Below you will find a few of the birds you can see from The Canopy Tower and Semaphore Hill Rd. Click for a complete bird list,
547 species, as of October 2005!

We also recommend you read some of the recent trip reports of the Canopy Tower and its environs, or take a moment to meet our bilingual birding guides.

The photographs on this page were taken from the top floor of the Canopy Tower by Art Wolfe, one of the best nature photographers in the world.

The Tropical Kingbird is by far our most common flycatcher, a large family with about a hundred species in Panama. They are seen frequently perched on the highest branches of the trees around the tower, sallying for flying insects. Tropical Kingirds are not in any way restricted to forest, and they are also one of the commonest birds in downtown Panama City.

Flycatchers come in many sizes, and from the Canopy Tower you can see a good sample of the species found in Panama. From the tiny Paltry Tyrannulet and Common Tody-Flycatcher to the impressive Boat-billed Flycatcher you'll get enough flycatchers to satisfy your wildest cravings.

This medium-sized woodpecker is the forest counterpart of the commoner Red-crowned Woodpecker (M. rubricapillus) found easily in open areas. This is an adult male, as shown by its all-red cap. They feed on the higher levels of the canopy, alone or in pairs. One or two are usually seen on the trees around the tower early in the morning, sometimes calling while perched out in the open.

But this is just one of the woodpeckers you'll get a chance to add to your life list. Both Lineated and Crimson-crested Woodpeckers are seen easily, and the smaller but equally impressive Cinnammon Woodpecker is also quite abundant, especially on Plantation Road.

The bird shown in the picture is a female. The male is white, with a light gray wash on the back, and a black mask around the bare facial skin. Tityras are usually seen in pairs or in small groups, frequently on fruiting trees, and they tend to perch out in bare branches. Their calls, somewhat similar to the grunts of a pig, have earned them the vernacular name "Puerquitas", piggies.

The other tityra found in Panama, the Black-crowned Tityra, does not have red facial skin, and is not as common as the Masked is. Lately, it has been reported from the Metropolitan Nature Park.

The Blue-gray Tanager is one of Panama's most widely distributed birds. Small flocks of this species, usually accompanied by a few Palm Tanagers can be found in almost all residential areas in Panama City, but they are both also common in the forest around the Tower. They are very fond of the fruit of Cecropia trees, as are most fruit-eating species.

A male Scarlet Tanager in full breeding plumage, as seen in spring migration, a particularly good time to watch birds at the Canopy Tower. Sometimes as many as five or six Scarlet Tanagers can be seen feeding on a fruiting tree, accompanied by Swainson's Thrushes, Rose-throated Grosbeaks and a myriad of vireos and warblers, all in fresh breeding plumages. Another great spectacle of spring migration is to see the huge flocks of Eastern Kingbirds as they pass through the country. For a few days each season, every fruiting tree is literally covered by these black-and-white birds.