Bird of the Week: Pecho Colorado

They are common throughout Patagonia, but to us they are rare and special because they introduced us to the Birdmen of El Bolson, Argentina.

Photos of the pecho colorado by Gail Parker.

(PATAGONIA, Argentina) - When he was approaching his fiftieth year, Hungarian immigrant Andor Kovacs, his wife and his large family of 6 sons and one daughter settled in northern Patagonia. Here he met Andres Gial, a man ten years his junior who befriended Andor and introduced the family to the natural history of El Bolson Rio Negro Province.

Andres Gaspar Gial was a taxidermist and soon the young boys were supplying him with specimens of birds and mammals, reptiles, fish and insects.

The mutual love of the natural landscape and all within it, and the abiding friendship between Andor and Andres produced a team of collaborators, a museum - El Museoo de las Aves patagonicas, over 400 wildlife paintings by Carlos Kovacs and ultimately, in the year 2004, the Manual Ilustrado de las Aves de la Patagonia Antartida Argentina e Islas del Atlantico Sur' or the title in English - The Illustrated Handbook of the Birds of Patagonia, Argentine Antarctica and Islands of the Southern Atlantic. The authors are all members of this Kovacs family team of naturalists.

Enter the pecho colorado. This pretty southern relative of the western meadowlark brought us the great good fortune to meet Carlos and Ors Kovacs and later Carlos Mariano Kovacs, Carlos’ son, and Zsolt, the third brother and fourth member of the Kovacs family team.

Images of the Argentine pecho colorado which translates to 'red breast', by Gail Parker

I could hardly believe the rosy red of the breast or the complex melodious song. Four years ago we mentioned our observation to friends who run a hosteria (inn) and they directed us to the museum a few doors down where our mystery bird graced the cover of the Kovacs book. So we began in earnest to learn about Patagonian birds.

Like Andor Kovocs and his family, we came from the northern hemisphere. And though it is easy to recognize many species, the particular subspecies is new. Hence this big surprise when we heard and saw the pecho colorado grande, long-tailed meadowlark, Sturnella loyca.

This bird is bigger than a robin, at 265 mm. or 10.5 inches, has a weighty looking breast and in fact sometimes my husband remarks that he doesn’t know how they keep aloft.

The male is somewhat different than the female, a little more red on the breast and bit of red above the eye. The beak is dark gray and the feet are gray. The backs are brownish and blackish striated like a thrush, the sides are gray and the belly black. (There is a great variation between individuals)

In flight, the white under-wing feathers make field identification easy. The pecho colorado grande lives in bushes and trees, spending lots of time on the ground, often near cultivated farms.

We see them frequently around our home and near the bushy berm of the airport nearby. They are seen in pairs or sometimes in small groups. They sing duets early in the morning. Their song is melodious, cheerful and complex. They make a simple nest in the form of a cup and lay up to 5 white eggs with redish spots, or so I have heard.

They are common throughout Patagonia, but to us they are rare and special because they introduced us to the Birdmen of El Bolson, Argentina.

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Gail Parker is a writer and photographer who lives in Argentina. She and her lifetime mate and husband Eddie Zawaski, who also writes for Salem-News.com, are former resident of Oregon, Gail has a great eye for memorable photos in this lush place called Patagonia. Her observations from this amazing wonderland of nature are a fun and welcome addition to our story flow. Watch for Gail's wonderful coverage of the birds of Patagonia in future stories and photojournals here on Salem-News.com.