The Story
I photographed this juvenile Neotropic Cormorant (Nannopterum brasilianum) from the Ferry Marcopolo on the Orteguaza River at Puerto Arango, near Florencia, Caquetá, Colombia, in February 2020. It lives on coasts and inland waters from the southern United States to southern South America, where it goes by the Indigenous name biguá. Juveniles are brownish, while adults are mainly black with a yellow-brown throat patch. It eats mostly small fish, along with tadpoles, frogs, aquatic insects and shrimp. IUCN lists it as Least Concern, and its population appears to be growing.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/800 sec, f/5.6, ISO 800, −0.3 EV. From the Marco Polo ferry, on a two-hour trip along the Orteguaza River, passengers see the Hacha River flow into the Orteguaza and watch for birds.
©2021 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Neotropic Cormorant (Nannopterum brasilianum) belongs to the family Phalacrocoracidae (Cormorants and Shags) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2018), with the population trend listed as increasing. Source: IUCN Red List