Notes on some rare or previously unrecorded in

with additional information on identification and habitat

Robert S. Ridgely

ORITS SIZE, Ecuador, with over 1400 and many patches of lush Polylepis Jatuncocha -- A small lake near the to its credit, supports the woodland, located west of Cuenca, lower Yasuni River, situated lessthan 10 richest avifauna in the world. During the , in the Western Andes km upsteam from the mouth of the Ya- past five years I have been fortunate in (elevational range c. 3000-4200m). The suni into the Napo River, below Nueva spendinga substantial period of time in region appearsto have been previously Rocafuerte. The area is close to the Per- this small but varied country. My first little explored ornithologically. uvian frontier in extreme eastern Napo three trips to Ecuador, in 1976 and 1978, Province. Equasal lagoons -- A saltworks lo- had specificresearch objectives concern- cated on the Pacific coast about 8 km lng the present status of various parrots southeast of Salinas, . Loja-Zamora road -- A 60 km gravel and other endangered birds, while the A series of artificial shallow lagoons, road connecting these two cities in two subsequentones, in 1979 and 1980, frequented by large numbers of water- southeastern Ecuador. It surmounts the have been more generalin nature. I have birds. crest of the Eastern Andes at only now spent a total of about sevenmonths in the country, and during that time 81ø 80ø 79•' have visited most regions, including a number of very remote ones. Many in- teresting and significant records COLOMBIA have been accumulated,and it is my pur- pose here to put many of them on rec- ord, leaving a few for more detailed ESMERALDAS I ', treatment elsewhere. A total of 45 bird speciesis discussed :-- •_:.'i;•A•U.A,, in the following accounts. Fifteen are here formally recorded from Ecuador '", PICHINCHA for the first time, using Meyer de Schau- ." j aOuitø NA P 0 Zancudococha ensee'smost recent (1970) reference as i"ßß FieldRIo Palenque,,'-"$ta.'-',[' _ moN^•O the standard. Several speciesreferred to /CO¾O,,AX,,,'.E C U A D O R Jat. here as "first records" for the country I TuNGU-L-..... RAHUA ;, d • '•._o• t have actually already been listed by But- I eløCo •'cøi ler in his recent Checklist of Ecuadorian Birds (1979); I have here provided the in- formation which supported their inclu- GUAYAS sion in that work, which in each casewas '"' ; MORONA- ß" -• SANTIAGO based on my own records. The data for ..(' CA•AR ', the remaining speciesare concernedwith important new distributional or status Las Ca/as Nat'l Recr.Area information within Ecuador. Notes on / identification, and ecologicaland behav- ioral data, are given where appropriate. ORO",, The of Meyer de Schauensee (1970) is followed throughout. ßOJA ,•-o1• The following have been among the more important localities visited during the course of this field work (each has been mentionedat leasttwice in the spe- cies accounts): Las Cajas National Recreation Area -- A large protectedarea of paramo and ii ø 8o ø high lakes, with some temperate forest Figure 1. Map of Ecuador

242 AmericanBirds, May 1980 2800m, and then descends their eastern meters upstream lies the s•te of another new SangayNational Park, •n Morona- slope to Zamora, situated at the base of abandoned town, El Placer, now reduc- Santiago Province. The area we visited the mountains at 1050m. From the crest ed to a singlecrumbling hovel in a regen- was c. 25 km northwest of Macas, at eastward it is within Zamora-Chinchipe erating meadow. 1500-1600m on the south side of the Province. river. High water levels prevented us Sabanilla-- The only villagealong the from crossingthe river and actually en- Mindo -- A town situated in a valley Loja-Zamora road (see above), at about tering the park. A wild and still remote on the western slope of the Western 1750m, in Zamora-Chinchipe Province. region, the subtropical forests here are Andes at 1300m, in . Excellent roadside forest begins below completely undisturbed within the park Accessible via a side road off the Nono this town, in the valley of the Zamora boundaries, while south of the river a -San Miguel de los Bancos highway. River, and continuesin patches all the few small clearingshave appeared in re- Very extensive forest remains in this way down to near Zamora itself. cent years. region, although it is not continuous along the road itself; on the whole, the Tandayapa -- A road junction town, area supports the most diverse avifauna at about 1450m, located on the highway Zancudococha -- A lake about 10 km of any easily-reached region in the from Nono, on the western slope of the south of the Aguarico River in extreme Ecuadorian Western Andes. Western Andes. Here the road divides: eastern Napo Province near the Colom- one route goes to Mindo and beyond, bian and Peruvian boundaries. Ashde Planchas -- A locality in the upper while the other continuesto Nanegalito. from a few small army frontier posts, Palora River valley at 2900m on the east- Excellent roadside forest existsalong the the river is uninhabited from at least ern slope of the Eastern Andes, in Mor- road to Mindo and along the route back here downstream to its confluence w•th ona-Santiago Province. Now located toward Mindo; the Nanegalito area has the Napo. A trail cuts south through un- w•thin the new Sangay National Park. been more disturbed. touched forest from the river to the lake, Although apparently at one time a town and continues on some 30 km to the existed here, at present there exists but large army base at Tiputini, situated on one hut in a small clearing set in a vast Upano River ['alley- A river form- the Napo River upstream from Nueva expanseof temperate forest. A few kilo- ing part of the southern boundary of the Rocafuerte.

