The Story
I made this photo of a juvenile Sunbittern (Eurypyga helias) at Ecohotel La Fortuna in Yopal, Casanare, Colombia. It is the only member of its family, Eurypygidae, and its closest living relative appears to be the Kagu of New Caledonia. It lives in humid tropical forest with an open understory, near rivers, streams, ponds or lagoons. Insects are an important part of its diet, along with crabs, spiders, shrimp and earthworms. It also takes fish, tadpoles, frogs and lizards. Males and females differ only in small details of the feather patterns on the throat and head. Yopal is the capital of Casanare.
I used a Pentax K-1 with the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 for this one, at 1/60 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1600. IUCN lists the Sunbittern as Least Concern, with a decreasing population.
©2019 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Sunbittern (Eurypyga helias) belongs to the family Eurypygidae (Sunbittern) 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