A visit to Copan

Today I traveled from Honduras to Ecuador, but yesterday was a day for sightseeing. I went to the famous Mayan ruins at Copan (which were very impressive), but as usual I was distracted by the sounds of birds and other creatures in the area. Of course, like every other tourist here, I could not help but be impressed by the Scarlet Macaws, even though they were actually tame birds that are fed here, and kept in protective cages at night. I cannot yet claim to have seen them "in the wild." However, I was pleased to catch sight of this Altamira Oriole in the forest canopy, but did not see his top side.

Everywhere I go on this trip I'm finding the Great Kiskadee, a large, noisy and bold flycatcher that seems to rule any neighborhood he chooses to occupy. They were present at Copan, too, although this photo was actually taken on the lawn of the hotel in Costa Rica when one landed nearby. The way he or she looked at me left no doubt as to who was the outsider here.

While all this color was attracting attention overhead, an unusual mammal, an Aguti, was quietly roaming around on the ground below finding things to eat among the fallen leaves and fruit.