SPECIES ACCOUNTS

GREAT BLUE HERON Ardea herodias saltworks managertold me that a small group had been continuously present for several years; the birds frequent the more remote inner An adult was observed at the Equasal lagoons on July 13, 1978 ponds,and havenot beendisturbed, hence are now relativelytame P (with D. Wilcove). Another, also an adult and conceivablythe same Greenfield (pers. comm.) found a group of 20 here on August 20, individual, was seen(with D.W. Finch et al.) at the same place Feb. 1978. The Chilean Flamingo was not recorded for Ecuador by either 12-13, 1980. Specific identification centered on the bird's rufous Blake (1977) or Meyer de Schauenseein his first (1966) South thighs, its white stripe down the center of the crown, and its mostly American book. The latter, however, did comment in his later (1970) grayishtawny neck. The Great Blue Heron hasnot previouslybeen re- book that "Flamingos seen in w. Ecuador probably belong to this corded from Ecuador (Meyer de Schauensee,1970; Blake, 1977). species." This was in apparent referenceto Marchant's (1958) obser- Whether these sightingsrepresent the migrant North American race, vations in the samegeneral area of "flamingos, probably P. chilensts, nominate herodias, which is known to winter south to the upper but never satisfactorilyidentified." Specificidentification in this case Cauca River valley in southwesternColombia (Meyer de Schauensee, presentedno problem, as the birds could be approachedclosely 1964),or the presumablyresident Galapagos race, cognatus, could not enoughthat their pinkish-redjoints on otherwisedull bluish legs, a be determined. The former would seem the more likely, despite the characteristicshared by no other flamingo(Johnson, 1965), could be July date. easily seen. Three Chilean Flamingos were noted in 1977 only a few km southeast of Playas, Guayas Province. (P. Greenfield, pers CAPPED HERON Pilherodius pileatus comm.)This flamingois the mostnortherly ranging of the threeSouth American species;it regularly winters along the Peruvian coastto the This widespreadneotropical heron was only first recorded from Departmentof Lima (T. Parker,pers. comm.),and hasbeen recorded Ecuador as recentlyas 1963 (Norton, 1965). Another was collected, north to Tumbes Department. A few may now visit Ecuador annually, and individuals seen at intervals, at the same locality, Limoncocha, or may even be non-breeding residentsin the country. Napo Province, during 1975-1976(Tallman et al., 1977). The Capped Heron may actually now be quite widespreadin easternEcuador: not PEARL KITE Gampsonyx swainsonii only doesit occurall alongthe Napo River, but I - 4 wereseen almost daily along the lower Aguarico River upstreamto Zancudococha,in One Pearl Kite was observedat length as it perchedalong the edge September 1976. P. Greenfield •ers. comm.) has also found it of the grassyairstrip at Tiputini, Napo Province,Sept. 27, 1976, this regularly along the upper Aguarico River, to the north of the Napo. locality is on the north bank of the Napo River about 30 km upstream Its requirementseems to be a wide river with numeroussandy islands from the Peruvian frontier. The speciesis not recorded from eastern and backwater channels;narrow, forest-fringed rivers are much less Ecuadorby either Meyer de Schauensee(1966, 1970)or Blake (1977), favored. Its apparent increasehere may well be genuine, although dif- but was accorded "uncertain" status at Limoncocha in the most re- ficultto explain,for easternEcuador was well covered by commercial cent check-listfrom that locality (Tallman et al., 1977); P. Greenfield collectorsduring the first half of the 20th century, and they seem •ers. comm.) observedone here on October 20, 1979 (with D. Pear- unlikely to have overlooked such an obvious and handsomeheron. son), and has also found it along the Lago Agrio-Coca road to the west, with a total of three seen here on March 28-29, 1979. This cOn- CHILEAN FLAMINGO Phoenicopteruschilensis spicuousand unmistakable raptor is evidently still very rare in the up- per Amazon basin: it is still unknown from Amazonian Colombia A flock of nine flamingosof this specieswas found at the Equasal (Hilty and Brown, MS), and has not been found in northeasternPeru lagoonsJuly 13, 1978 (with D. Wilcove), and eight were there again (map in Blake, 1977). It might be expected,however, to gradually in- February 13, 1980 (with D.W. Finch et al.). On the seconddate the creasewith the clearing of forest along the area's major rivers.

Volume 34, Number 3 243 RUFOUS-THIGHED KITE Harpagus diodon GULL sp. Larus sp.

