The Story
I photographed this Striated Heron (Butorides striata) at the Charca de Guarinocito, near La Dorada, Caldas, Colombia, in October 2020. It was formerly treated as the same species as the Little Heron, which lives in the Old World tropics east to Japan and Australia. In Peru it is found only up to about 800 meters, so it avoids the Andes. One adult on its nest was seen moving a stick rapidly back and forth in its bill, like a sewing machine needle. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I used a Pentax K-1 with the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 for this one, at 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1600. The lagoon is protected as the Charca de Guarinocito Integrated Management District.
©2021 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