The Story
I photographed this Striated Heron (Butorides striata) at Corpoamazonia’s Centro Experimental Amazónico, near Mocoa, Putumayo, Colombia, in October 2019. It is a small heron of tropical and warm temperate South America, also called the mangrove heron. It stands still at the water’s edge and waits to ambush small fish, frogs and aquatic insects. It sometimes fishes with bait, dropping a feather or leaf on the water and grabbing fish that come to look. It is generally a lowland bird of marshes, lakes and rivers. IUCN lists it as Least Concern, with a stable population.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 800. The center’s wildlife unit receives animals rescued or confiscated by the authorities, treats them and, where it can, returns them to the wild.
©2020 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Striated Heron (Butorides striata) 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