One adult Rufous-thighedKite was carefully observed(with R. A. An unidentifiedgull was studied at the Equasal lagoonsFeb. 8, Rowlett et al.) as it perched in varzea forest along the lower Jivino 1980 by Davis Finch, and was found there again by our entire tour River, near Limoncocha, Napo Province, July 11, 1979. The bird's group. It stoodout at oncefrom the group of Laughing(Larus atricd- small size, basicallytwo-toned gray plumage(paler below), dark cen- la) and Gray-hooded(L. cirrocephalus)gulls with which it consorted, tral throat stripe, rufous thighs, and, when the bird eventually flew but Finch, an acknowledgedgull authority, couldnot definitelydeter- off, its high-contrastrufous underwing coverts were all noted. The mine the bird asto species.He felt the bird waseither a Ring-billed(L record is indeedsurprising, for, as we were aware at the time, not only delawarensis)or California (L. californicus)gull, more probablythe •s there no recordof the speciesfrom Ecuador, there is none from any- latter. Neither has everbeen recorded from Ecuador,the former only where in northwesternSouth America (Meyer de Schauensee,1966, once from continentalSouth America (in northeasternBrazil -- Sick, 1970, Blake, 1977) and very few from anywherenorth of the Amazon. 1979), the latter neversouth of Mexico (Eisenmann,1955). The fol- G Tudor (pers. comm.) suggestedthat the speciesmight actually be lowing descriptionis a compositefrom our notes:distinctly larger an austral migrant, which could account for the "scatter" of the more than a LaughingGull, and essentiallya "Herring Gull-type" though northern records.Our record and the soleSurinam specimen(July 11, smaller. Bill rather long and slender, pale pinkish-graywith pro- 1902 -- Hayerschmidt, 1968) do fall on appropriate dates. nounceddark browntip which extendedsomewhat farther posteriorly on the mandible than on the maxilla. Head and forepartsquite white, ZONE-TAILED HAWK Buteo albonotatus with rather low forehead. Belly prominently marked with brown Mantle freckledbrown, primariesdarker and uniform. Legsan inde- A single Zone-tailed Hawk was observed 5 km south of Puerto terminatedull grayish.Rather ponderousflight, with heavierwing- Lopez,on the coast of southernManabi' Province, July 11, 1978, and beat than Ring-billed. Broad dark tail band, wider than in a first-w•n- another was noted 10 km north of Manglaralto, near the coast in ter Ring-billed. Davis concludedthat it was a "Herring Gull-shape northwestern Guayas Province July 13, 1978 (both with D. Wilcove). and -configurationbird that was evidentlynot a Ring-billedand was P Greenfield (pers. comm.) has also observedthis specieson several obviouslynot any South Americanspecies .... The closestI can get occasions between Balzar and Guayaquil, Guayas Province. The to it is California Gull." speciesis not recorded in the literature as occurring in Ecuador (Meyer de Schauensee,1966, 1970; Blake, 1977), but was recently given "un- SANDWICH TERN Sterna sandvicensis common" statusat Limoncocha, Napo Province, in the east(Tallman et al, 1977). Its occurrencein at least western Ecuador is not surpris- A remarkable concentrationof a carefully counted (with D.W ing, as the semi-open arid habitat found in many regions would seem Finch et al.) 1350terns of this specieswere found at the Equasalla- ideal for the species.Furthermore, it is recorded locally from western goonsFeb. 13, 1980.With themwere 550 Royal(S. maxima),two Ele- Peru Probably early collectors overlooked it: like the Short-tailed gant (S. elegans),and three Common (S. hirundo)terns. This far sur- Hawk (B. brachyurus), the Zone-tailed tends to be under-represented passesany other count I am aware of anywhere on the west coast of •n collections, being relatively easy to see but difficult to collect. South America. Meyer de Schauensee(1970) actually consideredit only as "casualoff coast"of Ecuador,although Marchant (1958) had SOLITARY EAGLE Harpyhaliaetus solitarius recordedit in "small numbers" in the samegeneral area during the months of November and December. Greenfield has found it in small I have found this rare eagleon severalrecent occasions in southeast- numberson the coastof Manabi' and EsmeraldasProvinces. It would ern Ecuador: an immature was seenboth perchedand in flight in the appearthat the SandwichTern has increasedgreatly in Ecuador(it •s upper Upano River valley (1600m) July 29, 1979(with R. A. Rowlet0, alsoincreasing on the Peruviancoast, although numbers remain small a pa•r in courtshipflight below Sabanilla(1700m) Feb. 26, 1980 and -- T. Parker, pers. comm.), althoughwhether it regularlyoccurs •n one there the following day, and one adult soaring above the lower such large numbers remains to be determined. Jambo•River valley (1200m), c. 10 km southof Zamora Mar. 1, 1980 (theselast with A. Maley and D.W. Finch). The only previousrecord MILITARY MACAW /Ira militaris •n the literature from Ecuador is of a specimentaken in 1920, also at Sabanilla (Chapman, 1926). In Ecuador, as elsewherein its range, this Smallgroups of this largemacaw were observed daily in flight in the eagle seems to favor forested foothills and to avoid level terrain. upper Upano River valley July 30 - Aug. 1, 1980(with R. A. Rowlett) Whether it is actually absent from the remainder of Ecuador remains The maximumwas 19 in two loosegroups on the 30th. They werere- to be determined;it seemslikely in at least the southwesternmoun- cordedonly in the late afternoon, in high long-distanceflight toward truns, for it is known from northwestern Peru. the southeast(to a roost?). Our guides informed us that small num- berswere found regularlyin the region,but that they had neverseen a BLACKHAWK-EAGLE sPizaetus tyrannus nest. The Military Macaw seemsnot to havebeen definitely recorded in Ecuador since the 19th century, and the two recorded localities A pair of Black Hawk-Eagleswas watched (with D.W. Finch et al.) ("Napo" and "Rio Napo") are both vague and may be misleading in courtshipdisplay over a forestedridge above Tandayapa(1700m) sincethe speciesis most unlikely in the Amazonianlowlands away Feb 17, 1980. Although not uncommon in the lowlands of eastern from Andeanfoothills (Chapman, 1926;Forshaw, 1978). This macaw Ecuador (Tallman et al., 1977; pers.obs.),this conspicuousand read- has a very local distributionin South America, and it is clearlynot a fly-•dentified eagle seems never before to have been recorded from common bird in Ecuador. west of the Andes (Meyer de Schauensee,1970; Blake, 1977). It is also not known from the very wet southern half of the Pacific slope of BARRED PARAKEET Bolborhynchus!ineola western Colombia (Hilty and Brown, MS); 1700 m is an unusually h•gh elevation for the species,which is basicallyfound in the tropical A flock of six of this distinctivesmall parakeetwas observed (with zone P. Greenfieldand R. A. Rowlet0 above Mindo (1700m) June 25, 1979. Although recorded locally from the Andes of both Colombia MARBLED GODWIT Lirnosa fedoa and Peru, the Barred Parakeet has never before been found in Ecua- dor (Chapman, 1926; Meyer de Schauensee1970). Its rather musical One Marbled Godwit was observed by Davis Finch at the Equasal twittering flight call is very characteristic. lagoons Feb. 8, 1980, but it could not be relocated Feb. 12-13. The only previous valid record from Ecuador appears to be that of Stolz- SCARLET-SHOULDERED PARROTLET Touit huetii mann in the 1880s, who took one at Santa Rosa, south of Machala in (Chapman, 1926); Santa Luz•a, where the species Two flocks, of 15 and 40_+ birds, were observedin tall forest along has also been collected,is now within the boundariesof Peru (Paynter the lower Yasuni River, in easternNapo ProvinceSept. 18, 1976. An- and Traylor, 1977). The Marbled Godwit is consideredby Meyer de other flock of 28, almost certainly this speciesbut seenonly in flight, Schauensee(1970), only "casual" along the South American Pacific was observednear San Isidro (1200m), 15 km north of Macas, Mor- coast, but a more thorough search may prove it somewhat more num- ona-SantiagoProvince Aug. 3, 1979. This rare parrotlet has not been erous, since it is locally fairly common in Panama (Ridgely, 1976). found in Ecuador since Goodfellow obtained a single male below

