(Explored 9/13/13 lowest #196)

Image taken on one of the small tributaries of the Cuiaba River in Brazil. Most of the tributary was choked with thousands of water lilies. The boat had to cut thru them to take us down to a clear area of water where we found this rufescent tiger heron and a jacamar.

Though diligent and quiet, observers may encounter this reclusive heron standing still along sluggish streams and backwater swamps, and it is considered uncommon to rare through much of its range. The adult heron has two stripes down the white front area of the neck, like tiger stripes. Adult Rufescent Tiger-Herons are easily separated from the other species of tiger-heron by their rich rufous upperparts, especially the head and neck. Generally, immature tiger-herons are best left unidentified. With some practice, however, immature Rufescent Tiger-Herons may be identified by their more rufous head and neck. The shorter and stouter bill may also be a useful field mark, though this requires prior experience with all three species.

Order Ciconiiformes
Family Ardeidae

These birds are found from southern Guatemala down to Ecuador, Brazil, northern Uruguay and north-eastern Argentina.

They are 66-76 cm long and weigh 800-900 g.

Rufescent tiger-herons are found in a wide range of inland wetlands, including bogs, marshes, rivers, lakes, swamps, fens and peatlands, but also in mangroves and swamp forests. They are present from sea level up to an altitude of 1.000 m. They mostly forage at dusk and night, feeding on fishes, amphibians, reptiles and insects including grasshoppers, water beetles and dragonfly larvae. Rufescent tiger-herons build solitary nests in tall trees, consisting of large platforms of sticks. There the female lays 2-3 eggs which she incubates alone for 31-34 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 4-5 weeks after hatching.

IUCN status - LC (Least concern)
This species has an extremely large breeding range and is described as common, at least in Brazil. The population trend is difficult to determine because of uncertainty over the impacts of habitat modification on population sizes, but overall it is not considered threatened at present.

You can see more of my Brazil images in the Brazil 2012 set.

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Tags:   RufescentTigerHeron BrazilSept2012 CuiabaRiver waterlilies tributary SpecAnimal COTH5 SuperShot

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(Explore 9/11/13 lowest #343)

The Pantanal is mostly made up of large ranches and many of them decided to help secure the future of certain endangered species. This ranch was a nesting place of numerous macaws. At one time, I saw as many as two dozen or so birds gathered in the trees and flying thru the sky.

The Hyacinth Macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus), or Hyacinthine Macaw, is a parrot native to central and eastern South America. With a length (from the top of its head to the tip of its long pointed tail) of about 100 cm (3.3 ft) it is longer than any other species of parrot. It is the largest macaw and the largest flying parrot species, though the flightless Kakapo of New Zealand can outweigh it at up to 3.5 kg. While generally easily recognized, it can be confused with the far rarer and smaller Lear's Macaw. Male and female are identical in external appearance, and juveniles resemble adults except they have shorter tails and the yellow on their faces is paler.

The Hyacinth Macaw is an endangered species due to the cage bird trade and habitat loss. In the 1980s, it is estimated that at least 10,000 birds were taken from the wild. Throughout the macaw’s range, habitat is being lost or altered due to the introduction of cattle ranching and mechanized agriculture, and the development of hydroelectric schemes. Annual grass fires set by farmers can destroy nest trees, and regions previously inhabited by this macaw are now unsuitable also due to agriculture and plantations. Locally, it has been hunted for food, and the Kayapo Indians of Gorotire in south-central Brazil use its feathers to make headdresses and other ornaments. While overall greatly reduced in numbers, it remains locally common in the Brazilian Pantanal, where many ranch-owners now protect the macaws on their land.

The Hyacinth Macaw is protected by law in Brazil and Bolivia, and commercial export is banned by its listing on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). There are a number of long-term studies and conservation initiatives in place; the Hyacinth Macaw Project in the Brazilian State of Mato Grosso do Sul, has carried out important research by ringing individual birds and has created a number of artificial nests to compensate for the small percentage of sites available in the region.

The majority of the hyacinth macaw diet is nuts from native palms, such as acuri and bocaiuva palms. They have a very strong beak for eating the kernels of hard nuts and seeds. Their strong beaks are even able to crack coconuts, the large brazil nut pods and macadamia nuts. The acuri nut is so hard that the parrots cannot feed on it until it has passed through the digestive system of cattle. In addition, they eat fruits and other vegetable matter. In the Pantanal, Hyacinth Macaws feed almost exclusively on the nuts of Acrocomia aculeata and Attalea phalerata palm trees. It flies in pairs, and feeds on the hard nuts of several palms.These nuts, which are so hard as to be difficult to break with a heavy hammer, are crushed to a pulp by the powerful beak of this macaw.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyacinth_Macaw

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Tags:   Brazil2012 HyacinthMacaws ThePantanal Brazil Endangered SpecAnimal

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(Explored 9/9/13 lowest #320)

Image taken from a boat in the middle of the Cuiaba River in Brazil. The camera was handheld because the boat rocks enough to eliminate a decent photo from a tripod. Try balancing a tripod in a small three seater boat. The tripod moves along with the boat making it hard to focus on the subject. I would have to say some of my photos of these beasts are not the best, but they are wild animals in a wild environment. Sometimes it is hard to find jaguars at all on a photographic trip to the jungle.

You can see more of my Brazil images in the Brazil 2012 set.

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Tags:   Brazil2012 SpecAnimal NGC

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(Explored 9/7/13 lowest #66)

Wildebeest and zebras preparing to cross the Mara River in Kenya. Zebra mothers and their young cross first before anyone else, because the crocodiles are not upon the herd for a few minutes, giving the young the ability to cross in relative safety.

FOR QUICK ACCESS TO ALL OF MY PHOTOS, ALL IMAGES HAVE BEEN PLACED INTO SETS. THIS MAKES IT EASIER THAN GOING THRU THE WHOLE PHOTOSTREAM.

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Tags:   KenyaSept2010 MaraRiver crossing ZebraMotherAndFoal wildebeests SpecAnimal Blinkagain Bestofblinkwinners NPC

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(Explored 9/5/13 lowest #294)

Protector of the three female pride in Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. After a rough day with the females he decided he needed a snooze. The lioness in the closeup is part of his pride.

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Tags:   TanzaniaSept2010 KingOfThePride SpecAnimal NGC

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