Central American Spider Monkey

On March 19, 2026 we were in Tikal NP in northeastern Guatemala. We had several encounters with spider monkeys, including one instance where they got quite close to us.  

Two Mexican spider monkeys come close to check us out. 

This particular spider monkey is known as the Central American spider monkey or Geoffory's spider monkey and is listed as endangered by the IUCN. It is found in the south and much of the eastern portion of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and possibly portions of Colombia near the Panama border. There are a number of subspecies, and we saw either ssp. vellerosus, the Mexican spider monkey, or ssp. yucatanensis, the Yucatan spider monkey. On iNaturalist, I submitted two photos and the same identifier on both, kc1rt4pn0sd3, who is the 5th highest identifier of the Central American spider monkeys, with 548 identifications, identified it as the Mexican spider monkey, ssp. vellerosus. AI indicates ssp. yucatenensis, the Yucatan spider monkey, inhabits Tikal NP. Wikipedia notes that a 2015 phylogenetic study indicated that yucatanensis is a junior synonym of vellerosus, which  I take to mean that they are basically the same thing. 

The female clitoris is large and protrude like a penis. It is actually larger than a male's flaccid penis. So females are sometimes mistaken for males by observers. It does appear to have a scrotum, so may be a male. Males and females are about the same size, but females can be slightly larger and weigh slightly more.  

It is one of the largest New World monkeys, weighing as much as 20 pounds. Its arms are 25% longer than its legs and its prehensile tail can support its entire weight and is used as an extra limb. The tail has a palm like pad at the end and can be used for locomotion, to pick fruits and scoop water from holes in trees. The face has a pale mask and bare skin around the eyes and muzzle. The hands and feet are dark black and the body color varies by subspecies and population, and can be buff, reddish, rust, brown or black. 

This is a different spider monkey than the monkeys shown in the other photos above. 

Jaguars and pumas appear to be the only significant adult spider monkey predators, other than humans. However, predation of these monkeys has never been observed. 

My wife, Judy, is a big fan of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. Her "Self-Portrait with Monkey 1938" portrays a spider monkey. She kept several of them as pets. 

White-Tipped Dove

My guide, Bobby, saw several white-tipped doves at Finca El Pilar near Antigua, Guatemala. I saw only one, after scanning the vegetation for what seemed like minutes and finally finding it heavily obscured. Birds of the World notes that it is "elusive, and despite its extensive range in the Americas, relatively little is known about its biology." It prefers to forage on the ground, alone or in pairs. It is more often heard than seen, preferring to remain in concealing vegetation or along the edges of clearings and trails. That is consistent with my experience. Look at my photo below and it tells the same story. 

There are 12 subspecies, but I find conflicting information about which one I saw. AI points to ssp. capitalis, the typical form found in the highlands of Guatemala, including the Antigua area. Wikipedia points to ssp. bangsi, found in western Guatemala to western Nicaragua and Honduras (it has capitalis in the Tres Marias Islands and nuttingi in Lake Nicaragua). Birds of the World points to ssp. nuttingi, which includes bangsi, as resident on the pacific coast from Guatemala south to western Honduras and, disjunctly, Lake Nicaragua. Birds of the World does not have an illustration of ssp. bangsi, nuttingi or capitalis, so I'm going with an illustration of ssp. verreauxi. 

Range from Birds of the World. 

Bronzed Cowbird

The bronzed cowbird was another lifer I got at Finca El Pilar outside Antigua, Guatemala. My guide, Bobby, pointed to it high in a tree just as we were pulling in to enter the gated, private, nature sanctuary. I was thinking I'd already seen this species before, but I was confusing it with the shiny cowbird I've seen in both Colombia and Ecuador. 

I saw the nominate subspecies, aeneus, which is found in southern Texas and from eastern Mexico to central Panama. The female is dull black with a brown underbelly and brown eyes. The male has green-bronze, gloss-black plumage with red eyes in breeding season (it is sometimes known as the "red-eyed cowbird") and brown otherwise. The male also has an erectile ruff on the back and sides of the neck (see my second photo above). 

