As we left Montezuma Rainforest Lodge to go to Pereira we were in a 4x4 on very rugged roads. At one point we crossed a bridge over a stream and the driver stopped to show me a bird with a huge neck with stripes on it standing on a rock in the middle of a stream. It looked like a heron, but no heron I'd ever seen before. I was anxious to get home and find out what it was because our driver had no idea.
It is found in Costa Rica down through northwestern Argentina and southeastern Brazil. It likes rocky, swift moving streams in foothills and is usually standing on rocks in the middle of a stream. It eats primarily fish which it spears with its bill. It is widespread, but uncommon and local in its range. Birds of the World only has 10,847 observations and 2,696 photos.
 |
| Fasciated tiger-heron range from Wikipedia. |
There are three subspecies. We saw salmoni which has the widest range, most everywhere the species is found, except Brazil and Argentina. Wikipedia notes that "It has a black crown and the sides of its face are slaty gray. Its neck and upperparts are black, with widely spaced, fine, pale buff stripes. Its abdomen is grayish-cinnamon to warm brown, and its flanks are gray. Its beak...is black above and yellowish-green below" and a yellow iris.
That first photo looks a lot like the gourd made into a bird we bought somewhere in Africa.
ReplyDelete