Tag: Birding

  • Puffbirds of the Amazon Rainforest in Ecuador

    Puffbirds of the Amazon Rainforest in Ecuador

    The Puffbirds of the Amazon Rainforest in Ecuador are an intriguing bird family.

    Puffbirds of the Amazon Rainforest in Ecuador
    Collared Puffbird secretive sit at mid-canopy level, found in the Shiripuno Amazon Lodge.

    Puffbirds of the Amazon Rainforest in Ecuador are a large head and short tail, with a chunky body,  Puffbirds with their loose, abundant plumage and short tails make them look stout and Puffy, giving rise to their English name.

    The Puffbirds, Nunbirds, Nunlets, and Monklets all are relatives, they are present all around the Amazon Basin in all habitats.

    Watch Video of White-necked Puffbird in the Yasuni National Park.

    Puffbirds of the Amazon Rainforest in Ecuador are tropical tree-dwelling insectivorous birds, sit-and-wait hunters, perching unmoving for long periods while watching for insect prey. As well as arthropods, they may eat small lizards and plant material.

    Puffbirds of the Amazon Rainforest Nuclear DNA Analysis Says…

    Puffbirds and Jacamars were sister groups, indicates that the Nunlets (genus Nonnula) diverged from the common ancestor of other puffbirds an estimated 25 million years ago, with the genus Malacoptila the next to branch off around 19.1 million years ago in the Miocene epoch.

    Nesting of the Puffbirds in the Amazon Rainforest in Ecuador

    Puffbirds nesting sites are burrows in the dirt, rotten wood or termite mounds, lay clutches of two or three round, small, and white eggs. The incubation is around two weeks by both parents. Born blind and naked, crawl to the entrance of the nest burrow at one or two days of age. Adults feed them partly chewed insects.

    We have the chance to listen to most the following species of Puffbirds Nunbirds, Nunlet, and Monklet during Our Birding Trips in the Rainforest.

    Puffbirds of the Amazon Rainforest in Ecuador
    White-chested Puffbird found in the Yasuni Biosphere Reserve.

    Listen to Twelve Species of Puffbirds and relatives living in the Rainforest in Ecuador

    The Puffbirds are one of the most silent birds in the Neotropics and vocalize very rarely. When calling they mostly do so at dawn and dusk. It consists of repeated and high-pitched whistles.

    The Nunbirds are the most vocal of the family; they have a wide repertoire of calls and often give very loud shouts.

    1.- White-necked Puffbird (Notharchus hyperrhynchus)

    The White-necked Puffbird is one of the largest, most widespread members of the puffbird family, and frequents the forest canopy. With its massive bill, it feeds on large insects, frogs, and lizards.

    2.- Pied Puffbird (Notharchus tectus)

    Pied Puffbird is the smallest of the black and white puffbirds, a small-sized, mainly black-and-white puffbird, rare in the canopy of Varzea and to lesser extend Terra Firme Forests where it seems to favor forest edges, tall second growth, clearings, and plantations.

    3.- Chestnut-capped Puffbird (Bucco macrodactylus)

    The Chestnut-capped Puffbird is a small size with bright chestnut cap, and black mask and breast band distinguish it from all other puffbirds. Found in pairs around “edge”, along streams and clearings in the seasonally flooded forest. Seen perched in the mid-story for long periods of time. It forages by sallying out and grabbing insects.

    5.- Collared Puffbird (Bucco capensis)

    Collared Puffbird has a very large head and short tail, with a chunky body. Like other puffbirds, this species employs a sit-and-wait strategy for hunting, which it uses to catch insects and small vertebrate, which has earned it nicknames such as “lazy bird” and “sleeper”

    6.- White-chested Puffbird (Malacoptila fusca)

    White-chested Puffbird is inconspicuous and difficult to see. forage in the understory by sallying out to catch insects from low vegetation or the ground. When not foraging, they often sit immobile for long periods of time. The song is mellow descending trill, and the call is a high descending whistle, peeeuuuuu.

    7.- Lanceolated Monklet (Micromonacha lanceolata)

    The Lanceolated Monklet is small, distinctive puffbird, seldom-seen, and oft-overlooked rainforest inhabitant. It is associating loosely with sub-canopy flocks, perching quietly, often without moving for extended periods.

    8.- Brown Nunlet (Nonnula brunnea)

    Brown Nunlet is rusty brown with darker upperparts with red orbital skin, confined to a very small range within western Amazonia, occurs in humid lowland terra firme forest, old second growth.

    9.- Black-fronted Nunbird (Monasa nigrifrons)

    The Black-fronted is the only Nunbird with all-dark plumage and an orange bill. Flocks in groups, perch conspicuously and regularly erupt choruses of whistles and churrs. It forages arthropods at lower levels in open floodplain forest, floodplain forest edge, bamboo, and riverine secondary growth. Nests in a burrow in a bank or in the ground.

