Great things, stupendous things, things of legend often come in threes for some reason.  

Remember the famous Three Tenors?  Those three dudes who were the best opera singers in the world; Pavarotti…and that other guy whose name I can’t quite remember….and uh…the other dude whose name no one can remember?  

The three best baseball players of the 1950s…Willie, Mickey and the Duke.  There was even a wonderful song written about them.

Plus, our world has so many other big threes, such as:

• The Three Musketeers.
• The Three Stooges.
• Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

Here in San Vito we have our very own BIG THREE.  Our ‘Big Three’ approaches legend, they are highly sought-after and they possess near mythical qualities.  

Who are the San Vito Bird Club BIG THREE?  They are of course…rare birds.

1. Rosy Thrush-tanager (Rosy).
2. Mouse-colored Tyrannulet (Mousey).
3. Bran-colored Flycatcher (Branny).

Rosy (the Rosy Thrush-tanager) is the biggest and most beautiful of the Big Three, as the descriptor ‘Rosy’ might imply.  Found low to the ground, generally in weedy fields Rosy is highly sought after by most birders who come to Costa Rica.

Mousey (the Mouse-colored Tyrannulet) is often described…quite accurately…as ‘a little brown bird’.  Found throughout much of South America, Mousey has used great wisdom and extended its range northward into Coto Brus.  

Branny (the Bran-colored Flycatcher) has almost the very same range as Mousey. Branny too has made our area its northernmost home.  What I find so fascinating about the Bran-colored Flycatcher is its name. Who, other than cubicle-dwelling taxonomists, would look at Branny and think–’Hey, that bird is the color of bran.’  I suspect many taxonomists eat a lot of bran (if you know what I mean).

Please click on the link below.  It leads you to our wonderful ‘Gallery of Local Birds’ page where you can see photos of Rosy, Mousey and Branny; plus several of our other special birds including Pepe Castiblanco’s choices for the Big Three, Ruddy and Manny (the Ruddy Foliage-gleaner and the Lance-tailed Manakin.

Gallery of Local Birds

Fortunately, the number in the title is the year, and not the number of changes for us to remember!

The North American Classification Committee (NACC) of the American Ornithology Society has recently published this year’s decisions regarding proposals for name changes for North American birds. Although I mentioned only two major possible changes at the annual meeting in March, many additional proposals were published after that time. Fortunately, only a few of them are of significance for Costa Rica birders.  

First, the good news. The proposal to split the Resplendent Quetzal into two species was not approved. It seems that the difference in lengths and widths of male supracaudal plumes (tail feathers) was not sufficient to justify the split.

Now the slightly bad, but not horrible, news. The Orange-bellied Trogon is no more. It has been merged with the Collared Trogon, which it resembles in every aspect except . . . . . . . Yes! The color of its belly!

Here are the major changes to the English names of Costa Rican birds. None of the three changes are for birds that we commonly see on our regular bird walks here in San Vito. 

• The Costa Rican population of the Steely-vented Hummingbird, which is found in the northern part of the country, is now called the Blue-vented Hummingbird. Its scientific name is Amazilia hoffmanni.

• The Yellow-thighed Finch is now the Yellow-thighed Brushfinch (Atlapetes tibialis).

• The Vermiculated Screech-Owl has been split into two species. The common Costa Rica species is now called Middle American Screech-Owl, which retains the scientific name Megascops guatamalae. The other species, which is similar in all aspects except voice, is Chocó Screech-Owl (Megascops centralis), which may or may not be found in Costa Rica, depending on your reference source. I may or may not look into that further.

In not-quite-so-major name change news, all of the Costa Rican Ground-Doves (Blue, Common, Maroon-chested, Plain-breasted, and Ruddy) are now Ground Doves, without the hyphen. Apparently hyphenated “last names” indicate species that are each others’ closest relatives, which, according to the taxonomists, these birds are not. 

The remaining changes are to the scientific names of several species. These are important for anyone who posts to any of the Costa Rica birding sites, especially the AOCR Facebook page. In addition to the new scientific names underlined above, please note the following:

Warblers

• Tennessee Warbler (Oreothlypis peregrina) is now Leiothlypis peregrina
• Orange-crowned Warbler (Oreothlypis celata) is now Leiothlypis celata
• Nashville Warbler (Oreothlypis ruficapilla) is now Leiothlypis ruficapilla

Ground Dove

• Maroon-chested Ground Dove (Claravis mondetoura) is now Paraclaravis mondetoura

Grosbeak

• Blue-black Grosbeak (Cyanocompsa cyanoides) is now Cyanoloxia cyanoides

Tanagers

• Speckled Tanager (Tangara guttata)is now Ixothraupis guttata
• Golden-hooded Tanager (Tangara larvata) is now Stilpnia larvata

Storm-Petrel

• Black Storm-Petrel (Oceanodroma melania) is now Hydrobates melania
• Leach’s Storm-Petrel (Oceanodroma leucorhoa) is now Hydrobates leucorhoa
• Least Storm-Petrel (Oceanodroma microsoma) is now Hydrobates microsoma
• Markham’s Storm-Petrel (Oceanodroma markhami) is now Hydrobates markhami
• Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel (Oceanodroma tethys) is now Hydrobates tethys

Surprisingly, there was no proposal submitted to the NACC regarding a name change for the Paltry Tyrannulet. Therefore, although it is referred to as Mistletoe Tyrannulet in eBird, it is still officially Paltry Tyrannulet in Costa Rica.

