SIERRA SAN LUIS NATIONAL PARK 
VENEZUELA

FALCÓN (Coro) (n)

Lat:00o00´S/00o00´W 20,000ha, 200-1500m, xerophytic scrub, tropical dry, moist forests and premontane humid forest 
Protected/registered status 
Best Time for visit (23rd-24th September, 2006)

 

Birding Site Guide

Near to Coro there is some nice dry forest and scrub with some localised species endemic to the NW of Venezuela and NE Colombia. There is also a strange isolated mountain range nearby with some nice birds. The beautiful city of Coro makes a good base. Coro is easily accessed from Valencia. I came from Barquisemeto but had to change cars once. Coro has many places to stay, eat and do internet. I stayed at the Posada El Gallo near the San Clemente church which was nice and only B15,000 for a single room. The couple that own it don´t like to wake up before 7am though which is not great for early mornings. From the centre take a bus back to the terminal and from there buses but more often Por Puestos leave for the town of Curimaguas (about 1 hour away) in the Sierra San Luis. Take this to where the road starts to rise up. Here I found an excellent area for dry forest species. Look out for where the road goes over a dip before starting the climb. Walk along this dry valley. Here I had White-whiskered Spinetail, Orinocan Saltator, Vermillion Cardinal, Buffy Hummingbird, Crested Bobwhite and many other species. If you carry on along this road, you reach La Cumbre (the peak). The coro side of this has a bit of forest with some interesting birds. This area might also be good at dawn and dusk for Yellow-shouldered Parrots. I only heard this species flying over the city in the early morning. I saw 82 species including 10 lifers.

 
Species seen

  • Little Tinamou Crypturellus soui Heard only
  • Black Vulture Coragyps atratus
  • Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
  • Pearl Kite Gampsonyx swainsonii Photographed
  • Harris's Hawk Parabuteo unicinctus
  • Black Hawk-Eagle Spizaetus tyrannus
  • Crested Caracara Caracara cheriway Photographed
  • Yellow-headed Caracara Milvago chimachima
  • American Kestrel Falco sparverius
  • Rufous-vented Chachalaca Ortalis ruficauda
  • Crested Bobwhite Colinus cristatus
  • Rock Pigeon Columba livia Introduced species
  • Common Ground-Dove Columbina passerina Photographed
  • Scaled Dove Columbina squammata
  • White-tipped Dove Leptotila verreauxi
  • Brown-throated Parakeet Aratinga pertinax
  • Green-rumped Parrotlet Forpus passerinus
  • Red-billed Parrot Pionus sordidus Recorded
  • Yellow-shouldered Parrot Amazona barbadensis Vulnerable Heard only
  • Squirrel Cuckoo Piaya cayana
  • Smooth-billed Ani Crotophaga ani
  • Sooty-capped Hermit Phaethornis augusti Photographed
  • White-necked Jacobin Florisuga mellivora
  • Black-throated Mango Anthracothorax nigricollis
  • Blue-tailed Emerald Chlorostilbon mellisugus Possibly seen
  • Golden-tailed Sapphire Chrysuronia oenone
  • Buffy Hummingbird Leucippus fallax Photographed
  • Copper-rumped Hummingbird Saucerottia tobaci Possibly seen
  • White-vented Plumeleteer Chalybura buffonii
  • Red-crowned Woodpecker Melanerpes rubricapillus
  • Pale-legged Hornero Furnarius leucopus Possibly seen
  • White-whiskered Spinetail Synallaxis candei Photographed Recorded
  • Pale-breasted Spinetail Synallaxis albescens
  • Crested Spinetail Cranioleuca subcristata
  • Straight-billed Woodcreeper Dendroplex picus Photographed
  • Black-crested Antshrike Sakesphorus canadensis
  • Barred Antshrike Thamnophilus doliatus Heard only
  • Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet Camptostoma obsoletum
  • Marble-faced Bristle-Tyrant Pogonotriccus ophthalmicus Photographed
  • Northern Scrub-Flycatcher Sublegatus arenarum Photographed
  • Slender-billed Tyrannulet Inezia tenuirostris Photographed
  • Vermilion Flycatcher Pyrocephalus rubinus
  • Dusky-capped Flycatcher Myiarchus tuberculifer
  • Boat-billed Flycatcher Megarynchus pitangua
  • Rusty-margined Flycatcher Myiozetetes cayanensis Recorded
  • Social Flycatcher Myiozetetes similis Possibly seen
  • Tropical Kingbird Tyrannus melancholicus
  • Chestnut-crowned Becard Pachyramphus castaneus
  • Gray-breasted Martin Progne chalybea Photographed
  • Blue-and-white Swallow Notiochelidon cyanoleuca
  • Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica Photographed
  • Bicolored Wren Campylorhynchus griseus
  • House Wren Troglodytes aedon
  • Tropical Mockingbird Mimus gilvus
  • Tropical Gnatcatcher Polioptila plumbea
  • Black-chested Jay Cyanocorax affinis Recorded
  • Green Jay Cyanocorax yncas Heard only
  • Black-and-white Warbler Mniotilta varia
  • American Redstart Setophaga ruticilla
  • Bananaquit Coereba flaveola
  • Black-faced Tanager Schistochlamys melanopis Photographed
  • Common Bush-Tanager Chlorospingus ophthalmicus
  • Rosy Thrush-Tanager Rhodinocichla rosea
  • White-lined Tanager Tachyphonus rufus
  • Silver-beaked Tanager Ramphocelus carbo
  • Blue-gray Tanager Thraupis episcopus
  • Palm Tanager Thraupis palmarum
  • Thick-billed Euphonia Euphonia laniirostris
  • Orange-bellied Euphonia Euphonia xanthogaster
  • Golden Tanager Tangara arthus
  • Purple Honeycreeper Cyanerpes caeruleus
  • Blue-black Grassquit Volatinia jacarina Possibly seen
  • Yellow-bellied Seedeater Sporophila nigricollis
  • Saffron Finch Sicalis flaveola
  • Streaked Saltator Saltator striatipectus
  • Buff-throated Saltator Saltator maximus
  • Orinocan Saltator Saltator orenocensis Photographed
  • Vermilion Cardinal Cardinalis phoeniceus Photographed Recorded
  • Carib Grackle Quiscalus lugubris
  • Yellow Oriole Icterus nigrogularis
  • Crested Oropendola Psarocolius decumanus
  • Lesser Goldfinch Carduelis psaltria


Other Fauna 
A total of -- species of mammals. 

There are -- recorded species of amphibians and reptiles. 

Flora 

Author: Charles Hesse

 

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