I spot her at the edge of a forest together with Great Kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus). She moves with quick, precise hops along a concrete sidewalk in the mining town of Carajás, near the city of Parauapebas on the lower Amazon. At first glance, she looks like any other young female Silver-beaked Tanager (Ramphocelus carbo). The… Continue reading Young Silver-beaked Tanager female with a crossbill-like beak
Tag: tropical ornithology
Acrobatic dancer: a Long-tailed Hermit
The morning air in the forest clearing feels alive with motion. Over a patch of Heliconia blooms, a small shape darts, hovers, and pivots in midair as if the world has no gravity. It’s the Long-tailed Hermit (Phaethornis superciliosus), one of the Amazon’s most acrobatic nectar-feeders. Its long central tail feathers flick like twin pendulums… Continue reading Acrobatic dancer: a Long-tailed Hermit
Zimmer’s Woodcreeper, a Amazon specialist
Deep inside the flooded forest near Santarém, the air is dense with insects and the sweet smell of decay. A subtle motion draws my eye to a tree trunk dappled in filtered light—a slender, chestnut-brown bird spirals upward with careful, deliberate hops. Its short, only slightly decurved, bill gleams in the half-shade. This is Zimmer’s… Continue reading Zimmer’s Woodcreeper, a Amazon specialist