Made a trip to the Puracé Volcano National Park in the Department of Cauca over the last couple of days. Birding was done at between ten thousand and eleven thousand feet in what is known as "Páramo" characterized by frailejones or Espeletia which are endemic to Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador. I got four new life birds including:

Black Flower-Piercer



and Red-crested Cotinga



Páramo environment with frailejones

Nice! And just another place to add to my very long list of places I would like to visit.

Patti--Zone 8
Mobile, AL

Thanks for the perpective photo, what a strange habitat.

Good lifers and great pictures!

Very cool stuff as usual Peter - congrats! ...That's a long ways up to see birds - I would be gasping for air after 7000ft!

Ruth
Everett, WA
Zone 8

Black Flower-Piercer

Beautiful pictures! Does his upper and lower mandible cross?


(Minnesota)

Kristy no I don´t believe so. I have other Flower-Pircers as yard birds and have never noted that.