Whistling Heron (Syrigma sibilatrix) - 12Aug2024 and 06Aug2022

The Whistling Heron is the only species in its genus but it is closely related to the Capped Heron which is another of the sought after herons of South America.  Although they are found on either side of the Amazon Basin in agricultural areas, they are somewhat rare in northern Colombia where we saw one away from the llanos and it became one of the birds of the trip.  Little did I know that I would see quite a few on my trip to the Pantanal in Brazil a couple years later in 2022 and then again in central Colombia in 2024.  The first set of pics are from central Colombia and the last is from the Pantanal.

Capped Heron (Pilherodius pileatus) - 20Aug2022

The Capped Heron has a seemingly huge range in South America but is pretty hard to find.  So it was especially cool to find a trio of them that didn't flush while boating around the river systems in the Pantanal.  The blue facial skin is quite striking and makes this a very elegant looking heron.

Rufescent Tiger-Heron (Tigrisoma lineatum) - 16-20Aug2022

Adult Rufescent Tiger-Herons are easy to different from the other two species of Tiger-Herons (Fasciated and Bare-throated) in the genus Tigrisoma.  The young birds are much more difficult to differentiate and they can take up to 5 years to achieve adult plumage.  However, in most areas they do not overlap with some exceptions for the Fasciated and Rufescent.  In the Pantanal in Brazil, the kind you will see most is the Rufescent where these were all photographed.

Adult Rufescent 

Young Rufescent looking like a tiger!

Black-faced Ibis (Theristicus melanopis) - 28Feb2022

The Black-faced Ibis is the third species in the genus Theristicus that I have seen.  These seems to gravitate more to the coastal areas and grasslands in Argentina, Peru and Chile.  They are quite similar looking to the Buff-necked Ibis, and previously were one species but now most authorities consider them separate.  Matt and I saw ours on the coast right next to the airport in Ushuaia, Argentina.

Buff-necked Ibis (Theristicus caudatus) - 13Aug2022

The Buff-necked Ibis is another one of the 4 ibises in the genus Theristicus.  We had a ton of these hanging out in the fields right next to our Pousada (hotel) in the southern Pantanal of Brazil.  However, as is frequently the problem with the more common birds on trips to foreign lands, I tend to focus on other birds thinking I will get more chances and then end up never getting good pics at all.  I somehow only came away with two pictures of this species despite the fact that large numbers of them were roosting in the trees next to my room, making a racket first think in the morning.  

Plumbeous Ibis (Theristicus caerulescens) - 18Aug2022

Plumbeous Ibis is super cool looking, like the rasta of birds with the dread locks on the back of the head.  They are in the genus Theristicus with 3 other South American Ibises of which the Buff-necked Ibis is the closest living relative.   We got good looks at several of them in the Pantanal region of Brazil.

A begging youngster with the adult.

Green Ibis (Mesembrinibis cayennensis) - 9&21Aug2022

The Green Ibis of South and Central America is the only bird in its genus.  Although I have seen it several times in different countries, all of my half decent photos are from my first trip to Brazil.  There are quite a lot of them in the Pantanal area but we also saw them down on the coast near Sao Paulo.  The "green" is mostly an iridescence on the nape and wings but the legs and bill are also kind of greenish depending on the light.

Scarlet Ibis (Eudocimus ruber) - 31Jul2019

This retina-searing species of South America is truly a sight to behold and it usually sticks out like a sore thumb among groups of shorebirds and waders.  I still hope to get better looks when I eventually get to visit the llanos habitat in Colombia or other South American countries, but I was very happy to see this somewhat distant one in Colombia on the coast. 

Antarctic Shag (Leucocarbo bransfieldensis) - 21Feb2022

This is yet another "blue-eyed" shag in the genus Leucocarbo and is very similar to the Imperial Shag although their ranges don't overlap much if at all.  The Imperial Shag stays in South American waters and then once you get to Antarctica, the Antarctic Shag is the only cormorant.  All photos below are form the Antarctic peninsula. 

