The Story
I photographed this Striated Heron (Butorides striata) near La Macarena, Meta, Colombia, in February 2021. It breeds in South America and the Caribbean, mostly in lowland marshes, lakes and rivers, and in Peru it reaches only about 800 meters, staying out of the Andes. Its nest is a platform of sticks about 40 to 50 centimeters wide. It eats mainly small fish, frogs and aquatic insects. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I made this frame with a Canon R5 and the RF 800mm f/11 plus the RF 1.4x extender, at 1/1500 sec, f/16, ISO 1600, −1 EV. Visits to Caño Cristales, the Mirador Cristalitos and the Raudal de Angosturas in La Macarena National Park are arranged through authorized local operators.
©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