244 AmericanB•rds, May 1980 Baeza in Napo Province in 1899 (Goodfellow, 1902, Forshaw, 1978) Cuenca, almost 100 km to the north •n Azuay Prov•nce, and at a con- Although with a wide range encompassingmuch of Amazonia and siderably higher elevation (Chapman, 1926; Meyer de Schauensee, also southern Venezuela and the Guianas (Meyer de Schauensee, 1970). That M. baroni evidently favors semi-arid situations is of con- 1970), the Scarlet-shoulderedParrotlet remains a very little-known siderable interest in view of the fact that the other members of the su- bird, and has actually been recordedfrom only a few widely scattered perspeciesin which it has beenplaced, the M. aeneocaudagroup, are localities. all restrictedto shrubberynear timberline in very wet, windsweptlo- calities (Graves, 1980). SPOT-WINGED PARROTLET Touit stictoptera RAINBOW-BEARDED THORNBILL Chalcostigmaher- A flock of six of this very rare parrotlet was seen(with R. A. Row- rani lett) at CocaFalls (1500m), on the QuijosRiver along the Quito-Lago Agrlo road in Napo ProvinceJune 27, 1979.Another flock of 12 was A singlemale was seen(with D.W. Finch etal.), at the pass(2800m) encounteredin the upper Upano River valley (1600m) Aug. 2, 1979. on the Loja-Zamora road Feb. 27, 1980. This record marks an ap- The Spot-wingedParrotlet was previouslyknown in Ecuadoronly proximate 400 km southward range extensionfor this striking hum- from an 1899 specimenobtained at Baeza, Napo Province(Good- mingbird. It previouslyhad been recorded south only to northern fellow, 1902;Forshaw, 1978). A very inconspicuoussmall parrotlet, it Ecuador, where it has been recorded from a number of 1ocahtles perhapsoccurs in smallnumbers along the entireeastern slope of the (Chapman, 1926; pers. obs.), but was also recently found in the San- Andes(where extensive subtropical forest remains), but is overlooked. gay National Park, Morona-Santiago Province (Macey et al., 1976) The American Museum of Natural History has an unrecordedspeci- In the past few yearsit has also been found in adjacent northern Peru men from Peru in its collection: it is a female, labelled as having been in Piura and northern Cajamarca (Graves, 1980; T. Parker, pers takenby H. WatkinsJuly 15, 1924 at Pomarh(1100 feet -- a surpris- comm.). The Rainbow-bearded Thornbill rangesmostly below the ac- inglylow elevationfor thisspecies), Department of Loreto,along the tual paramo (at c. 2700-3400m)in shrubbyareas, often favoring well- lower Maranon River. This specimenextends the range of this par- drained hillsides with terrestrial bromeliads and ferns. The Blue- rotlet southwardby about 300 km, and representsthe first record for mantied Thornbill (C. stanleyt)replaces it at higher elevations,in true Peru. paramo (c. 3500-4100m), especiallyin areas with patchesof Polylepts woodland. A third memberof the genus,the smallerRufous-capped RUSTY-FACED PARROT Hapalopsittaca amazonina Thornbill (C. ruficeps) is a seeminglyvery uncommon or local hum- mingbird of clearingsand forest edge situations at much lower eleva- tions in the temperateand even the upper subtropicalzones (c. 2300- Two to four Rusty-facedParrots were seenalmost daily flying over 2700m). temperate forest at Planchas and El Placer (2800-2900m) Oct. 12-14, 1976. Two were also observedin remnant temperate forest near La- guna Llaviuco (3000m) in the Las Cajas National RecreationArea Ju- MOUNTAIN AVOCETBILL Opisthoprora euryptera ly 18, 1978, with four more also seen in a forest called locally "Pon- go" (2900•n),southwest of Giro'n,Azuay ProvinceJuly 19, 1978 A singleMountain Avocetbill was closelyobserved (with D. Wfl- (both with D. Wilcove). These recordsare detailed becausethe Ecua- cove) in forest undergrowthbelow Sabanilla July 25, 1978. The eleva- dorian form of this montaneparrot, pyrrhops (which hasbeen consid- tion here, 1700m, was unusuallylow for this species,typically a b•rd ered a distinctspecies), appears to have previouslybeen recorded from of the temperatezone. Generally considereda rare , w•th only two other sites which can be located today, one in southern a small rangeextending only to southwesternColombia, the avocetbfll Azuay and the other in northern (Chapman, 1926; has not previouslybeen recordedin Ecuador south of the northeast•n Paynter and Traylor, 1977). The range of pyrrhops thus seemsto be the Papallacta-Baezaregion, Napo Province (Chapman, 1926; Meyer hmlted to southern Ecuador, north only to about 2øS, in both the de Schauensee,1970), about 400 km to the north. That it probably Western and Eastern Andes. There also exists a considerablegap, rangesall alongthe easternslope of the EasternAndes is indicatedby amounting to c. 500 km, between the range ofpyrrhops and the clos- our also finding it at an intermediatelocality, Planchas,in SangayNa- est other race of the species,nominate amazonina, now known as far tional Park, where one was collected and another seen Oct. 13-14, south as the head of the Magdalena valley in southwesternColombia 1976 (with John O'Neill, specimento Louisiana State University Mu- (Rldgely and Gaulin, 1980). This gap may prove to be real, for the in- seum of Zoology). In the past few years it has also been recordedas terveningregion has beenquite thoroughly coveredby collectors.The far south as easternLa Libertad Department in Peru (T. Parker, pers region to the south, on the other hand, is lesswell known ornithologi- comm.). Despite its exotic-soundingname, the Mountain Avocetbfll is cally, and pyrrhops may well be found to range south into adjacent actually a rather dull little hummingbird, best recognizedby its short northern Peru. bill (the upturn at the tip is not prominent),a conspicuouswhite post- ocular spot, and its streaky effect below. SHORT-TAILED PARROT Graydidascalusbrachyurus PAVONINE QUETZAL Pharomachruspavoninus A group of four Short-tailed Parrots was observed(with R. A. Rowlett et al.) on "Monkey Island," an islandin the Napo River near This trogon appearsto be decidedly local or uncommon within at Prlmavera (just upstreamfrom Limoncocha), Napo Province, July leastthe presentlimits of AmazonianEcuador. The only localityap- 11, 1979, and small numberswere also seenalmost daily along the parently on record is Sarayacu, in western , dating lower Aguarico River upstreamto ZancudocochaSept. 19-26, 1976. from the 19th century(Chapman, 1926). My only observationof th•s This parrot is decidedlyuncommon and local within the present quetzalin Ecuadortook placeat Zancudococha,where a pair,was ob- borders of Ecuador, although it becomesmuch more numerous fur- servedin tall forestSept. 24, 1976. The explanationfor its rarity here ther downstreamin the Amazonsystem (pers. obs.). The Short-tailed remainsto be elucidated.Attention is often drawn to this surprisingly Parrot shunstall forestin favor of varzeaand secondarygrowth along inconspicuoustro•on by its loud oft-repeated call, "kweeoo, cu•c," the larger rivers, a habitat which becomesmuch more extensivelower or "wheeeoo, chuk." down in the Amazon system and one which it shares with the nominaterace of the FestiveAmazon, Amazonafestiva (which like- PARADISE JACAMAR Galbula dea wiseavoids tall forest).In AmazonianPeru it appearsto be decidedly nomadic, perhapseven migratory(T. Parker, pers. comm.). This unmistakablejacamar seemsscarce ill westernAmazonia, es- VIOLET-THROATED METALTAIL Metallura baroni peciallycompared to its relativeabundance in the east(pers. obs), and was only recently first recordedfrom Ecuador (Norton et al, 1972), from Montalvo, southernPastaza Province (in southeastern A singleindividual of this little-known hummingbird was watched Ecuador). The only subsequentreport of which I am aware is of a (with D.W. Finch) for sometime in low shrubbygrowth dominatedby singleindividual observed (with T. de Vries) in the forestcanopy at aldersalong a riverin a generallyarid region 2 km southwestof O•a ZancudocochaSept. 25, 1976. A conspicuousbird, this jacamar was (1900m), in extreme northern Loja Province, Mar. 2, 1980. The obviously far from common even here, as we encounteredno others V•olet-throated Metaltail had heretofore been recorded only from during a stay of almost a week.

