Spot-crowned Euphonia
Euphonia imitans
Tiny finch with a very limited range in Costa Rica and Panama. Male has typical euphonia plumage: dark steely-blue upperparts with yellow belly and crown and dark throat. Namesake spots on rear end of crown can be very difficult to see in the field. But note yellow is mostly restricted to front half of crown, whereas Yellow-crowned Euphonia has more extensive yellow crown. Scrub Euphonia is very similar, but ranges do not overlap. Female Spot-crowned is actually more distinctive than male; no other euphonia in range has rufous belly and forecrown. Found in pairs or small groups at all levels of lowland forest and edge, up to around 1,300 m.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Euphonia imitans
- Authority
- (Hellmayr, 1936)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Fringillidae
- Genus
- Euphonia
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Microtarsus melanoleucos
While highly distinctive, this bulbul can be irruptive and moves in flocks over a wide range; it is thus infrequently encountered. Both sexes are dark with white shoulder patches; female is slightly browner. Moves through lowland and foothill evergreen forest and forest edge. Forages throughout all forest levels, but most common in upper levels, where it often gathers in the crowns of fruiting trees. Occasionally gives abrupt metallic ‘ching!’
Golden Nightjar
Caprimulgus eximius
Small, pale nightjar of the Sahel zone. Plumage is a beautiful golden with silvery bands. Bold white wing patches and tail corners visible in flight. Nocturnal. Day-roosts on the ground under bushes. Inhabits semi-desert with low shrubs and scattered trees, often in rocky areas. Song is a repeated sequence of rapid disyllabic notes, "k-ku, k-ku, k-ku, k-ku…"
White-fronted Tit
Sittiparus semilarvatus
A small, uncommon bird of lowland and foothill forest canopy and edge. Entirely dark with an obvious white mark from the forehead down between the bill and eye. Males are entirely black and females have dark brown underparts. Varies regionally, with Mindanao birds having an additional white mark in the wing. Unmistakable. Voice includes a downslurred series of three fairly high-pitched downslurred notes, “piu-piu piu.” Also gives a rapid staccato trill.
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