Top 20 Most Common Bird in Putumayo

Putumayo', nestled in the heart of Colombia, is a diverse ecological concoction of rivers, rainforests, and grasslands. This biodiversity hotspot shelters an array of avifauna. The 20 common birds are marked by vivid plumage, unique vocalizations, and interesting adaptations to the dense rainforea along with their diverse diets, ranging from fruits, seeds, insects to small vertebrates.

Most Common Bird

Russet-backed Oropendola

1. Russet-backed Oropendola

The russet-backed oropendola (Psarocolius angustifrons) is a species of bird in the family Icteridae. It is found in wooded habitats in the highlands of the northern and central Andes and the Venezuelan Coastal Range, and in lowlands of the western Amazon. It is generally common and widespread. Males are larger than females, but otherwise the genders are similar. Its plumage is mainly olive and brown, and the outer rectrices are contrastingly yellow. The lowland nominate subspecies has a black bill, while the highland subspecies all have pale bills. These have been regarded as separate species, but as they hybridize freely, all major authorities now regard them as a single species.
Black Vulture

2. Black Vulture

Although quite dapper in appearance, the black Vulture's name comes from the Latin vulturus meaning “tearer" and that is just what that hooked beak is for. These birds are highly social, with fierce family loyalty and will share food with relatives and with their young long after the babies have fledged. Because they lack a voice box, their calls are limited to grunts and hisses.
Blue-grey Tanager

3. Blue-grey Tanager

The blue-gray tanager is 16–18 cm (6.3–7.1 in) long and weighs 30–40 g (1.1–1.4 oz). Adults have a light bluish head and underparts, with darker blue upperparts and a shoulder patch colored a different hue of blue. The bill is short and quite thick. Sexes are similar, but the immature is much duller in plumage. The song is a squeaky twittering, interspersed with tseee and tsuup call notes.
Violaceous Jay

4. Violaceous Jay

This is a medium-large jay with dull violet-blue plumage and a striking dark face and throat. The purplish jay (with which it overlaps in southeastern Peru and in northern Bolivia) is duller (more purplish or brownish blue, less violaceous blue) and the nape is not paler than the back. In eastern Colombia and southern Venezuela, the azure-naped jay is distinguished by its pale iris, white undertail coverts and tip to the tail, paler nape, and short frontal crest. The violaceous jay is 33–38 cm (13–15 in) long and weighs 262 grams (9.2 oz.)
Tropical Kingbird

5. Tropical Kingbird

An adult tropical kingbird is 22 cm (8.7 in) long, weighs 39 g (1.4 oz) and has a wingspan range of 38–41 cm. The head is pale gray, with a darker eye mask, an orange crown stripe, and a heavy gray bill. The back is grayish-green, and the wing and forked tail are brown. The throat is pale gray, becoming olive on the breast, with the rest of the underparts being yellow. The sexes are similar, but young birds have pale buff edges on the wing coverts. Tropical Kingbirds appear to be monogamous. In most parts of the species' range, they are permanent residents and remain together in pairs year-round.(Sibley 2014) The call is a high-pitched twittering trill, tree-e-e-e-e-e-e, with a more complex version sung by the male at dawn. Their breeding habitat is semi-open areas with trees and shrubs, including gardens and roadsides. Tropical kingbirds like to observe their surroundings from a prominent open perch, usually high in a tree, undertaking long flights to acrobatically catch insects in mid-air (hawking), sometimes hovering to pick food off vegetation (gleaning). They also eat some fruit from such diverse species as tamanqueiro (Alchornea glandulosa), the Annonaceae, Cymbopetalum mayanum and gumbo-limbo (Bursera simaruba); foraging for these even in disturbed habitat. As they keep mainly to the upper levels of trees, they find little profit in following mixed-species feeding flocks in the understory. These birds aggressively defend their territory against intruders, even much larger birds such as magnificent frigatebirds, toucans, caracaras or hawks. In a study in Parque Nacional de La Macarena of Colombia, parasitism by microfilariae and trypanosomas (presumably T. everetti) was infrequently recorded in tropical kingbirds. The male and female inspect potential sites together before selecting a site, typically a fork or crotch high in a tree (up to 66 feet high) but sometimes just a few feet above water.(Sibley 2014) The female builds a bulky, sloppy-looking, shallow nest of vines, rootlets, twigs, weeds, and grasses; it is unlined or lined with hair. Nests average about 5.2 inches across and 3 inches tall, with interior cup about 3 inches across and 1.6 inches deep. The female incubates the typical clutch of two to four eggs for approximately 16 days, and the nestlings fledge in another 18 or 19 days. The eggs are whitish or pale pink with variable amounts of dark blotching. The tropical kingbird is one of the most widespread and conspicuous inhabitants of open forest, forest edge, scrub and agricultural land from the southwestern United States south to Argentina (Jahn, Stouffer, & Chesser, 2013). As a result, the bird is considered as being of Least Concern and their population is increasing, according to the IUCN. According to Partners in Flight, global estimates of tropical kingbird breeding population is around 200 million. They rate the species as 4 out of 20 on the continental concern scale, indicating that this species is of low conservation concern.
Crested Oropendola