Volume 34, Number 3 245 LINE-CHEEKED SPINETAlL Cranioleuca antisiensis CLIFF FLYCATCHER Hirundinea ferruginea

One Line-cheeked Spinetail was closedobserved (with D.W. Finch One or two individualsof this distinctiveand conspicuoustyranmd et al ) above the Tinalandia Hotel (900m), c. 15 km east of Santo Do- were observeddaily (with D.W. Finch et al.) along the Loja-Zamora mingode los Colorados,Pichincha Province Feb. 1, 1980.This spine- road below Sabanilla(1600-1700m) Feb. 27-29, 1980. None had been tall had not previouslybeen found north of southwesternEcuador recordedin the samearea in July 1978, suggestingthat they may have (Chapman, 1926; Meyer de Schauensee,1970), some 300 km to the been genuinerecent arrivals here. P. Greenfield (pers. comm.) has south. The bird was moving with a mixed flock of foliage-gleaners, also found up to four individualsof this speciessince September, tanagers,the antshrike Thamnistes,and othersat middle forest levels. 1978, along the Baya-Lago Agrio road about 10-15 km west of Coca It was foraging by probing in dead-leaf clusters,various epiphytes, Falls(1600m). One was recognizably photographed March 14, 1980by and crannies and crevices. Identification was based on its prominent S. Greenfield. As is typical for the species,they were very localized, white superciliarycontrasting with a rufouscrown; no similarbird oc- and were found only near certainroad cuts, frequentlyperching on curs west of the Andes. In foraging style this spinetail was strongly the rock face itself. The Cliff Flycatcherhas not beenrecorded from reminiscentof the Red-faced Spinetail, C. erythrops, which, surpris- Ecuador previously,although it is known to occur locally in eastern ingly, also occurs in the Tinalandia Hotel area although it is more Colombia and widely from eastern Peru southward and eastward numerous at slightly higher elevations.P. Greenfield (pets. comm.) (Chapman, 1926; Meyer de Schauensee,1970). Given the recentup- alsoobserved a singleindividual of this specieson August 13, 1978, at surge in road-building efforts along the eastern slope of the 1800m on the lower Chiriboga road, Pichincha Province. EcuadorJanAndes, this attractive flycatchercould well becomecon- siderablymore numerousand widespreadin years to come. SPECTACLED PRICKLETAlL Siptornis striaticollis RUFOUS-TAILED FLATBILL • Ramphotrigonruficauda The xenops-likeprickletail, although previouslyrecorded in Ecua- A singleindividual of the distinctiveRufous-tailed Flatbill was ob- dor only from Mapoto (Chapman, 1926; Meyer de Schauensee,1966), servedfor severalminutes as it foraged with an antwren flock in tall actually appears to be a widespreadalthough never common bird in forest at ZancudocochaSept. 23, 1976. The specieshas never before subtropicalforests on the easternslope of the EasternAndes at leastin been recorded from Ecuador, although its occurrencehere comesas southeasternEcuador. One or two were seen(with D. Wilcove) almost no great surpriseas it is known from adjacentsoutheastern Colombia daily along the Loja-Zamora road from a point just below Sabanilla and northeasternPeru (Meyer de Schauensee,1970). to about 15 km above Zamora itself (1400-1700m) July 22-25, 1978, and again Feb. 27-29, 1980 (with D.W. Finch et al.), and also in the LARGE-HEADED FLATBILL Ramphotrigon mega- upper Upano River valley July 29 - Aug. 2, 1979(with R. A. Rowlett). cephala It has also recentlybeen found in adjacent northern Peru (Eley et al., One Large-headedFlatbill was carefullystudied and another heard 1979), in situations similar to those where it is found in Ecuador. (with D. Wilcove)in a standof bambooin forestalong the Nangarltza These authors suggestthat Siptornis is in some way ecologically"in- compatible" with piculets of the genusPicumnus, their foraging be- River north of Paquisha(950m), Zamora-ChinchipeProvince, July 24, 1978.The specieshas not previouslybeen recorded from Ecuador, havior appearingto be similar, and that no piculet speciesoccurs with it there. This does not, however, appear to be the case in Ecuador, but is known from adjacent southeasternColombia (Meyer de Schauensee,1966, 1970). Of retiring disposition,this flatbill is often where above Zamora it and the Gold-fronted Piculet, P. aurifrons, are locally sympatric.In fact I once observedthe two speciesforaging overlookedby personsunfamiliar with its characteristiccall (a soft, melancholy, minor-keyed "wooou, wu," sometimeswith the second together in the same flock; a StreakedXenops, Xenops rutilans, also accompanied this flock. "wu" omitted).Its occurrenceanywhere seems closely correlated with that of bamboo, standsof which are found locallyin many parts of JET unicolor Amazonia, but which are quite rare in eastern Ecuador. This doubtlesshelps to explainwhy the Large-headedFlatbill had not been found before in Ecuador. A female Jet Manakin was mist-netted in forest undergrowth in the upper Upano River valley (1550m) July 30, 1979; it was collected,with AGILE TIT-TYRANT Uromyiasagilis the specimennow at the American Museum of Natural History. No others were recorded. This representsthe first record of the Jet Mana- Severalof thisuncommon tit-tyrant were seen (with JohnO'Neill), kin for Ecuador. It had previouslybeen recordedonly from northern and two collected(specimens to LouisianaState University Museum and central Peru, in subtropical forests on the eastern slope of the of Zoology),at a sitecalled Loma Magdalena(3600m), in shrubbery Eastern Andes (Meyer de Schauensee,1970). just belowtimberline on the easternslope of the EasternAndes in San- gay National Park, Morona-SantiagoProvince, Oct. 9-10, 1976.The GREATER MANAKIN Schiffornis major specieshad not previouslybeen found southof northern Ecuador in the Papallacta region of Napo Province, some 200 km to the north A singleindividual of this rather uniform bright cinnamon-rufous (Chapman,1926; Meyer de Schauensee,1970). manakin was carefullystudied as it foragedalone in the undergrowth of flooded forestat JatuncochaSept. 17, 1976. No vocalizationcould .RUFOUS-WINGED TYRANNULET Mecocerculus cab definitely be attributed to this specieshere. The Greater Manakin has opterus not been recordedpreviously from Ecuador, but its occurrencehere is A single individual of this strongly-patternedtyrannulet was ob- not too surprising,since it is known from northeasternPeru (Meyer de served(with D. Wilcove) with a large mixed flock at forest edgeabout Schauensee,1970). 15 km above Zamora (at 1400m) on the Loja-Zamora road July 25, 1978;it must be rare here as none were recordedsubsequently despite SCALED FRUITEATER Ampelioides tschudii considerabletime in the area. This representsthe first record of the Rufous-winged Tyrannulet from the eastern slope of the Andes in A pair of this distinctive fruiteater was observed closely by P. Ecuador; it had beenrecorded only from the westslope of the Western Greenfield (with R. Bleiweiss,D. Pearson, and W. Fitch) near Mindo Andes in southern Ecuador (Chapman, 1926; Meyer de Schauensee, (1400m) on October 18, 1979. This representsthe first report of this 1970). That it should occur in the Zamora area, closeto the Peruvian speciesfrom the WesternAndes in Ecuador, it having heretoforebeen border, is not too surprising as it has been recorded from the east recordedonly from the easternslope in the subtropicalzone (Meyer de slope of the Andes in adjacent northern Peru (T. Parker, pers Schauensee,1970). Even there it appearsto be rare, though possibly comm.). P. Greenfield (pers. comm.) has alsoobserved this tyrannulet only overlooked, with no recent reports that I am aware of. This pair in the WesternAndes, some300 km north of its previouslyrecorded was lethargic and rather unwary, allowing a closeapproach, perching range. One was seennear San Miguel de los Bancos(1200m), west of insidePipreola the forest 5 to 10 feet above the ground. Infrequently Mindo, Pichincha Province, on December 13, 1978 (with W. Davis), they gave a shrill but somewhat melodious, penetrating call of three and singlebirds have been seenon two occasions(August 17, 1978, notes (similar in quality to the single-notedcalls of severalPipreola February 9, 1979) at the Tinalandia Hotel (900m), also in Pichincha fruiteaters). Province.