Imperial Shag (Leucocarbo atriceps) - 18&28Feb2022

Imperial Shag or Imperial Cormorant is another of the "blue-eyed" shags in the genus Leucocarbo, and this one really can have blue eyes, although it seems I failed to capture a really good pic of that feature.  We had them in Ushuaia and also in the crossing to Antarctica.

Magellanic Cormorant (Leucocarbo magellanicus) - 18&28Feb2022

Magellanic Cormorant, otherwise known as Rock Shag, is a denizen of Argentina, Chile and the Falklands.  Leucocarbo is a genus of black-and-white shags with 15 species including the "blue-eyed shags" although as you can see the Magellanic does not really have blue eyes. We had ours in Ushuaia before and after setting out for Antarctica.

European Shag (Gulosus aristotelis) - 11Feb2025

Although the European Shag is mostly found in Europe, it can also be found in North Africa and Iceland as well. It is the only cormorant in its genus and was found to have diverged from other cormorants over 9 million years ago.  I have seen them in a couple places but only obtained decent photos in my last trip to the south of France.  These pics are from Cap d'Antibes.  Although they look similar to Double-crested Cormorant, in most of their range they don't overlap.  The Great Cormorant is the other one that overlaps but they can easily be separated.

Pelagic Cormorant (Urile pelagicus) - 31May2021

The Pelagic Cormorant is one of 4 species in the Urile genus which all inhabit the northern Pacific Ocean.  The others are Brandt's, Red-faced and the extinct Spectacled Cormorant.  The Pelagic Cormorant is normally found on the ocean, but during breeding season they build nests in seaside cliffs and can easily be seen there.  I saw my first ones in San Diego, but I got much better looks when in Oregon where they were nesting on cliffs at the Yaquina Head Lighthouse. 

Masked Booby (Sula dactylatra) - 27Aug2023

Masked Booby is one of the six birds in the genus Sula.  Here in North Carolina we have semi-annual sightings usually in the Gulf Stream off Hatteras. 

Jabiru (Jabiru mycteria) - 17Aug2022

The Jabiru is a truly awesome bird to see, standing up to 5 feet high with a wingspan of 9 feet across.  We saw tons of them in the Pantanal.  They are the tallest flying bird in the Americas, and have the second largest wingspan after Andean Condor (not including Wandering Albatross which is oceanic).  

White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) - 10Feb2025

The White Stork has a wide distribution and importance all over Eurasia and Africa.  The storks are known to predate on rats and other vermin which made them important to people who associated the vermin with disease.  Old European folklore about storks carrying babies to expecting parents was ancient but popularized with the fables of Hans Christian Andersen in the 19th century.  White Storks frequently nest on roof tops or church belfries which makes them easy to spot.   I saw mine in agriculture fields in the Carmargue in the south of France.

Maguari Stork (Ciconia maguari) - 22Aug2022

The Maguari Stork is the new world equivalent of the White Stork of Eurasia.  They are massive birds which eat pretty much anything and everything around including small mammals.  We saw ours in the Pantanal in Brazil.  They have a pretty wide distribution in South America on either side of the Amazon basin.

Black Stork (Ciconia nigra) - 10Feb2025

Black Storks range all over Eurasia and Africa but that doesn't take away how cool these huge birds are.  It seems they are more wary of humans than the other stork in Europe (White Stork).  This one was photographed in the Camargue in southern France.

Yelkouan Shearwater (Puffinus yelkouan) - 11Feb2025

The genus Puffinus has 21 species in it including 3 that were previously lumped into one.  Manx and Yelkouan benefitted from a split in 1991 and then Balearic was further split out after that.  I saw many Yelkouan from the beautiful hike around Cap d'Antibes in the south of France where the default Puffinus is Yelkouan.  Most were half a mile out and it took hundreds of scatter shot pictures to come away with a couple keepers.

Scopoli's Shearwater (Calonectris diomedea) - 11Jun, 22&27Aug2022

Scopoli's Shearwater is the result of a recent split from Cory's Shearwater.  Both are present in the North Carolina Gulf Stream, with numbers fluctuating depending on breeding and molting schedules.   The Scopoli's Shearwater has some subtle differences with maybe some of the birds are best left unidentified.  The main field mark is amount of white extending into the bird's "hands" which are just the outermost primary feathers including P9 and P10.