General Notes

Abstract

On August 5, 1958 I observed a very interesting migration of Swainson's Eagle (Buteo swainsoni), both because of the early date and the place where it was seen. At 4:30 in the afternoon when I was traveling across the Páramo de Puracé on the top of the Cordillera Central of the Colombian Andes, I saw a group of eagles flying in a southerly direction. This first group consisted of about 25 individuals. Almost at the same altitude and in a staggered manner, other individuals followed, sometimes alone, sometimes in groups of three, four or more, at about the same altitude. I stopped to observe them carefully and try to identify them. I think I was able to establish the identity with the help of the primates, because these eagles have well-defined coloration phases and I seemed to have observed individuals with normal adult coloration, some with dark coloration and even others in the livery of the young.