246 AmericanBirds, May 1980 SULPHUR-BELLIED TYRANNULET Mecocerculus rangeof the speciesnorthward by some300 km, more surprisingly,it minor is the first time it has ever been found north of the supposedbarrier formedby the Mara•on River and the North Peruvian Depression in Two Sulphur-belliedTyrannulets were carefully observed(with D. northern Peru (T. Parker, pers. comm.). In appearancethey re- Wficove)as they foragedwith a smallmixed flock at forestedge above sembled, as would be expected,the most northerly of the Peruvian Sabanilla (at 2050m) near the Loja-Zamora road July 22, 1978. The races, bella: males showed pale blue streaking on a darker blue birds were silent as they gleaned methodically in foliage at middle ground, while females had blue only on the forecrown and around the heights, mostly on the outer part of the branches. This tryannulet has eye. For various reasons,arranging for the collectionof specimens not previously been found in Ecuador (Chapman, 1926; Meyer de proved impossible,but obtainingXenodacnis at Las Cajas in the Schauensee,1970), althoughas it has beencollected in both Colombia future should not be difficult; the population probably representsan and Peru its occurrencehere is not entirely unexpected. Subsequentto undescribed form. That such an obvious bird could have been over- this observation, I found three previouslyunreported specimensof M. lookedby collectorsseems improbable, and a more likely explanation minor in the Museum of Comparative Zoology (Harvard) collection; is that they simply neverworked this high zone above Cuenca. all had been taken by D. Norton in September 1965, also along the Loja-Zamora road, but at a somewhatlower (1600m) elevation. YELLOW-COLLARED CHLOROPHONIA Chioro- PALE-FOOTED SWALLOW Notiochelidon flavipes phonia flavirostris

