Photos at Finca Ceriana Natural Reserve, Volcán Chiriquí, Panama, Part 2

Second day at Finca Ceriana was not as productive in quantity of pictures but I was really happy with the quality of images and species, specially with the Crested Guans. As the previous day, I started making photos at Hotel Dos Ríos where I found a squirrel and a Yellow Warbler, among other species that were not so photogenic at the moment.

The Variegated Squirrel (Sciurus variegatoides) is a tree squirrel endemic to Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, southern Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama.

The Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia) is the most widespread species in the diverse Setophaga genus, breeding in almost the whole of North America and down to northern South America. The migrant group breeds in the whole of temperate North America as far south as central Mexico in open, often wet, woods or shrub. It is migratory, wintering in Central and South America. They are very rare vagrants to western Europe. These migrants are very common transients and winter residents.

Back at Finca Ceriana we repeated several species but was a much more active day with lots of birds everywhere, I was focused on getting pictures of the guans and fortunately was able to do it. Below the best pictures I got.

The Boat-billed Flycatcher (Megarynchus pitangua) is a passerine bird. It is a large tyrant flycatcher, the only member of the monotypic genus Megarynchus. It breeds in open woodland with some tall trees from Mexico south to Bolivia and Argentina, and through to Trinidad. The massive black bill, which gives this species its English and generic names, is the best distinction from the similar great kiskadee, which also has more rufous tail and wings, and lacks the olive tone to the upperparts. It's common throughout the country and found in middle and upper levels of forest edge, woodland and nearby clearings.

The Crested Guan (Penelope purpurascens) is a member of an ancient group of birds of the Cracidae family. It breeds in lowlands from south Mexico and the Yucatán Peninsula to western Ecuador and southern Venezuela at up to 1,850 m (6,070 ft) altitude, and it's an arboreal forest species, 

With a length varying from 84 to 91.5 cm (33.1 to 36.0 in) and weigh around 1,361 g (3.000 lb) and 1,750 g (3.86 lb), depending on race. It is similar in general appearance to a turkey, with a small head, long strong red legs, and a long broad tail. It is mainly dark brown, with white spotting on the neck and breast. The rump and belly are rufous. The head sports a bushy crest, from which the species gets its name, blue-grey bare skin around the eye, and a bare red dewlap or wattle.

This is a social bird, often seen in pairs or family groups of 6–12. It walks along branches seeking the fruit and foliage on which it feeds, or flies off with a heavy flap and glide. It is a noisy bird too.

Unfortunately, the Crested Guan faces unsustainable levels of hunting in all parts of its range, and also populations are negatively affected by ongoing habitat loss and degradation. The good news is that at least in Finca Ceriana they have found protection, the first day we observed at least 3 of them, but the second day at leat 8.

In Panama it's rare near populated areas but can be fairly common in protected areas like Finca Ceriana, in middle and upper levels of forest. Ceriana's canopy platform is easily the best place in Panama to observe this species.

White-tailed Emerald  (Elvira chionura)

The Scintillant Hummingbird (Selasphorus scintilla) is the smallest hummingbird within its endemic range, which includes only the mountains of Costa Rica and western Panama. This tiny bird inhabits brushy forest edges, coffee plantations, shrubby areas, forest clearing and sometimes gardens at altitudes from 900–2,000 m (3,000–6,600 ft), and up to 3,000 m (9,900 ft). It is only 6.5–8 cm (2.6–3.1 in) long, including the bill. The male weighs 2 g (0.071 oz) and the female 2.3 g (0.081 oz). This is one of the smallest birds in existence, marginally larger than the bee hummingbird. The black bill is short and straight. It's fairly common in highlands of western Chiriquí.

 Roadside Hawk (Rupornis magnirostris)

Unidentified species of wasp in the family Pompilidae, commonly called spider wasps or pompilid wasps. The Pompilidae get their common name from their notable behavior of hunting and killing spiders, often larger than themselves, as food for their larvae. This is probably a Tarantula hawk (species in the genera Pepsis and Hemipepsis). The more familiar species of tarantula hawks are up to 5 cm (2 in) long, with blue-black bodies and bright, rust-colored wings, making them among the largest of wasps. The vivid coloration found on the bodies, and especially wings, of these wasps is an aposematism, advertising to potential predators the wasps' ability to deliver a powerful sting.

These are other species observed these days that were not photographed:
Little Tinamou
Great Egret
Green Heron
Turkey Vulture
White-throated Crake
Scaled Pigeon
White-tipped Dove
Stripe-throated Hermit
Purple-crowned Fairy
Violet Sabrewing
Snowy-bellied Hummingbird
Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
Blue-crowned Motmot
Olivaceous Piculet
Red-crowned Woodpecker
Lineated Woodpecker
Blue-headed Parrot
Streak-headed Woodcreeper
Buff-throated Foliage-gleaner
Eastern Wood-pewee
Tropical Kingbird
Eye-ringed Flatbill
Yellowish Flycatcher
Streaked Flycatcher
White-winged Becard
Yellow-throated Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
Black-chested Jay
Blue & White Swallow
Mountain Thrush
Clay-colored Thrush
Tennessee Warbler
Tropical Parula
Rufous-capped Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
American Redstart
Slate-throated Redstart
Blue-gray Tanager
Bay-headed Tanager
Silver-throated Tanager
Yellow-faced Grassquit
Blue-black Grassquit
Lesser Goldfinch
Variable Seedeater
White-napped Brush-finch
Costa Rican Brush-finch
Summer tanager
White-winged Tanager