Tityra

[pat]

Another bird being requested for inclusion. Although there aren't many species it's a common enough bird in central and South America.   

[birdy]

I like the masked tityra because it's a tropical bird I can actually see and identify.

[pat]

Me too, Birdy. I actually managed to snap one in Costa Rica. They tend to stay fairly high in the trees so it's not a very good photo.

[birdy]

I found mine when I was standing on a window on a stairway in the Canopy Tower in Panama - as you say, high enough in a tree that I might not have been able to see it from the ground.

[pat]

Did you also stay at the Canopy Lodge in Panama, Birdy? The tower was billed as the main attraction when I went but I think I actually preferred the lodge.

[yelnats]

Glad someone has pleasant memories of Panama.

I stayed at the carcel in David and the carcel modelo in Panama City courtesy of the Guardia Nacional and the only birds I saw were jailbirds!

[Calilasseia]

The Tityrus was a mythological beast in Greek legend, frequently used as a metaphor for strength and power. It also appeared in mediaeval heraldry. The name, along with derivatives of feminine and neuter gender, appear in numerous taxonomic names, such as Lycaena tityrus, the Sooty Copper (a European butterfly belonging to the Lycaenidae).

[Les303]

Pat / birdy ,

You have both shared a lot of very lovely photos of a variety of birds with us however when i first looked at the photo of the masked tityra , well (even though i had my beer goggles on ) i honestly thought that it was the ugliest bird that i had ever seen.
It had some nice white plumage but its face was just terrible , it looked more like a snake or a turtle's neck than a bird.
It was only because i saved the image to my computer where i was able to enlarge it that i realised that the ugly face i was focusing on was in fact the tree branch upon which sat a beautiful white bird blended into the white bark of the tree.
I do recommend that you try enlarging the photo as i reckon that tree branch has a seriously ugly face.

[birdy]

Did you also stay at the Canopy Lodge in Panama, Birdy? The tower was billed as the main attraction when I went but I think I actually preferred the lodge.

Yes.  My friend and I registered late for the trip, so the only room left was (of course) the most expensive - and the most comfortable.  I think the lodge had just been opened a fairly short time before we took the trip, but we didn't stay there.  The Tower was really great - coffee on the roof at dawn with the howler monkeys in full voice and birds at treetop level.  I remember going up there during our noon break and seeing a king vulture soaring overhead - probably wondering if all those birders lying on the roof were edible yet.

[birdy]

Pat / birdy ,
I do recommend that you try enlarging the photo as i reckon that tree branch has a seriously ugly face.

Trees have a hard time competing with birds for attractiveness - imho.  Though I do appreciate their shade.

[Les303]

Thanks birdy , for taking the time to respond to what were a couple of rather silly posts.

[birdy]

And sometimes, Les303, an ugly branch really IS a bird.  Consider the potoo... [DON'T LOOK, LINDA]

https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=AwrBT7vIFL1X9XYA1z1XNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEyaHZjYzhtBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDQjE4NzlfMQRzZWMDc2M-?p=Potoo+Bird&fr=mcafee

[Les303]

Birdy , are you having a shot at me ... this one looks like a lizard!!!

Seriously though , isn't mother nature wonderful ... such amazing camouflage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtjFG16ADZQ

[yelnats]

My vote still goes for the tawny frogmouth...

https://noawarddotnet.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/tawny-frogmouth-mother-and-chick-belvedere.jpg?w=640

I once walked by a dead tree lying out in the open and didn't see it until I walked back past it.

[pat]

Potoos and frogmouths really are masters of disguise. It's amazing how long they can sit motionless.

In Thailand we were fortunate enough to come across a nesting Hodgson's frogmouth. They weren't quite as well disguised as a lone adult pretending to be a branch but not bad for an adult with three kids!