Having previous familiarity with it in Peru, J. O'Neill could quickly Althoughlong considered a greatrarity, and still knownfrom very point out that it was this swallow, previously unrecorded in Ecuador, few specimenswith full data, thischlorophonia has seemingly become which was actually fairly common in the upper Palora River valley more numerousin at leastsome of the Colombianpart of its rangein around Planchas and El Placer (2900-3100m) in Sangay National recentyears (Hilty, 1977). However there is still only one Ecuadorian Park, and not the widespread and very similar Blue-and-white Swal- specimenwith localitydata, that taken "below Gualea" (Meyer de low, N. cyanoleuca. Our dates of observation were Oct. 11-15, 1976. Schauensee,1966), and sightingsare infrequentenough to conclude Its presencein Ecuador is certainly not unexpected, as it has been col- that the speciesmust be relativelyrare here. P. Greenfield(pers lected in Colombia, is now proving almost widespreadin Peru (Parker comm.) and I have eachseen the specieson one occasionnear Mlndo and O'Neill, 1980), and has even been recently found in Bolivia (1400m); I also observedtwo birdsin femaleplumage in forestc 30 (Parker et al., 1980; pets. obs.). Doubtless it has long been generally km (by road) west southwestof Chiriboga on the road to Santo Do- overlooked due to its similarity to the Blue-and-white Swallow, which mingode losColorados, Pichincha Province, Feb. 2, 1980(with D W favors more open areas, although the two are sometimesseen flying Finch et al.), and P. Greenfield(pers. comm.) observedanother together. At Sangay the Pale-looted flew mostly over the canopy of female-plumagedbird with a large mixed flock near E1 Placer, temperate forest, lessoften low over the few meadowsin the vicinity EsmeraldasProvince (700 m), nearthe Colombianborder, on March (at which time it was usuallyseen in the companyof the Brown-bellied 5, 1980. Though not as brightly patternedas their consorts,even Swallow, N. murina). The Blue-and-white Swallow did not occur femalesare readilyrecognized by theirmostly bright green plumage in here. N. flavipes would appear to be relatively local in Ecuador, for I conjunctionwith their yellow eye-ringand salmon-coloredbill and have been unable to locate it subsequentlyin other seeminglysuitable legs. areasof temperateforest along the easternslope of the Andes. Identi- fication and behavioral notes are well covered by Parker and O'Neill EMERALD TANAGER Tangaraflorida (1980). One Emerald Tanager was studied carefully for over ten minutes by TENNESSEE WARBLER Vermivora peregrina Paul Greenfield (with W. Davis) about 5 km W of San Miguel de los Bancos(1200 m), Pichincha Province, on November 8, 1978. It was Anadult Tennessee Warbler was closely observed (with D.W. Finch foraging actively with a large mixed flock composedmainly of other et al.) above Tandayapa (1800m), Feb. 6, 1980. It was with a large Tangara tanagers(principally the Silver-throated, T. icterocephala) mixed flock composedmostly of various Tangara tanagersat the edge The specieshas not been found previously in Ecuador, but is not en- of extensivesubtropical forest, a somewhat surprising situation for a tirely unexpectedhere as it has been recorded in adjacent southwestern presumablyvagrant bird. This warbler hasnot been previouslyrecord- Colombiain westernNari•o Department(Meyer de Schauensee, ed in Ecuador (Meyer de Schauensee,1966, 1970), but evidentlysmall 1970). Its status in Ecuador remains to be established, for it has not numbers wintered in Ecuador during the winter of 1979-1980, for P. been found subsequentlyin the area. Greenfield (pers. comm.) also observedthis speciesin February: one was seen along the lower Chiriboga road (1400m), Pichincha Pro- vince, on February 7; 3 were feeding in a hotel garden at Lake San METALLIC-GREEN TANAGER Tangara labradorides Pablo (2400m). , on February 16; and one was This distinctively-patternedtanager was observed(with D.W. Finch seenat Coca Falls (1500m), Napo Province, on February 21. As the et al.) in fair numbers almost daily at forest edge below Sabamlla TennesseeWarbler winters very commonly as close as northern Col- (1600-1700m) along the Loja-Zamora road Feb. 26-29, 1980. Up to ombia (pets. obs.), careful observationmay show that a few winter ten were seenin a day, usually in groups of 2-4 accompanyingmixed regularly as far south as Ecuador. flocks of other tanagers.Finding them here, particularly in suchlarge BAY-BREASTED WARBLER Dendroica castanea numbers, came as a distinct surprise, for although the Metallic-green Tanager is not uncommon in northwestern Ecuador (Meyer de A single Bay-breastedWarbler in winter plumage was carefully Schauensee,1970; pers. obs.), it had neverbefore beenfound on the the easternslope of the Andes, or nearly this far south. However the observedby Paul Greenfieldat Coca Falls (1500m) on February 21, 1980. This representsthe first sightingof this speciesfrom Ecuador; it speciesdoes reappear in adjacentnorthern Peru (chaupensis),and the Sabanillabirds are probablyallied with this population. had not previouslybeen reported south of northernColombia (Meyer de Schauensee,1970), where it appears,compared to the Tennessee Warbler, for example,to be relativelyuncommon (pets. obs.). BLACK-CAPPED TANAGER Tangaraheinei

TIT-LIKE DACNIS Xenodacnis parina Four (two separate pairs) of this readily recognizedtanager were studied(with D.W. Finchet al.) at lengthabove Tandayapa (1700 and We were very surprisedto discoverthe Tit-like Dacnis, heretofore 1900m) Feb. 6, 1980. This tanager had not previouslybeen found on considereda Peruvian endemic(Meyer de Schauensee,1966, 1970), in the western slope of the Andes in Ecuador, where it had been recorded the patchesof Polylepis woodland at Las Cajas National Recreation only from the northeast (Chapman, 1926; Meyer de Schauensee, Area (3800-4000m). A pair was seenJuly 20, 1978 (with D. Wilcove), 1970). In Colombia, however, the Black-cappedTanager has been then four more Feb. 24, 1980(with D.W. Finch et al.), all in the same foundon thewestern slope south into Nari•o (Meyerde Schauensee, general area although in three separatewoodland patches.Most were 1966). With more thorough exploration, the specieswill probably be noted gleaning in the foliage of another low shrub, Gynoxys sp., found to range continuouslyfrom about this point northward along which is often found with Polylepis. These recordsextend the known the Western Andes.

