Voyages en Colombie

The Black-throated mango is a common hummingbird on the edges of the jungle and close to natural water deposits. It is the most widely distributed species of the genus and its name Anthracothorax comes from the Latin roots Anthrax = coal and thorax = chest. The epithet nigricollis derives from the Latin roots niger = black and collis = neck.

The black-bellied whistling duck (Dendrocygna autumnalis), formerly also called black-bellied tree duck, is a whistling duck that breeds from the southernmost United States and tropical Central to south-central South America. In the USA, it can be found year-round in parts of southeast Texas, and seasonally in southeast Arizona, and Louisiana’s Gulf Coast. It is a rare breeder in such disparate locations as Florida, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, and South Carolina. There is a large population of several hundred that winter each year in Audubon Park in uptown New Orleans, Louisiana. Since it is one of only two whistling-duck species native to North America, it is occasionally just known as the «whistling duck» in the southern USA.

The American oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus), occasionally called the American pied oystercatcher, is a member of family Haematopodidae. Originally called the «sea pie», it was renamed in 1731 when naturalist Mark Catesby observed the bird eating oysters. The current population of American oystercatchers is estimated to be 43,000. There are estimated to be 1,500 breeding pairs along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the US. The bird is marked by its black and white body and a long, thick orange beak.

The Apolinar’s Wren is an ENDANGERED species and endemic to the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia. It is one of the most emblematic birds of the wetlands of the Sabana de Bogotá. Its name Cistothorus means that it jumps bushes, derived from the Greek kisthos = bushes and thouros = that jumps. The apolinari epithet is in honor of Apolinar María, founder of the Colombian Society of Natural Sciences.

The sunbittern a bittern-like bird of tropical regions of the Americas, and the sole member of the family Eurypygidae (sometimes spelled Eurypigidae) and genus Eurypyga. It is found in Central and South America, and has three subspecies. The sunbittern shows both morphological and molecular similarities with the kagu (Rhynochetos jubatus) of New Caledonia, indicating a gondwanic origin, both species being placed in the cladeEurypygiformes.

Populations of this species are found mainly in Colombia and a small portion of northwestern Venezuela. Its name Thamnophilus comes from the Greek roots thamnos = bush and philos = lover of. The epithet multistriatus comes from the Latin roots multi = much and striatus = striated.

The Purplish-mantled Tanager is an Almost Endemic species of Colombia, characterized by its purple color throughout the body and its yellow throat. Iridosornis means rainbow bird and derives from the Greek roots iris = rainbow and ornis = bird and porphyrocephala comes from the Latin porphyro = purple and cephalus = head. This species is in the Near Threatened category.

It is a conspicuous species that lives in dry areas mainly in stubble forests, cultivated areas and forest plantations. It feeds mainly on insects that it captures by jumping and exploring on the foliage, supplementing its diet with fruits and nectar. Its name comes from the Greek ikteros which means yellow, and its specific epithet nigrogularis means black throat, which comes from the Latin roots niger = black and gularis = neck.

This species is endemic to the eastern Andes of Colombia. Its name Synallaxis comes from the Greek sunallaxis = change, which was assigned by Vieillot (1818) referring to characters that merited recognition as a different gender. The epithet subpudica comes from the Latin sub = something, somewhat and pudicus = modest.