    10.- White-fronted Nunbird (Monasa morphoeus)]

    White-fronted Nunbird is glossy black or gray-black with a stout red-orange bill, white face markings on the cere,  Resident in the midstory and subcanopy of Terra-firme forest, frequently found in mixed passerine flocks, a good indication of a nearby flock.

    11.- Yellow-billed Nunbird (Monasa flavirostris)

    The Yellow-billed Nunbird is unique in displaying a yellow bill and some white on the scapulars. It favors Terra Firme forest where it seems to be associated with landslides.

    12.- Swallow-winged Puffbird (Chelidoptera tenebrosa)

    The Swallow-winged Puffbird digs its nest in sandy soil, forming a burrow two or three feet long, where it lays one or two eggs. It is a fairly common, perched high on a dead branch along a riverbank, or openings, typically observed in pairs. It is known to capture insects from open perches.

  • THINGS TO DO IN COCA

    THINGS TO DO IN COCA

    Here is a list of the different options of Things to do in Coca.

    Puerto Francisco de Orellana is surrounded by an impressive access to a variety of iconic Amazonian Wildlife. Many of the most fascinating jungle tours starts in Coca, a cultural melting pot along the Río Napo.

    Sumaco Ñahui wants everyone gets involved! We want to start planting trees by May 2018. In order to get the project running, we have a fundraising program: a Conservation Timesharing program. Join Us!
    Sumaco Ñahui is a Cloud Forest Restoration Dream to restore a deforested area next to Sumaco National Park & Antisana Ecological Reserve.
    Puerto Francisco de Orellana. Napo River. Orellana -Ecuador.
    Puerto Francisco de Orellana. Napo River. Orellana -Ecuador.

    Coca is the last reach of real civilization before the Río Napo transports you deep into the rainforest to the Parque Nacional Yasuní and beyond into the Amazon basin, next big town is iquitos in Peru.
    In the 1990s the town was transformed by the oil industry from a tiny river settlement with dirt roads into a hot, teeming mass of concrete.
    The capital of the Orellana province since 1999 (and officially known as Puerto Francisco de Orellana),
    Coca is trying to start itself up. With a pretty malecón is extending block by block along the riverfront and bars where it’s actually pleasant to enjoy a drink with a stunning new suspension bridge now spans the Napo, taking traffic bound down Via Auca towards the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve.

    Check below some of the activities you can do while you are staying in Coca.

    Birdwatching

    Yellow-tufted Woodpecker can be found at any direction from Coca.
    Yellow-tufted Woodpecker can be found at any direction from Coca.
    Birdwatching in the Taracoa Lake.
    Birdwatching in the Taracoa Lake.

    Birding in Coca can be effective in terms of seen variety of species from the Amazon Rainforest in Ecuador. From colorful Tanagers, funny Toucans, elegant Herons, skulking Antbirds, tiny Antwrens, Macaws and many others can be found during a day trip from Coca. Ask for Birding Trips.

    Boats Trips

    Boat trips along the Napo, ,Coca and Payamino Rivers to visit different destinations.
    Boat trips along the Napo, Coca and Payamino Rivers to visit different destinations.

    Coca is surrounded by 3 major rivers such as the Napo River, Coca River and Payamino Rivers, all three carry water from the Andes. The duration of the trips depends on the destination and interest you have.
    All these rivers have indigenous communities living along their banks, pristine rainforests can be seen from the boats rides and human activities such as oil activities, agriculture, and tourism.

    Museum

    MACCO ha permanent exhibition worth visiting.
    MACCO ha permanent exhibition worth visiting.

    This is the first archeological museum in the region. MACCO Museo Arqueologico Centro Cultural de Orellana. The building was completed in 2015 and was inaugurated on April 30, 2015

    MACCO is responsible for disseminating, promoting and rescuing the Amazonian cultural heritage and making it serve the citizens.
    MACCO has a permanent archaeological exhibition about the Omaguas, integrated by a collection of more than 300 archaeological objects of the called Napo Stage (1,100-1,500 dc).

    OPENING
    Monday with reservation 48 hours in advance
    Tuesday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
    Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

    ENTRANCE FEE
    National visitors: $ 2.50
    Foreign visitors: $ 5.00

    Yasuniland

    Yasuniland is just 10 minutes away from Coca.
    Yasuniland is close place to have a different perspective in town

    Within 10 minutes boat ride from Coca along the Napo River, you are connected with the Rainforest.
    Yasuníland is a theme park of adventure and nature, located in flooded forest in good shape at the moment it offers nice trails with giant Kapok trees and a Canopy Tower great for seeing wildlife and panoramic view of Coca and it surroundings.

    Indigenous Communities

    Pilchi community is located along the Napo River.
    Pilchi community is located along the Napo River.

    Within 10 minutes boat ride from Coca along the Napo, Coca,  and Payamino Rivers, you can visit indigenous communities and visit their start up tourism projects, you can learn about traditional ways of living in the Amazon Rainforest, from farming, cooking, danza, medicine and rituals.

    We will add more activities as it arise around. Enjoy it!!