Volume 34, Number 3 247 BLACK-HEADED HEMISPINGUS Hemispingus verti- SLATE-COLORED SEEDEATER Sporophila schistacea calis At least three males were singing, with females also present, at a Two Black-headed Hemispingus were observed (with D. Wilcove) newly planted rice field recentlycut out of swampyforest at Jatunco- with a large mixed tanager flock a short distance east of the pass on cha Sept. 19, 1976. This representsthe first report of this local and the Loja-Zamora road (2600m) July 22, 1978. Meyer de Schauensee generallyuncommon seedeater from easternEcuador; it had previous- (1966, 1970) inadvertentlyomitted the speciesas occurringin Ecua- ly been known only from the northwesternpart of the country (Chap- dor, although Chapman (1926) had recordeda number of specimens man, 1926; Meyer de Schauensee,1966, 1970). from the northeastern part of the country. The above observation doesextend the known rangeof this hemispingussouthward by almost 400 km along the Eastern Andes; it has also recently been found in ad- BLUE GROSBEAK Guiraca caerulea jacent northern Peru in northern Cajamarca Department (T. Parker, pers comm.). In August,1978, Dr. GustavoOrce• of the EscuelaPolite'cmca Nacional in Quito presentedme with a specimenof this speciesfrom BLACK-AND-WHITE TANAGER Conothraupis specu- his collection,a specimenwhich he fully recognizedas beingof unu- ligera sual interest. It is a female, taken at El Eden on the Napo River m Napo Province (about 75 km east of Limoncocha) by one of the Onemale Black-and-white Tanager was watc, hed for a longperiod Olallas Dec. I, 1964. I gave it to the American Museum of Natural m a clearing at the edge of forest at the Rio Palenque Scientific History, where E. Eisenmann(pers. comm.) determined that it was Center, 56 km S (by road) of Santo Domingo de los Colorados, Los probably of the migratory nominate race. The record is the first for Rios ProvinceFeb. 3, 1980(with D.W. Finch et al.). A rare bird, still the Blue Grosbeak from Ecuador, and actually is the first specimen known from only a handful of specimens,the Black-and-whiteTan- from anywhere in South America (Meyer de Schauensee,1970). There ager has apparently been recorded only once before from Ecuador, is one previous sighting from western Colombia (Gochfeld et al, from a specimenobtained in southwesternAzuay Pr,ovince (Meyer de 1974). The locality is an odd one for a long-distancevagrant, but there Schauensee,1966), about 300 km to the south of Rio Palenque. seems no reason to doubt its provenance.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 55: 1-784. __. 1970. A Guide to the Birds of South EISENMANN, E. 1955. The Speciesof Mid- America. Livingston Publ. Co., Wynne- Many individuals have made signifi- dle American Birds. Trans. Linnaean Soc. wood, Pa. cant contributions to my ornithological N.Y. 7: 1-128. NORTON, D.W. 1965. Notes on some non- ELEY, J.W., G.R. GRAVES, T.A. PARK- birds from eastern Ecuador field work in Ecuador. Among those to ER Ill, and D.H. HUNTER. 1979. Notes Breviora 230:, 1-11. whom I am especiallyindebted, for vari- on Siptornis striaticollis (Furnariidae) in __, G. ORCES, and E. SUTTER. 1972 ous reasons, are the following: Thomas Peru. Condor 81 (3): 319. Notes on rare and previously unreported Butler, Paul Greenfield, Gustavo Orces, FORSHAW, J. 1978. Parrots of the World, birds from Ecuador. Auk 89(4): 889-894 Fernando Ortiz, Arturo Ponce, Allen 2nd ed. Lansdowne Editions, Melbourne. PARKER, T.A., Ill, and J.P. O'NEILL GOCHFELD, M., R. GOCHFELD, M. 1980. Notes on little known birds of the Putney, and the staff and members of KLEINBAUM, and G. TUDOR. 1974. upper Urubamba valley, southern Peru the Summer Institute of Linguistics in Sight record of a Blue Grosbeak (Guiraca Auk 97(1): 167-176. Qmto. A specialthanks to Richard Hu- caerulea) in Colombia. Am. Birds 28(5): __, J.V. REMSEN, JR., and T. HEIN-- bet, who was instrumental in organizing 958. DEL. 1980. Seven bird speciesnew to Bo- GOODFELLOW, W. 1902. Results of an livia. Bull. B.O.C., in press. two long field trips in southernEcuador. ornithological journey through Colombia PAYNTER, R.A., JR., and M.A. TRAY-- Davis W. Finch, John O'Neill, Rose and Ecuador, part V. Ibis, 8th ser. 2: 207- LOR, JR. 1977. Ornithological Gazereef Ann Rowlett, Dan Tallman, Tj. de 233. of Ecuador. Museum of Comparative Vnes, David Wilcove, and my wife Julie GRAVES, G.R. 1980. A new speciesof met- Zoology, Cambridge, Mass. RIDGELY, R.S. 1976. A Guide to the Btrds all accompaniedme on various trips and altail hummingbird from northern Peru. Wilson Bull. 92 (1): 1-7. of Panama. Princeton University Press, expeditions, and each in his or her own HAVERSCHMIDT, F. 1968. Birds of Surin- Princeton. way made life in the field more reward- am. Oliver & Boyd, London. __. and S. GAULIN. 1980. The birds of •ng and enjoyable. Paul Greenfield, HILTY, S.L. 1977. Chlorospingusflavovi- Finca Merenberg, Colombia. Condor, in Theodore Parker and Guy Tudor pro- rens rediscovered,with notes on other Pa- press. cific Colombian and Cauca Valley birds. SICK, H. 1979. Notes on some Brazilian reded helpful comments on various Auk 94(1): 44-49. birds. Bull. B.O.C. 99 (4): 115-120. drafts of this paper. Financial support __ and W. BROWN. MS. A Guide to the TALLMAN, D., E. TALLMAN, and D L for much of the field work was provided Birds of Colombia. Johnson,A.W. 1965. PEARSON. 1977. The Birds of Limonco- by grantsfrom the World Wildlife Fund The Birds of Chile and Adjacent Regions cha, Napo Province, Ecuador. lnstituto (U S.) and Rare Relief Effort; I of Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru. Platt Linguistico de Verano, Quito. EstablecimientosGra'ficos, Buenos am extremely grateful to both organiza- Aires." tions for their continued encourage- MARCHANT, S. 1958. The birds of the San- --Rare Animal Relief Effort, c/o Na- ment. ta Elena Peninsula, S. W. Ecuador. Ibis tional Audubon Society, 950 Thtrd 100: 349-387. Avenue, New York, NY 10022. LITERATURE CITED MACEY, A., G. ARMSTRONG, N. GAL- LO, and M.L. HALL. 1976. Sangay: A BLAKE, E.R. 1977. Manual of Neotropical Study of ManagementAIternatives. Ecua- Birds, Vol. I. University of Chicago dorjan Department of National Parks and Press, Chicago. Wildlife, Quito. BUTLER, T.Y. 1979. The Birds of Ecuador MEYER DE SCHAUENSEE, RODOLPHE. and the Galapagos Archipelago. The 1964. The Birds of Colombia. Livingston Ramphastos Agency, Portsmouth, N.H. Publ. Co., Wynnewood, Pa. CHAPMAN, F.M. 1926. The Distribution of __. 1966. The Speciesof Birds of South Bird-life in Ecuador, a Contribution to a America with their Distribution. Acad. Study of the Origin of Andean Bird-life. Nat. Sci. Phil.

248 American Birds, May 1980