The Story
I photographed this Rufescent Tiger-Heron (Tigrisoma lineatum) from the Ferry Marcopolo on the Orteguaza River at Puerto Arango, near Florencia, Caquetá, Colombia, in February 2021. It lives in wetlands from Central America through much of South America. Juveniles are rusty buff and coarsely barred with black, and young birds are much harder to identify than adults. It eats fish, crustaceans, water beetles and dragonfly larvae, and its main call is a low paired hoot, often given at night. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I used a Canon R5 with the RF 800mm f/11 for this one, at 1/250 sec, f/11, ISO 3200. The Ferry Marcopolo leaves from Puerto Arango, about 15 kilometers from Florencia, on a two-hour trip on the Orteguaza River, passing the mouth of the Hacha River and stopping at a sandbar for lunch.
©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