Panama: The Finches of Los Quetzales

Wonderful as the birding is around the Los Quetzales Lodge itself, it gets only better as you climb the short but rocky road to the upper cabins. When the truck can go no farther, the trail winds through a spectacularly beautiful forest full of birds.

Naturally we had to admire the Resplendant Quetzals, which nest right along the trail and can be seen easily: once, that is, you have your eye in and no longer overlook the males’ long trains as waving fronds!

The cabins themselves host innumerable hummingbirds at the feeders, including Magnificent Hummingbird, Stripe-tailed Hummingbird, Violet Sabrewing, White-throated Mountain-Gem, and a real specialty, Green-fronted Lancebill, which actually nests under the eaves of one of the cabins.  That’s the one I’m going to stay in on my next visit.

For all the sparkle and color of the quetzals and the hummingbirds, I most enjoyed the granivores on the patio, shy at first, gradually more trusting as we ate our lunch and watched them consuming theirs. Most common and most easily seen were the Yellow-thighed Finches, friendly and comical little fellows wearing chartreuse pants.

Rufous-capped Brush-Finches were feeding young, or rather teaching them to feed themselves.

And every once in a while, a shy little Slaty Finch, another hard-to-find specialty that is more or less guaranteed at Los Quetzales, would wander in and scoop up a little grain.

Most fascinating of all, though, was a bird I’d expected to be just clunky and dull, a bit like its awkward name. But the Large-footed Finch, its name and the lousy illustration in the field guide to the contrary, turned out to be one of my favorite birds of the entire trip. The patterns are intricate and lovely, with orange scalloping on the breast and a discreet black-on-gray on the crown. The feet are big, I admit. But then again, so are mine.