Birding in Bucaramanga

You might not know that Colombia has more bird species than any other country - more than 1800. Many are very colourful, but it's quite a challenge to identify them when you've never seen them before. I'm trying to take a few pictures to help. I've not really had a chance to get out of the city yet, but there's plenty to see from our apartment and in the city's parks such as Parque La Flora.

Forgive the poor image quality. I'm not much of a photographer and they were all taken with a cheap compact camera through the telescope.

These are a pair of Spectacled Parrotlets (Forpus conspicillatus). They're noisy but seem to be a very close couple.

This is a Tropical Kingbird (Tyrannus melancholicus) a large flycatcher. There are also similar Great Kiskadees nesting nearby and making a racket - their distinctive call is "Bien-te-veo" which means "I see you well".

This is a Vermilion Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus). Very bright and approachable.

And this one is one of our pair of Yellow-headed Caracara (Milvago chimachima). They are also nesting in one of the palm trees near our apartment.

All the birds have names in Spanish of course, but there are many names used in different parts of Colombia for the same species, so it can be useful to know the latin versions!

I've seen plenty more birds, some of which like the Black & Turkey Vultures are very common, easy to see and simple to identify. Others like the flycatchers & swifts are harder because there are several similar ones. It seems even a small trip to somewhere new brings something different.

Will blog about the other animals I've seen later.