4/8/2023 0 Comments Green rumped parrotlet![]() ![]() On the closest box, B42, a pair chatter at each other. We can thus follow the individual histories by resighting birds with scopes in the field. Every parrotlet the Forpus project has laid its hands on (approximately 7000 to date!) is marked with a unique combination of colored and patterned metal or plastic bands. I have to identify the active and chattery birds on these three boxes. The Forpus project has 120 of these white ‘boxes’ scattered around the fences of Masaguaral to attract parrotlets that would otherwise nest in natural tree cavities or rotted-out holes in the wooden fenceposts that abound in this sprawling cattle ranch.īefore I can start checking boxes to look for new nests, I head to the shade of a nearby tree and plop down in my folding chair. A hole near the top allows parrotlet entry into a long wire mesh sleeve inside and a nest chamber at the bottom layered with wood shavings. We call them nest boxes, but they’re actually PVC pipes, about 5 inches in diameter and 3 feet long, strapped vertically to fence posts. The closest arm of Tomas Fence is the source of all the chattering – three boxes are packed in tight here and two pairs of Forpus passerinus – the Green-rumped Parrotlet – squabble over turf. ![]() I head over that way, eager to start the days nest checks before the sun rises high in the sky and bakes me dry. Many other species can be heard, but only one commands attention now that I’m all geared up – the sputtering high chatter of chee notes coming from the nearby Tomas Fence. Great Kiskadees ( Pitangus sulphuratus) scream their own names from rooftops and trees – Kiss-kaa-DEE! Stripe-backed Wrens ( Campylorhynchus nuchalis) nesting in a nearby tree give their rambling chatters that at times seem more like demonic chants than bird song. The loud, raucous beats of Rufous-vented Chachalacas ( Ortalis ruficauda) drift in from the nearby forest patches. Other species try to barge in on the doves’ aural territory, and sometimes succeed. Joining this formidable chorus are the Ruddy Ground Doves ( Columbina talpacoti), White-tipped Doves ( Leptotila verreauxi), and Eared Doves ( Zenaida auriculata) with less emphatic cooing. Scaled Doves ( Scardafella squammata) litter the place, and keep up a constant Who, hu’WHO! all through the day. At times it seems the chorus around the cluster of ranch buildings at Hato Masaguaral is 95% doves. Greeting me outside the Casa is the dawn chorus. Backpack on, nest check clipboard attached, small folding chair over one shoulder, scope over the other shoulder. Empty out the rubber boots of any nighttime invaders before pulling them on. Lather on the SPF 50 sunblock and don my field hat. Load up the gear – mini maglight in one breast pocket, field notebook and pencils in the other, big bottle of water, binoculars, camera. My morning routine has already been simplified down to the essentials – roll out of bed and out from under the protective mosquito net, pull on dirty odorous field clothes, munch down a quick breakfast. Not good, I think – it will probably be another scorcher. He has gifted us with this incredible insight into his work while on location… This population of parrotlets is located on one of the many huge hatos (cattle ranches) in the Venezuelan llanos, a vast swath of flat flooded savannah in the central third of the country that drains into the Rio Orinoco. He is currently located in Venezuela, in his first field job out of school, helping a Cornell PhD student, Karl, with his dissertation on vocal communication in Green-rumped Parrotlets. Nick Sly is an ornithologist, recently graduated from Cornell and cast into the real world. ![]()
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