about 4"), gray cap, narrow white supercillary, black eyeline, gray upperparts, white underparts, black uppertail, white undertail and tail cocked up. The bird in the second photo is a male White-lored Gnatcatcher with it black cap. The Gnatcatcher in the third photo can be either a male or female. The male and female were foraging in close proximity to one another, as this species generally does. This also helps us ID them as White-lored Gnatcatchers.

The White-lored Gnatcatcher's diet includes beetles, bugs, small moths, caterpillars, etc. It is endemic to Middle America, predominantly found on the Pacific slope from southern Mexico and northwest Costa Rica, but also on the Atlantic side of the Yucatan.
The White-lored Gnatcatcher is a new species to our Photographic Life List, which now stands at 793.

STREAK-BACKED ORIOLE, PALO VERDE NATIONAL PARK,GUANACASTE,COSTA RICA, 6/13/18

We can ID this bird as a Streak-backed Oriole by its location at Palo Verde National Park; orange-red head and breast contrasting with black face and chin; rest of underparts bright orange; black tail and black wings with two white wing bars. It can be differentiated from the similar Spot-breasted Oriole by having no spotting on the sides of the breast.
The Streak-backed Oriole is native to Mexico and Central America and is an occasional visitor to the U.S. It eats mostly insects and spiders. The Streak-backed Oriole is monogamous during nesting season. The female builds a hanging, basket-shaped nest, typically near the end of a tree branch.

The Streak-backed Oriole is a new species to our Photographic Life List,which now stands at 792.