6. Crested Oropendola

Adult males are mainly black with a chestnut rump and a tail which is bright yellow apart from two dark central feathers. There is a long narrow crest which is often difficult to see. The iris is blue and the long bill is whitish. Females are similar but smaller, duller, and crestless.
Black-billed Thrush

7. Black-billed Thrush

The black-billed thrush (Turdus ignobilis) is a bird in the family Turdidae native to the Amazon biome.
Yellow-rumped Cacique

8. Yellow-rumped Cacique

The male is on average 28 centimetres (11 in) long and weighs about 104 grams (3.7 oz), with the female 23 centimetres (9.1 in) long and weighing approximately 60 grams (2.1 oz). The yellow-rumped cacique is a slim bird, with a long tail, blue eyes, and a pale yellow pointed bill. It has mainly black plumage, apart from a bright yellow rump, tail base, lower belly and wing "epaulets". The female is duller black than the male, and the juvenile bird resembles the female, but has dark eyes and a brown bill base. The song of the male yellow-rumped cacique is a brilliant mixture of fluting notes with cackles, wheezes and sometimes mimicry. There are also many varied calls, and an active colony can be heard from a considerable distance.
Smooth-billed Ani

9. Smooth-billed Ani

The smooth-billed ani is a mid-sized species, larger on average than the groove-billed ani but smaller than the greater ani. It measures 30–36 cm (12–14 in) in length and weighs 71–133 g (2.5–4.7 oz). The adult is mainly flat black, with a long tail, deep ridged black bill and a brown iris. The flight is weak and wobbly, but the bird runs well and usually feeds on the ground. This species is called "el pijul" in Venezuelan folklore. It is mentioned in the popular Veracruz song "El Pijul".
Palm Tanager

10. Palm Tanager

The palm Tanager is a magnificent bird species that steals the show with its olive-green feathers and striking black wings. It is a medium-sized bird that inhabits the palm forests of South America, where it feeds on a diverse diet including fruit, insects, and spiders. The Palm Tanager has a special relationship with palm trees, which provide both food and shelter, and it is perfectly adapted to life in this unique habitat.
Silver-beaked Tanager

11. Silver-beaked Tanager

The silver-beaked tanager (Ramphocelus carbo) is a medium-sized passerine bird. This tanager is a resident breeder in South America from eastern Colombia and Venezuela south to Paraguay and central Brazil, Perú and on Trinidad. It is common and conspicuous. Silver-beaked tanagers are 18 centimetres (7 in) long and weigh 25 grams (0.88 oz). Adult males are velvety crimson black with a deep crimson throat and breast. The upper mandible of the bill is black, but the enlarged lower mandible is bright silver in appearance. The bill is pointed upwards in display. The female is much duller, with brownish upperparts, reddish brown underparts and a black bill. There is considerable plumage variation between the various subspecies, differing mainly in the degree of contrast between the upperparts and the throat and breast. It occurs in light woodland and cultivated areas. The bulky cup nest is usually built in a bush, and the normal clutch is two green-blue eggs blotched with black-brown. The female incubates the eggs for 11–13 days before they hatch. The chicks fledge after another 11–12 days. Individuals may live at least 11 years in the wild. These are social birds which eat mainly fruit, but insects are also taken. The silver-beaked tanager is often seen in groups of six to ten, frequently giving a call described as cheeng. Its song is a slow thin kick-wick. The silver-beaked tanager was first described by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas in 1764 and given the binomial name Lanius carbo.
Roadside Hawk

