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Trinidad and Tobago February 26–March 6, 2019 New Dates with Sue Maccallum

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Trinidad and Tobago February 26–March 6, 2019 New dates with Sue MacCallum Tufted Coquette, by Patricia Maxwell Wood In all the lush Caribbean, there is no place more popular for birders than the exquisite, mountainous two-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. Here there is easy access to an extraordinary diversity of the world’s most stunningly beautiful birds, including scarlet ibises, rufous-tailed jacamars, white-tailed tropicbirds, and over 17 different kinds of hummingbirds. There are over 430 bird species here, many of them South American since the islands are as close as 7 miles from Venezuela. We will stay at the world-famous Asa Wright Nature Centre, a charming lodge located in a 2,000-acre tract of rainforest high in the Arima Valley of the island’s Northern Range. Visitors usually see more than 40 species of birds before breakfast. In contrast, Tobago’s avifauna is more Caribbean in its makeup, and here we will stay at the charming Blue Waters Inn. A comfortable and relaxing birding trip, this tour is a long- standing favorite, particularly for those who are new to tropical birding. Trinidad & Tobago with Sue MacCallum, Feb 26–Mar 6, 2019 Day 1: Feb. 26–Arrive and Explore the Asa Wright Nature Centre Birding on the world-famous Asa Wright verandah, by Dave Larson Plan to arrive at Piarco International Airport, Port of Spain, in late afternoon/evening (we will send flight recommendations once the traveler minimum has been met). You will be met by an Asa Wright Nature Centre guide and/or Mass Audubon naturalist Sue MacCallum, who will take you to the Centre. The Centre is located about an hour’s drive away in the Northern Range. We’ll settle in, relax on the Centre’s wide verandah, and marvel at the almost tame hummingbirds, tanagers, honeycreepers, and other birds that frequent the feeders. At 6 p.m., we’ll enjoy rum punch and then dinner. This evening, we’ll get to know each other and review the itinerary and target species. Overnight: Asa Wright Nature Centre and Lodge (D) || http://asawright.org/ Commonly Seen at the Feeders: White-chested Emerald; White-necked Jacobin; Rufous-breasted and Little hermit; Copper-rumped Hummingbird; Tufted Coquette; Crested Oropendola; Blue-gray, Palm, White-lined, Silver-beaked, and Turquoise tanager; Barred Antshrike; Purple and Green honeycreeper; and Violaceous Euphonia. Seen from the Verandah: Double-toothed Kite; Scaled Pigeon; Black-tailed Tityra; Common Black, Gray-lined, White, and Zone-tailed hawk; Channel-billed Toucan; Bearded Bellbird; Yellow-breasted, Piratic, and Boat-billed flycatcher; Yellow-olive Flatbill; Tropical Pewee; Tropical Kingbird; Tegu Lizard; and Red-rumped Agouti. Mass Audubon Travel | massaudubon.org/travel | [email protected] | 800-289-9504 Trinidad & Tobago with Sue MacCallum, Feb 26–Mar 6, 2019 Day 2: Feb. 27–Introductory Birding on Forest Trails/Night Birding Barred Antshrike, by Patricia Maxwell Wood Morning begins with the raucous calls of Crested Oropendolas and a host of other exotic sounds. A first- time visitor could see 20 to 30 life birds before breakfast and 40 species overall. After breakfast, we’ll have a guided tour along several trails through the sanctuary. Many participants will enjoy the challenge of spotting a Bearded Bellbird as its distinctive “BONK!” echoes throughout the forest. Not far from a known bellbird lek in the trees are two species of manakins attending their leks closer to the ground. The afternoon will be free to allow you to relax, enjoy the trails on your own, and adjust to the tropical sun and heat. Birding from the verandah of Asa Wright Nature Centre is one of the world’s most pleasant and exciting ornithological experiences. Ruby-topaz Hummingbird, Tufted Coquette, Barred Antshrike, and Green Honeycreeper are just some of the exciting species one can expect. After dinner, we will set off on a slow drive in the Arima Valley (or simply walk the grounds), looking for target night species. Overnight: Asa Wright Nature Centre and Lodge (BLD) Mass Audubon Travel | massaudubon.org/travel | [email protected] | 800-289-9504 Trinidad & Tobago with Sue MacCallum, Feb 26–Mar 6, 2019 Morning Birding Highlights: Trinidad Motmot, Cocoa and Spectacled thrush, Gray-fronted Dove, White-bearded and Golden-headed manakin, Green-backed Trogon, Channel-billed Toucan, Chestnut Woodpecker, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Turquoise and Bay-headed tanager, Green Hermit, Tufted Coquette, Black-throated Mango, Forest Elaenia, Ochre-bellied Flycatcher, Yellow Oriole, White-necked Thrush, Rufous-breasted Wren, White-flanked Antwren, and Bearded Bellbird. Night Birding Possibilities: Fork-tailed Palm-Swift, Sulphury Flycatcher, Moriche Oriole (extremely rare), White-tailed Nightjar, Common Pauraque, Common Potoo, Tropical Screech-Owl, and Barn Owl. Day 3: Feb. 28–Birding Trinidad’s Northern Range and Blanchisseuse Road After breakfast, we will head out on a scenic, all-day excursion following a lush and winding mountain road