The Story
I photographed this juvenile Rufescent Tiger-Heron (Tigrisoma lineatum) at La Charca de Guarinocito in La Dorada, Caldas, Colombia. Juveniles are rusty-buff and coarsely barred with black. It lives in wetlands from Central America through much of South America. It usually hunts alone, standing hunched in shallow pools or wet forest while it waits for prey. Corpocaldas counts 135 plant species, 14 amphibians, 21 reptiles, 164 birds and 45 mammals at the charca. IUCN lists the Rufescent Tiger-Heron as Least Concern, with a stable population.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/400 sec, f/7.1, ISO 200. In 2025 Corpocaldas zoned the charca for preservation, restoration and sustainable use, recognizing its role in community tourism and artisanal fishing.
©2021 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Rufescent Tiger-Heron (Tigrisoma lineatum) belongs to the family Ardeidae (Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2022), with the population trend listed as stable. Source: IUCN Red List
