The Story
I made this photo of a Black-collared Hawk (Busarellus nigricollis) at Zacambu Lodge on the Yavarí, in Loreto, Peru. The Black-collared Hawk ranges from western Mexico to Uruguay. It lives mainly on fish. It also eats water bugs, snails, frogs, lizards and other small animals. Fused bones at the base of its inner toe may help it keep hold of slippery prey. The Yavarí is a clear-water tributary of the Amazon, about 1,050 km long, that forms the border between Brazil and Peru along its whole course. IUCN lists the Black-collared Hawk as Least Concern, with a decreasing population.
I used a Pentax K-1 with the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 for this one, at 1/640 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200. Trips from Leticia to Zacambu include walks in the flooded forest and a visit to a village where monkeys are being released.
©2021 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Black-collared Hawk (Busarellus nigricollis) belongs to the family Accipitridae (Hawks, Eagles, and Kites) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2020), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List