that passes over the Northern Range towards the seaside village of Blanchisseuse. Trinidad’s Northern Range is an eastern extension of the Coastal Cordillera of Venezuela, a connecting range to the Andes. We’ll leave just after breakfast to drive north on the Blanchisseuse Road into the upper elevations of the Northern Range forest. This is the only road on the island that bisects the Northern Range before finally descending to the Caribbean coastline at the fishing village of Blanchisseuse. Here we reach the highest elevation possible by motor vehicle, some 2,200 ft. Our day will be spent birding both quiet country roads and wide forest tracks seeking species more easily found at this higher altitude. Our picnic lunch will be enjoyed in the village of Brasso Seco where clean washroom facilities are available. We’ll make numerous roadside birding stops, never walking far from the vehicles. There are always coolers with both water and fruit juice on board. Towards midafternoon, we’ll stop our northward journey at the village of Morne le Croix. Here we’ll take afternoon tea and cakes while looking for additional species such as Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Pale- breasted Spinetail, Southern Rough-winged Swallow, and Yellow-rumped Cacique before a late afternoon drive back south to the Centre in time for a shower before rum punch and dinner. Overnight: Asa Wright Nature Centre and Lodge (BLD) Birding Highlights: Short-tailed Hawk; Blue-headed Parrot; Lilac-tailed Parrotlet; Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl; Collared and Green-backed trogon; Golden-olive, Red-rumped, and Chestnut woodpecker; Stripe-breasted Spinetail; Streaked Xenops; Cocoa and Plain-brown woodcreeper; White-bellied Antbird; Black-faced Antthrush; Gray-throated Leaftosser; Dusky-capped, Slaty- capped, Streaked, and Euler's flycatcher; Gray-breasted Martin; Rufous-breasted Wren; Long-billed Gnatwren; White-necked Thrush; Golden-fronted Greenlet; Speckled and Hepatic tanager; Blue Dacnis; and Golden-crowned Warbler. Bright blooms of the forest canopy attract a number of nectar- feeding birds. Mass Audubon Travel | massaudubon.org/travel | [email protected] | 800-289-9504 Trinidad & Tobago with Sue MacCallum, Feb 26–Mar 6, 2019 Day 4: March 1–Rare Oilbirds and Caroni Swamp Oilbird, by Patricia Maxwell Wood This morning, we’ll enjoy coffee, tea, and breakfast on the verandah followed by a walk to see the Centre’s resident Oilbirds. We will start on a short but steep path to Dunston Cave, a riparian grotto at AWNC. Here, we’ll enjoy exclusive access to a breeding colony of Oilbirds—nocturnal, fruit-eating birds that congregate here at one of the world’s most accessible nesting caves. In the afternoon, we’ll bird while en route to Caroni Swamp. We’ll search the mangroves of Caroni National Park for new species and then head to the dock. While birding by boat, we’ll keep an eye out for Ruschenberger’s Tree Boa and Silky Anteater, then moor at a quiet spot in the mangroves to let the sunset show begin. Hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of Scarlet Ibises cloud the sky as they come to roost. Overnight: Asa Wright Nature Centre and Lodge (BLD) Caroni Highlights: Long-winged Harrier, Yellow-hooded Blackbird, Bicolored Conebill, Masked (Red-capped) Cardinal, Straight-billed Woodcreeper, Green-throated Mango, Northern Waterthrush, Anhinga, Striated Heron, White-cheeked Pintail, Large-billed Tern, Pied Water-Tyrant, Common Potoo, and Scarlet Ibis. Mass Audubon Travel | massaudubon.org/travel | [email protected] | 800-289-9504 Trinidad & Tobago with Sue MacCallum, Feb 26–Mar 6, 2019 Day 5: March 2–Aripo Savannah and Arena Forest After breakfast, we’ll depart for the Aripo Savannah, an area of natural savannah and palm marsh at lower elevation, just over an hour’s drive from the Centre. The Aripo Savannah today exists as a remnant of what once was a major habitat type of lowland Trinidad. This remnant, seasonally wet savannah is now surrounded by extensively altered landscapes where sugar cane is grown, as well as small-scale agriculture and housing development sprawl. This field trip involves a number of stops in known bird-rich areas for frequent scans of roadside and open-area vegetation. An old USA airbase from World War II, Waller Field, has groves of Moriche Palms, which are focal points for Fork-tailed Palm- Swift, Piratic and Sulphury flycatcher, and Epaulet (Moriche) Oriole. Open skies are good to scan for Long-winged Harrier, Yellow-headed Caracara, and Zone-tailed and Savannah hawk. We’ll walk quiet farm roads before a short drive brings us to a walkable, unused railway track. During the morning, we will be seeking species that habitually associate with Moriche Palms, including Moriche Oriole (subspecies of Epaulet Oriole), Fork-tailed Palm-Swift, Sulphury Flycatcher, and Red- bellied Macaw. But the site is also good for Savannah Hawk, Striped and Little cuckoo, Ruby-topaz and White-tailed Goldenthroat hummingbird, Green-rumped Parrotlet, and Crimson-crested and Lineated woodpecker.
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  • Observations on New Or Unusual Birds from Trainidad, West Indies