If you wish to look further into the minds of the NACC taxonomists, you will find the full report by using the following link:

• https://academic.oup.com/auk/advance-article/doi/10.1093/auk/ukz042/5522257?searchresult=1
  

The tree planting event today was a great success. All 450 trees were planted, along with Vetiver grass and new fencing. It was a community event to which Club members contributed admirably. Thank you all!

La sembra de árboles hoy era un gran éxito. Todos los 450 árboles ya están creciendo, ojalá. También sembramos zacate Vetiver, y construimos cercas adicionales. Fue un trabajo comunitario de verdad, y los miembros del Club contribuyeron mucho. ¡Muchas gracias a todas y todos!

For the very special tree planting event this Sunday, June 30th, we will be meeting in front of the Reception at the Wilson Botanical Gardens at 7:30 AM. Transportation to the planting site in Paraguas will be provided for all who want it. In addition, lunch at Los Jilgueros will be provided for all volunteers from the Bird Club who attend. Please dress appropriately for outdoor work: boots, hat, etc. and bring water, snacks, or whatever else you might need. If you have a shovel, please bring it, too. This is a really exciting opportunity to help make a difference in our own backyard. I hope to see a lot of you there!

Para el evento de la sembra de árboles el próximo domingo, 30 de junio, nos encontraremos frente a la recepción al jardín botánico Wilson a las 7:30 AM. Habrá transporte al Paraguas para todos que lo quieren, y también almuerzo a Los Jilgueros para todos que vendrán con el Club de aves para trabajar. Por favor, vístanse en una manera comoda para trabajar afuera: botas, sombrero, etc., y lleven agua, una marienda, o otra cosa que ustedes podrían ocupar. Los que tienen palas, por favor llévanlas. Esta es una oportunidad muy emocianante para marcar una diferencia en nuestro propio vencindario. ¡Espero ver muchos de ustedes allá!

Please join the San Vito Bird Club this Sunday for a special event! Rodrigo, an expert in reforestation at the Wilson Botanical Garden, has been working very hard for the last year on a project to use donated private land to create a biological corridor between the primary forest next to the WBG, and the primary forest at Cerro Paraguas, This will not only allow the free passage of birds and animals, but will also help to protect and improve the water supply for the Concepción ASADA. Everything is now in place, except for the trees! He needs our help to plant 450 of them near the lake next to the cell tower near to the restaurant Los Jilgüeros on the road from Concepción to Cerro Paraguas. Please join me this Sunday in helping Rodrigo to create a healthier environment for the animals and birds of Coto Brus, and the people too. Details to follow.

Por favor júntese al Club de aves de San Vito para un evento my importante el próximo domingo. Rodrigo, un experto en la reforestación al jardín botánico, trabaja ya por más de un año sobre un proyecto para aprovechar de tierra privada donada para creer un corredor biológico entre el bosque primario del jardín botántico y lo del Cerro Paraguas. Este corredor no solamente proveerá pasaje libre para los animales silvestres y las aves, pero también protegerá y mejorará el fuente de agua de la ASADA de Concepción. Ahorita, todo está listo, ¡excepto los árboles! Él ocupa a nosotros para sembrar unos 450 árboles cerca de la lagunilla en los alrededores del restaurante Los Jilgüeros sobre la ruta desde Concepción hasta Cerro Paraguas.. Por favor ayude el Club de aves y Rodrigo crear un ambiente más saludable para todos los animales y los pájaros de Coto Brus, y para la gente también. Más detalles siguen.

We will be having a bird walk this Sunday, May 9th, at the Wilson Botanical Garden. We will meet at the Reception at 7:30 AM. There will be binoculars and guides available. Please join us and enjoy the Gardens in all their glory!

Habrá una caminata para ver aves el próximo domingo el 9 de mayo al jardín botánico Wilson. Reuniremos a las 7:30 AM frente a la recepción. Binoculares y guías estarán disponibles. ¡Por favor vengan y disfruten el jardín en toda su belleza de invierno!

I forgot to say where the walk will be… It will be at the Wilson Botanical Garden.

Me olvidé indicar donde será la caminata… Será al jardín botánico Wilson.

We’ll be having a relaxing walk through the pollinator garden to see what we can see, and then coffee afterwards with some more bird watching from the comedor. We’ll meet at the recepción at 7:30 AM. There’ll be binoculars and guides for those who need them. See you Sunday!

Caminaremos tranquilement por el jardín de polinizadores para ver lo que podremos ver. Después tomaremos un café al comedor, y me imagino que veríamos una aves más. Nos encontraremos a la recepción al las 7:30 AM. Habrá binoculares y guías para los que los quisieran. ¡Hasta domingo, ojalá!