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OPISTHOCOMIDAE
Hoatzin Opisthocomus hoazin: A social nesting bird, we observed groups of breeding birds at
Amazonía Lodge and later we found them to be common at Cocha Camungo and Cocha
Blanco. One of the very few birds that almost entirely subsist on a diet of leaves, this odd
species has some peculiar attributes, including microbial foregut fermentation to convert
plant cellulose in consumed foliage into simple sugars, and a highly modified skeleton to
accommodate its large crop. Once thought to be the lost link to the feathered dinosaur
Archaeopteryx because of the chick’s clawed wings, these claws are now considered a
recent secondary adaptation to the chicks having to clamber up vegetation if they are
forced to evacuate the nest due to a threat. The placement of this order is still
controversial, with the most comprehensive genetic data set to date unable to resolve its
relationships, there being no evidence for a close relationship to any order within the
Neoaves.
CUCULIDAE
Little Cuckoo Coccycua minuta: Most of us saw the bird at Amazonía Lodge that perched briefly out
of the thick cocha vegetation.
Ash-coloured Cuckoo Coccycua cinerea: This austral migrant was very much a surprise sighting on
the outskirts of Puerto Maldonado. It appears to have been present here for at least a
week as a group of visiting birders saw it a few days later at the same spot.
Squirrel Cuckoo Piaya cayana: Common from the lowlands into the Cosñipata valley near Cock-ofthe-Rock
Lodge.
Dark-billed Cuckoo Coccyzus melacoryphus: One at Amazonía Lodge was seen along the jeep
track.
Smooth-billed Ani Crotophaga ani: This species was most abundant in the deforested plains above
Pilcopata and around Puerto Maldonado.
Striped Cuckoo Tapera naevia: A very obliging individual was admired at close-range through the
scope near Puerto Maldonado. The last new lowland bird of the trip!
STRIGIDAE
Rufescent Screech-Owl Megascops ingens (H): Strangely, this one refused to respond after initially
responding during my pre-dawn scouting.
Tawny-bellied Screech-Owl Megascops watsonii: At Amazonía we were surprised when, upon
switching on the torch, an individual was perched much closer than we had thought.
Moments later we saw the same bird again perched in the lower branch of a mango tree.
Crested Owl Lophostrix cristata: We saw a perched bird high in the canopy at Manu Wildlife Centre.
Band-bellied Owl Pulsatrix melanota (H): One bird was heard near Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge.
Mottled Owl Ciccaba virgata (H): One heard-only record pre-dawn from Amazonía Lodge.
Black-banded Owl Ciccaba huhula (H): We attempted to see a calling bird at Amazonía Lodge but it
remained distant.
Rufous-banded Owl Ciccaba albitarsis (H): A very distant heard-only from the Wayquecha station.
Yungas Pygmy-Owl Glaucidium bolivianum: We had superb views of a close-perched bird on our
first day in the Manu cloudforest.
Amazonían Pygmy-Owl (Hardy’s P-O) Glaucidium hardyi: Several were recorded in the Manu
lowlands of which some of us saw two of the birds in flight but it was not for lack of
trying as our sore necks were testament. Named after J.W. Hardy, who’s published a
series of audio tapes on Neotropical bird families.
Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl Glaucidium brasilianum: A singing bird at Pantiacolla was seen well in
second-growth forest.
Burrowing Owl Athene cunicularia: Three different birds were seen along the Rio Madre de Dios and
as many as five birds were seen at Lomas de Lachay.
18 Birdquest: The Manu 20011