Life on the Ecuadorean Paramo

 

Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus)
Tambo Condor, Ecuador.

On a recent trip to Ecuador our group of birders landed in the capitol, Quito, at an altitude of about 9000 feet in the Andes.  We then went to over 10,000 feet into a unique habitat, the páramo.  Páramo occurs above tree line and is dominated by shrubs, grasses and low growing plants.  Páramo has much in common with tundra in the arctic with wide temperature variations, strong winds and fierce ultraviolet radiation.     

Páramo.
Pichincha, Ecuador. 

Small plants on the páramo.
Antisana National Park, Ecuador.

Andean Condor.
Tambo Condor, Ecuador. 

An iconic bird of the páramo in the Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus).  Andean Condors are the largest birds in the Americas and have a wingspan exceeding 10 feet.  Weighing in at an impressive 30 pounds, they are the heaviest of all flying birds.  Andean Condors are found in the mountain range that gave them their name, from Colombia to Patagonia. The adults of these gigantic vultures are black with white on top of the wings and a ruff of white feathers on the neck below the bare head.  Male Andean Condors have a fleshy crest on their head that the females lack, and juvenile birds are brown. They fly by soaring and cover large areas of the bare landscape looking for carrion.  The collective nouns describing Andean Condors include a kettle while in flight, a committee when perched and a wake when feeding.  We saw a group of 8 Andean Condors at our first stop, soaring over a gorge and perched on cliffs.  

Carunculated Caracara (Daprius carunculatus).
Tambo Condor, Ecuador. 

Another carrion eater we encountered on the páramo was the Carunculated Caracara (Daptrius carunculatus).  The adults of this member of the Falcon family are black with a white belly and a black-and-white striped breast.  They have long legs, black crests and bare, orange skin on their faces.  Juveniles are brown and streaked with white.  Carunculated Caracaras are found only on the páramo of Colombia and Ecuador.

Yellow-billed Pintail (Anas georgica).
Antisana National Park, Ecuador. 

Yellow-billed Pintails (Anas georgica) are found throughout southern South America but have a small population in the páramo of Ecuador and Colombia.  These medium-sized brown ducks do indeed have a yellow bill and nest on the ground near water. 

Andean Teal (Anas andium).
Antisana National Park, Ecuador.

Another duck we saw on the páramo was the Andean Teal (Anas andium).  This small duck is brown with lighter spots on the breast and a dark gray bill.  They are found in the highlands of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.  

Andean Lapwing (Vanellus resplendens).
Antisana National Park, Ecuador.

Andean Lapwings (Vanellus resplendens) are large shorebirds related to plovers.  They inhabit the páramo stretching from Colombia down to Bolivia and Argentina.  These birds stand upright on pink legs, have a white belly, greenish-brown back and gray head and neck.  They have pink eyes, pink and black bills and a dark smudge through their eyes.  

Tawny Antpitta (Grallia quietensis).
Antisana National Park, Ecuador.

Antpittas are usually shy and secretive birds of the forest, but the Tawny Antpittas (Grallia quietensis) living on the páramo are quite easy to see.  They are found in the high mountains of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru and will frequently come into the open.  Like all antpittas, the Tawny Antpitta is a weak flyer and spends much of its time running on its long legs catching invertebrates and other small animals.  Tawny Antpittas are tawny brown in color with black legs, eyes and beaks.   

Black Flowerpiercer (Digloass humeralis).
Tambo Condor, Ecuador. 

Black Flowerpiercer piercing flowers.
Tambo Condor, Ecuador.

The tanager family is large group of birds native to the Americas.  While not a typical member of the family, the Black Flowerpiercer (Diglossa humeralis) is an interesting one.  It is found only in the northern Andes, and we saw them at the lower limits of the páramo.  The Black Flowerpiercer has a black body, black legs and an odd black beak with a hook at the end. 

Flowers of Psammisia eduadorensis
that have been tapped by a Flowerpiercer.
Cabanas San Isidro, Ecuador. 

Hummingbirds insert their long beaks into the mouth of the flower to collect nectar and get showered with pollen.  Hummingbirds will then carry the pollen to the next flower and pollinate the plant. In this way both the hummingbird and plant benefit.  Black Flowerpiercers sip nectar to but they use their hooked beaks to cut a hole in the base of  a flower and “steal” the nectar without carrying out pollination. 

Cinerous Conebill (Conirostrum cinereum).
Tambo Condor, Ecuador.

Cinerous Conebill (Conirostrum cinereum) is another tanager we found at high altitude.  This small bird has a gray back, buffy breast and white line above the eye.  The name of the bird comes from its sharp, conical beak.    

Spectacled Redstart (Myioborus melanocephalus).
Tambo Condor, Ecuador.

The Spectacled Redstart (Myioborus melanocephalus) is a warbler found in the northern Andes.  It has a gray back, black head with yellow spectacles, a yellow breast and belly, a red crown and white under the tail.  These small birds are very active, feeding on insects in low vegetation and constantly spreading their tails. 

 From the highlands of the Andes with its plants and animals adapted to the cold, our group travelled east and downhill into warmer and wetter climes.  We will explore these ecosystems in future blogs.