Site Report: Boca de Cupe

Village Near Boca de Cupe

Cocoi Heron (Ardea cocoi)

Amazon Kingfisher (Chloroceryle amazona)

Boca de Cupe is a village at the mouth of the tidal Rio Cupe. The discos here will keep you up at night. This site includes the river up to El Real.

2009-03-15: We walked out from Cruce de Mono to this village to catch our boat ride toward the Pacific coast of the Darien. Quite a ways from the village, we entered the endless banana plantations. We had to make several river crossings to get to the village proper. While it was nice to get some cold drinks for the first time in several days, the village was a huge letdown in comparison to the forest from which we had just hiked. In the morning, we rode in a motorized dugout canoe to El Real. The landscape along the river could best be described as environmental devastation. Every bit of nature had been replaced by bananas, and the river doubled as a trash can. Even our boatman was throwing his trash in the river.

Kingdom: Animals (42 records)

Phylum: Chordates (42 records)

Class: Birds (39 records)

Order: Anseriformes (1 record)
- Family: Swans, Geese, and Ducks
- Muscovy Duck (Cairina moschata)

Order: Cuckoos (1 record)
- Family: Cuckoos
- Greater Ani (Crotophaga major)

Order: Doves and Pigeons (4 records)
- Family: Pigeons and Doves
- Rock Pigeon (Columba livia)
- Pale-vented Pigeon (Patagioenas cayennensis)
- Ruddy Ground-Dove (Columbina talpacoti)
- White-tipped Dove (Leptotila verreauxi)

Order: Hawks, Eagles, Kites, and Allies (3 records)
- Family: Hawks, Eagles, and Kites
- Common Black-Hawk (Buteogallus anthracinus)
- Gray-lined Hawk (Buteo nitidus)
- Broad-winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus)

Order: Hummingbirds and Swifts (1 record)
- Family: Swifts
- Short-tailed Swift (Chaetura brachyura)

Order: Kingfishers, Bee-eaters, Motmots (1 record)
- Family: Kingfishers
- Amazon Kingfisher (Chloroceryle amazona)

Order: Parrots (1 record)
- Family: New World Parrots
- Orange-chinned Parakeet (Brotogeris jugularis)

Order: Pelicans (11 records)
- Family: Cormorants
- Neotropic Cormorant (Nannopterum brasilianum)
- Family: Jacanas
- Wattled Jacana (Jacana jacana)
- Family: Sandpipers and Allies
- Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius)

Order: Perching Birds (11 records)
- Family: American Blackbirds and Orioles
- Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula)
- Great-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus)
- Family: Jays and Crows
- Black-chested Jay (Cyanocorax affinis)
- Family: Swallows
- Gray-breasted Martin (Progne chalybea)
- Southern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx ruficollis)
- Family: Tanagers and Allies
- Thick-billed Euphonia (Euphonia laniirostris)
- Plain-colored Tanager (Tangara inornata)
- Family: Tyrant Flycatchers
- Tropical Kingbird (Tyrannus melancholicus)
- Fork-tailed Flycatcher (Tyrannus savana)
- Rusty-margined Flycatcher (Myiozetetes cayanensis)
- Family: Wrens
- Southern House Wren (Troglodytes musculus)

Order: Shorebirds and Allies (1 record)
- Family: Plovers
- Southern Lapwing (Vanellus chilensis)

Order: Turkey-like birds (2 records)
- Family: Chachalacas, Guans, and Curassows
- Great Curassow (Crax rubra)
- Family: Grouse, Turkeys, and Allies
- Red Junglefowl (Gallus gallus)

Order: Vultures (1 record)
- Family: New World Vultures
- Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus)

Order: Woodpeckers, Barbets, Toucans, and Honeyguides (1 record)
- Family: Piculets and Woodpeckers
- Red-crowned Woodpecker (Melanerpes rubricapillus)

Class: Mammals (2 records)

Order: Carnivorans (1 record)
- Family: Canidae
- Gray Wolf (Canis lupus)

Class: Reptiles (1 record)

Order: Lizards and Snakes (1 record)
- Family: Helmeted Lizards
- Common Basilisk (Basiliscus basiliscus)