Cinnamon-bellied Saltator

Saltator grandis

eBird describes the Cinnamon-bellied Saltator in this way:  Fairly common, but often retiring, in tropical lowlands of both drier and more humid areas. Favors forest edge, second growth thickets, hedges, and tangles, especially with morning glory flowers, which it munches quietly. Told from other saltators in Mexico and Central America by the grayish (not golden-green) upperparts, bolder white eyebrow, and plain breast. Immature looks slightly different, with a yellowish wash to the face and upperparts. Listen for sweet song with long slurred whistles.

The website Birds of the World introduces this bird this way:  The Cinnamon-bellied Saltator, along with Olivaceous Saltator (Saltator olivascens), was recently split from “Grayish Saltator complex.” Comprised of six subspecies, distributed across much of Central America, Cinnamon-bellied Saltator is relatively well known, as it frequents hedgerows, city parks, and gardens from northern Mexico to northern Costa Rica. It is gray above and grayish or buffy below, with a strong whitish eyebrow and black malar stripes that boarder a white throat. Like many saltators, this species usually travels in pairs or small family groups, feeding on fruits, seeds, flower petals, leaves, and other plant parts. The details of its largely vegetarian diet, however, have not been as well studied as those of its previously-conspecific, South American congeners, Olivaceous Saltator and Blue-gray Saltator (S. coerulescens). Its large, untidy, open-cup nest and bright blue eggs with black flecks and scrawls have been described in several studies, but the nesting habits of several subspecies remain unknown.

I saw my first Cinnamon-bellied Saltator on the early morning of Monday, February 6, 2023.  I was with my Tropical Birding Tour group and we were birding a muddy road near our cabins at La Selva prior to having breakfast.  To see my blog post that includes our visit to La Selva, look here.  I was able to get a poor photograph of this bird–  the low light was tough and the bird was somewhat back lit to boot.