South American Painted-Snipe
Nycticryphes semicollaris
Distinctive and attractive, but a rarely seen denizen of fresh and brackish wetlands, especially with shallow water and low to knee-high grasses; also found on lakeshores with taller reeds and rushes. Occasionally seen feeding quietly at edge of vegetation, but mostly seen when flushed from close range. Flies up silently with stiff flicking wingbeats and brief glides, long legs trailing, and drops back to cover usually not far away. Note bold white spots on wings and droop-tipped bill. Related to jacanas, not closely related to the typical snipe.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Nycticryphes semicollaris
- Authority
- (Vieillot, 1816)
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Rostratulidae
- Genus
- Nycticryphes
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Blue-and-white Kingfisher
Todiramphus diops
A small kingfisher with bright azure-blue upperparts and a gleaming white underside. Female shows a diagnostic blue chest band. Male is entirely white underneath with a white collar. White wing patches visible in flight. Juveniles has rufous spot beside bill and rufous collar and flanks. Typically found in pairs in open wooded country, plantations, degraded forest and forest edge in the lowlands and foothills, avoiding dense forest. Male lacks green tones above and has an all-dark bill, unlike the larger Collared Kingfisher. Call is a short, strident “rit-tu-tu-tu-tu-tu-rit.”
Bluish Flowerpiercer
Diglossa caerulescens
Dull blue-gray flowerpiercer found in the Andes from Venezuela to Bolivia. Dark reddish eye. Could be confused with Masked Flowerpiercer but duller overall without large black mask. Bill is less upswept than most flowerpiercers. Found singly or in pairs, often following a mixed-species flock through the forest canopy. Occurs from around 1,600-2,700m.
Mississippi Kite
Ictinia mississippiensis
Long-winged raptor with narrow, pointed wings that help it maneuver to catch insects in flight. Gray overall with whitish head, white secondaries on upperside of wing, and black tail. Graceful in flight with fluid wingbeats and long glides. Prefers riparian woodlands; occasionally occurs close to humans in suburban areas. Builds a stick nest in the top of a tree. Winters in South America.
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