Illustration of a female, ssp. aeneus, from Birds of the World. 

Illustration of a male, ssp. aeneus, from Birds of the World. 

Range from Birds of the World. 

Bushy-Crested Jay

My favorite find at Finca El Pilar near Antigua, Guatemala, or actually several miles before it in a residential area, was the bushy-crested jay. My guide, Bobby, pulled the car over to the side of the street and pointed several of them out in a heavily vegetated lot with lots of trees. Several of these beautiful, loud jays were flitting about among the trees. I had several failed attempts to photograph them and thought I'd blown it, until another came into view just as we were getting ready to leave. 

I love the yellow on the chin that matches the yellow and orange flower it is standing on. 

The head, neck, breast and upper mantle are black and the remaining upperparts are dark blue with a sheen of green or violet. The underparts are greenish-blue, the undersides of the wings are gray and the underside of the tail is blackish. The head has a stubble-like erectile crown of feathers and the iris is yellow. There are two subspecies. I saw the nominate ssp. melanocyaneus, found in Guatemala and southern El Salvador. It is limited in range to just a portion of Central America. 

Illustration of ssp. melanocyaneus from Birds of the World. 

Range from Birds of the World. 

Red-Billed Pigeon

Aside from hummingbirds, I got a few other lifers at or near Finca El Pilar near Antigua, Guatemala. One was a red-billed pigeon. It was early, in poor light, and far away. 

Illustration from Birds of the World. 

Neither my photo or the illustration do it justice. There are some great photos on Birds of the World that show it as a beautiful bird. Several photo are from Webb, Texas, the northern part of the range. 

Range from Birds of the World. 

Green-Throated Mountain-Gem

The green-throated mountain-gem is the fifth lifer hummingbird I saw at Finca El Pilar outside Antigua, Guatemala.  I submitted three separate entries on iNaturalist but none have had any identifiers yet. The name "green-throated" comes from the male because the female has a white throat. Further, my best photo has a hummingbird with a blue throat, but Birds of the World says the throat can be blue or green. 

The male has a straight black bill; green upperparts with some bronze on the rump; bluish black uppertail coverts; a white throat with bluish-green iridescent discs; a white breast;  grayish underparts; mottled green on the sides and flanks; dusky gray undertail-coverts; the central tail retrices are black and the remainder are pale gray. The female is similar, but the throat is white and it lacks the bronze on the rump. 

Illustration of a female from Birds of the World. 

Illustration of a male from Birds of the World. 

There are four subspecies. I saw ssp. vindipallens, the nominate ssp., which is found in the highlands of eastern guatemala, extreme northern El Salvador and western Honduras. AI indicates that vindipallens is also found in the highlands (cloud forest and pine-oak) around Antigua, Guatemala, including at Finca El Pilar. 

Range from Birds of the World. 

White-Eared Hummingbird

I saw five lifer hummingbirds at the hummingbird feeders at Finca El Pilar near Antigua, Guatemala on March 21, 2026 with my guide, Bobby. I've previously posted on the azure-crowned, berylline and rufous sabrewing hummingbirds. The light was not great and the viewing area was not great and most of my photos are not great. I only got one semi-decent photo of the white-eared hummingbird. 

It has a dark head that often appears blackish, depending on the lighting, a prominent white stripe extending from the back of the eye downward (diagnostic) and greenish upperparts with some cinnamon edging near the rump. The female has a brownish cap, whitish underparts with green spots and a dark bill with very limited red. The male has a red bill with a black tip. In good light the male's forehead is brilliant purple and the throat is iridescent green. The lower underparts are whitish with heavy green scaling. 

Illustration of a female, ssp. leucotis, from Birds of the World. 

Illustration of a male, ssp. leucotis, from Birds of World. 

I saw ssp. leucotis, the nominate ssp., which is found in the highlands of central and southern Mexico, extending into Guatemala. It is common in the montane pine-oak forests around Antigua. Despite the range map below, ssp. borealis can be found in southern Arizona and occasionally in Texas and New Mexico. It is found at an elevation range of 3,900 to 11,500 feet. 

Range from Birds of the World.