Birds...

Since we filled the pond and the Botones de Oro have grown up around the edge of our garden, it has been amazing how many birds have started to come to our garden.  Some of them just sit in the trees at the edge of the forest but others swoop down to eat tadpoles from the pond or roll themselves around in the puddles.  There are always a few on the lookout for any scraps the chickens (and Ally) over look.

The following photos are not ours but they are photos of the birds we see on a fairly regular basis around out house.  I´m trying to get better at identifying new species but from what I can see so far, there is lots of variety!

 This is a Vermilion Flycatcher and you see them everywhere, even in the centre of town. I dont think it´s especially exotic but it has a lovely bright red colour.

 This is a Flame Rump Tanager and is totally unimpressive until it flies and flashes it´s whole back beneath it´s wings which is bright or sometimes rusty red. We see these from the house and garden often darting in and out of the trees.

 Green Jays. These are my favourites.  They have a fairly horrible voice but always hang out in groups and and are very vocal and playful. They croak and chirp and do a kind of dance where they bob up and down. We see them almost every time we walk the dog because they seem to like a couple of trees round the back.  They also dance around in the trees outside our house often. You always know they are there because of the noise!

 The Andean Motmot is known as a Barranquero because it nests in burrows in the barranco (verge or slope). It´s very beautiful and quite big.  We sometimes see them around the house in the trees after the rain.

The Squirrel Cuckoo is a regular in our garden and really looks like a huge squirrel because it seems to run along the branches - although I imagine it actually hops or flies. It swings its tail from side to side like a pendulum which is why they sometimes call it a relojero here, reloj meaning clock.