    Observations on New Or Unusual Birds from Trainidad, West Indies

    474 SHORT COMMUNICATIONS SUMMARY CLAUSEN, G., R. SANSON, AND A. STORESUND. 1971. The HbO, dissociation curve of the fulmar and Blood respiratory properties have been compared in the herring gull. Respir. Physiol. 12 :66-70. antarctic birds. Blood hemoglobin content, hemato- DANZER, L. A., AND J. E. COHN. 1967. The dis- crit, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration sociation curve of goose blood. Respir. Physiol. (MCHC) are higher in three species of penguins 3:302-306. than in the Giant Fulmar and the antarctic Skua. HOLMES, A. D., M. G. PIGGOT, AND P. A. CAhwmLL. Penguin chicks show lower hemoglobin values than 1933. The hemoglobin content of chicken blood. adults. HbO, dissociation curves show higher affin- J. Biol Chem. 103:657. ity in diving than nondiving birds. Among penguins, LENFANT, C., AND K. JOHANSEN. 1965. Gas trans- the Chinstrap Penguin, practicing longer and deeper port by the hemocyanin containing blood of the dives, has blood with higher O? affinity than the other cephalopod, Octopus dofleini. Amer. J. Physiol. species. The Bohr effect is similarly higher in diving 209:991-998. than nondiving birds. The adaptive value of the blood LENFANT, C., G. L. KOOYMAN, R. ELSNER, AND C. M. respiratory properties is discussed in the context of DRABEK. 1969. Respiratory function of blood behavior and mode of life of the species studied. of the adelie penguin, Pygoscelis adeliae. Amer. ACKNOWLEDGMENT J. Physiol. 216: 1598-1600. LUTZ, P. L., I. S. LoNchrmn, J. V. TUTTLE, AND K. This work was supported by the National Science SCHMIDT-NIELSEN. 1973. Dissociation curve of Foundation under grants GV-25401 and GB-24816 bird blood and effect of red cell oxygen consump- to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography for opera- tion.
  • A Comprehensive Species-Level Molecular Phylogeny of the New World

    A Comprehensive Species-Level Molecular Phylogeny of the New World

    YMPEV 4758 No. of Pages 19, Model 5G 2 December 2013 Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution xxx (2013) xxx–xxx 1 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ympev 5 6 3 A comprehensive species-level molecular phylogeny of the New World 4 blackbirds (Icteridae) a,⇑ a a b c d 7 Q1 Alexis F.L.A. Powell , F. Keith Barker , Scott M. Lanyon , Kevin J. Burns , John Klicka , Irby J. Lovette 8 a Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, and Bell Museum of Natural History, University of Minnesota, 100 Ecology Building, 1987 Upper Buford Circle, St. Paul, MN 9 55108, USA 10 b Department of Biology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182, USA 11 c Barrick Museum of Natural History, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV 89154, USA 12 d Fuller Evolutionary Biology Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, NY 14950, USA 1314 15 article info abstract 3117 18 Article history: The New World blackbirds (Icteridae) are among the best known songbirds, serving as a model clade in 32 19 Received 5 June 2013 comparative studies of morphological, ecological, and behavioral trait evolution. Despite wide interest in 33 20 Revised 11 November 2013 the group, as yet no analysis of blackbird relationships has achieved comprehensive species-level sam- 34 21 Accepted 18 November 2013 pling or found robust support for most intergeneric relationships. Using mitochondrial gene sequences 35 22 Available online xxxx from all 108 currently recognized species and six additional distinct lineages, together with strategic 36 sampling of four nuclear loci and whole mitochondrial genomes, we were able to resolve most relation- 37 23 Keywords: ships with high confidence.