12. Roadside Hawk

The roadside hawk is 31–41 cm (12–16 in) long and weighs 250–300 g (8.8–10.6 oz). Males are about 20% smaller than females, but otherwise the sexes are similar. In most subspecies, the lower breast and underparts are barred brown and white, and the tail has four or five grey bars. Twelve subspecies are usually recognised and there is significant plumage variation between these. Depending on the subspecies involved, the roadside hawk is mainly brown or grey. It is fairly common to observe a touch of rufous (i.e., a light reddish-brown) on the bird's wings, especially when seen in flight. Its call is a very high-pitched piercing squeak. The eyes of adult roadside hawks are whitish or yellow. As suggested by its specific name (magni = large; rostri = beak), its beak is relatively large. The roadside hawk may be marginally the smallest hawk in the widespread genus Buteo, although Ridgway's hawk and the white-rumped hawk are scarcely larger. In flight, the relatively long tail and disproportionately short wings of the roadside hawk are distinctive. It frequently soars, but does not hover.
Speckled Chachalaca

13. Speckled Chachalaca

The speckled chachalaca (Ortalis guttata) is a species of bird in the family Cracidae. It is found in forests and woodlands in the western Amazon Basin. It has distinct white scaling/spotting on the lower neck and chest, but otherwise it resembles other chachalacas, it being vaguely pheasant-like (though far more arboreal and social), and with an overall brown plumage.
Cattle Egret

14. Cattle Egret

Cattle Egrets are short, thick-necked egrets. Their name refers to their preference to follow along with livestock as they forage in fields. Cattle Egrets were native only to Africa until the late 1800s when they somehow made their way throughout the Americas. They can often be found along airport runways waiting for planes to take off and blow insects out of the grass and weeds. They also follow behind farm equipment and do the same thing.
Great Kiskadee

15. Great Kiskadee

The great Kiskadee is a large bird with bold markings that make this flycatcher easily recognizable. is a bright-colored bird that prefers woodland habitats close to water or open areas. It eats a lot of insects, but also forages for seeds and berries and is known to dive into shallow water for small fish.
Yellow-headed Caracara

16. Yellow-headed Caracara

The yellow-headed caracara is 41–46 cm (16–18 in) in length and weighs 325 g (11.5 oz) on average. Like many other birds of prey, the female is larger than the male, weighing 310–360 g (11–13 oz) against the male's 280–330 g (9.9–11.6 oz). Apart from the difference in size, there is no significant sexual dimorphism in this species. It is broad-winged and long-tailed, somewhat resembling a small Buteo. The adult has a buff head, with a black streak behind the eye, and buff underparts. The upper plumage is brown with distinctive pale patches on the flight feathers of the wings, and the tail is barred cream and brown. The head and underparts of immature birds have dense brown mottling. The voice is a characteristic screamed schreee.
Southern Lapwing

17. Southern Lapwing

This lapwing is the only crested wader in South America. The upperparts are mainly brownish grey. The head is particularly striking; mainly grey with a black forehead and throat patch extending onto the black breast. The rest of the underparts are white, and the eye ring, legs and most of the bill are pink. It is equipped with red bony extensions under the wings (spurs), used to intimidate foes and fight birds of prey. The rump is white and the tail black.
Turkey Vulture

18. Turkey Vulture

The turkey Vulture is a common sight, especially around roads, where they keep a sharp eye out for roadkill. Seeing these large birds in the sky can often make you take a second look to see if it’s an eagle or a hawk. Here’s one quick way to tell the difference. When in flight, a turkey Vulture will circle unsteadily, with its wings lifted to make a V shape. Though they are not appreciated, they do the dirty work of the animal kingdom by cleaning up the countryside as they scavenge.
House Wren

19. House Wren

Watch out for the small yet aggressive house Wrens; they are extremely territorial and think nothing of harassing other birds and their nestlings if they want to take their spot! They have been known to kill nestlings and even adult birds to get a nest hole they want. Once house Wrens lay eggs, the nest needs to stay below 100 degrees and above 65 degrees or the eggs will not survive—this could be the reason they are so particular about their nesting spots.
Bare-faced Ibis

20. Bare-faced Ibis

The Bare-faced ibis is either dark brown or a blackish color. It is called the bare-faced ibis because it does not have any feathers on its face. It has a long Decurved bill that's pinkish to reddish brown. The skin on its face is usually a reddish color and it also has long orangely colored beak with pink legs. The total length of the ibis ranges between 45 and 50 cm.
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