November 2013 ● Grey Hawk (Buteo nitidus) Aguililla Gris – In most of my previous contributions I focused on describing usually smaller tropical bird species, residents to the Bay area. This month’s article deals with a bird that is possibly their worst nightmare. The Grey Hawk (Buteo nitidus) is a medium-sized stocky bird of pray, rather common in our area. Read more
August 2013 ● Groove-billed Ani – (Crotophaga sulcirostris) – “Hey Petr, is there a species of a black parrot? ‘Cause I saw it – this weird black bird with a huge curved beak. Actually, there was a whole bunch of them!” have heard this question (or similar versions of it) quite a few times since I became resident to BaderasBay several years ago. And I don’t blame the perplexed observers. The Groove-billed Ani, with its jet black body and a prominent heavy bill “decorated” with a series of deep groves, is indeed quite an unusually-looking bird. Read more
July 2013 ● Orange-fronted Parakeet (Aratinga canicularis) – After visiting Puerto Vallarta, you will inevitably carry home a memory of a night Boardwalk stroll, or a gorgeous sunset over the Bay, possibly also a photo of the Church of Guadalupe or Los Arcos Islands. Unless you spent your vacation indoors, you will have seen and heard a noisy green cloud of fast flying darts, dodging tree crowns of trees in the tropical forest you visited. Read more
June 2013 ● Word Stork (Mycteria Americana) Cigüeña Americana – In most of my previous texts on birds of Banderas Bay I tended toward introducing species, which are resident to the area, or even endemic – found nowhere else, but on Mexican Pacific Coast. Apparently a resident to the Mexican Pacific Coast, this species breeds in Mexico only locally. Read more
May 2013 ● Pale-billed Woodpecker – (Campephilus guatemalensis) Carpintero Piquiclaro – Woodpeckers usually belong to people’s favorite birds. Perhaps it is their striking color combinations, their active foraging habits or their ability to knock impressive holes into hard tree trunks. How knows. From my first hand experience as a bird watching guide, I can confirm, that sighting of a woodpecker is always somewhat special. Read more
April 2013 ● Colima Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium Palmarum) – This baseball-sized owl is another of pacific slope endemics. Related to the wide-ranging ferruginous pygmy-owl [G. brasilianum], this species can be found only in Mexican west coast from Sonora to Oaxaca. Unlike many owls, pygmy owls are diurnal – they are most active during the day, when they also hunt, their prey are mostly birds – up to the size of robin, but reptiles and insects are frequently taken. Read more
March 2013 ● Russet-Crowned Motmot (Momotus Mexicanus) – Motmots are colorful, long- tailed inhabitants of forested areas with most species concentrated in Middle American countries. Six species can be found in Mexico of which one is endemic to the Pacific Slope. Motmots are generally easy to tell apart from other species and Russet-Crowned Motmot is no exception. Read more
February 2013 ● Yellow-Winged Cacique (Cacicus melanicterus) – There are certainly many reasons why I like caciques. For their beautiful and varied songs, their elegance and nest-building capabilities and their pre-mating displays, just to mention a few.Another reason, which bird-watching beginners might also appreciate, is the fact, that in our area, it is impossible to confuse a Yellow-winged Cacique with any other bird, resident or migratory. Read more
January 2013 ● Crested Guan (Penelope purpurascens) – After having introduced some of the most frequent birds of the area in the past 6 articles, I believe there is time to become acquainted with some of the rare members of the local avifauna. Many less seen bird species tend to escape our attention by being tiny or drab or silent, or all of the above. Crested guan is neither. One of the largest forest birds of Mexico and vigorous singer, guan would be difficult to miss. Read Article
December 2012 ● Great Kiskadee (Pitangus Sulphuratus) –This noisy and conspicuous bird represents one my earliest impressions from Vallarta. I got woken up by its persistent loud call on my very first morning in this city. I still see it every day in the morning on the same tree in front of our balcony and I have come to miss its wake-up call whenever I am out of town. Although some of you might not have the luck to hear it so regularly, I will bet that every observant resident or visitor of the Bay marveled over this pretty and omnipresent bird. Read Article
November 2012 ● Green Jay – This beautiful bird is the only green jay in Mexico. Although to call it simply “green” is a great underestimation of its complex design. But Green Jay is not only pretty. It has also very interesting life-style. Read Article
October 2012 ● San Blas Jay – This loud and daring member of the family Corvidae belongs to the many black-and-blue species of Mexican jays. However, in our region it is the only one with such color combination. Please click here to read the article.
September 2012 ● Golden-Cheeked Woodpecker – This species is certainly Vallarta’s most seen and busiest woodpecker. Although restricted to Mexican Pacific slope from Sinaloa to Oaxaca, it is quite abundant within its distribution range. This bird is almost always seen in company of its couple. Read Article
August 2012 ● West-Mexican Chachalaca – This loud and raucous member of Cracid family can only be found on Pacific Slope of Western Mexico from Jalisco to Chiapas. Although not very colorful, this species cannot be overlooked when vocalizing. Read Article
July 2012 ● Black-Throated Magpie Jay
This impressively beautiful jay can be found only in North western Mexico from Sonora to Jalisco. The Bay of Banderas, where this species is a year round resident, represents a part of the southernmost corner of its small distribution range. Read Article
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