Observations of predation events at bird nests in central Panama

We describe 14 nest predation events witnessed in the Republic of Panama du ring studies of avian nesting success. Eight predations were by birds, incl uding two species of toucan and one forest-falcon. Four predations were by two species of snake, one was by monkeys, and one near-predation was by arm ) ants (Eciton burchelli). In three cases, a fraction of the nest contents were removed by the predator on one visit before it returned later to consu me the remaining items. Our observations, although limited to diurnal encou nters, indicate that Neotropical birds are susceptible to a diverse array o f potential predators. Detailed investigations using cameras are needed to quantify the potential importance of each predator species and to identify the occurrence and importance of nocturnal predation.