I was joined on my July, 2005 visit to the Canopy Tower by, among others, a rather large contingent of British birders, most of whom
were enjoying their first tour of Panama. Most of them arrived rather late on a Saturday night, and the following morning fought
off jet lag as they enjoyed their first looks at a number of the regular species around the Tower. As a "grizzled veteran" of two previous
Tower visits, I happened to be the first person on line for the breakfast buffet, and settled into a coveted seat with a good view
of the bird-rich cecropia trees outside the dining area. I saw a bright blue bird fly in to the trees, and immediately called, "Blue Cotinga
in the cecropia tree!". Dishes and glasses clattered, and the 15 or so birders present rushed en masse to the windows for what was, for most of them,
their first look at a stunning male Blue Cotinga. The bird lingered for good views, and returned the following morning for another extended visit, but as far
as I know, these were the onlt two sightings of the stay. Fortune was indeed on the side of these fine birders!
The looks at this Blue Cotinga were also the best I've ever had, and I was thrilled to have captured the excellent stills reproduced below. I'm also quite
enamored of the image at bottom, of the cotinga perched alongside a male Green Honeycreeper, both of them gazing almost placidly into the distance.
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