The Story
I photographed this Cocoi Heron (Ardea cocoi) at the Nowen Bridge in Puerto Concordia, Meta, Colombia, in February 2021. It is the largest heron in South America, and males and females are alike in size and color. It feeds mainly on fish over 20 centimeters long and also takes mammals, amphibians and sometimes insects. It is mostly non-migratory, and its maximum known lifespan is a little over 24 years. It hunts fish and crustaceans in shallow water. Its fish prey includes Leporinus species and streaked prochilod.
I made this frame with a Canon R5 and the RF 800mm f/11 plus the RF 1.4x extender, at 1/1000 sec, f/16, ISO 1600. IUCN lists the Cocoi Heron as Least Concern with a stable population.
©2021 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Cocoi Heron (Ardea cocoi) 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 2021), with the population trend listed as stable. Source: IUCN Red List
