The Story
I photographed this Smooth-billed Ani (Crotophaga ani) near La Macarena, Meta, Colombia, in February 2021. It is very social and always found in noisy groups. Several pairs build one nest together, a deep cup of twigs lined with leaves, and the females lay their eggs in it and share incubation and feeding; nests with up to 29 eggs have been found. Its flight is weak and wobbly, but it runs well and feeds mostly on the ground, and it has benefited greatly from deforestation. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I made this frame with a Canon R5 and the RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L, at 1/3000 sec, f/6.7, ISO 3200. Flooded forest covers about 13 percent of La Macarena National Park, mostly along the Guayabero River.
©2021 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Smooth-billed Ani (Crotophaga ani) belongs to the family Cuculidae (Cuckoos) 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 stable. Source: IUCN Red List