Wildlife Photography

The booted racket-tail (Ocreatus underwoodii) is a species of hummingbird. It is found in the Andean cordillera of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. A population also occurs on the Venezuelan coast. This is the only species in the monotypic genus Ocreatus.

The Black-throated Tody-Tyrant has olive-green upperparts and crown. The wings are plain. The loral area, forehead, and area around the eyes are white (caesius) or buffy (pyrrhops). The underparts are whitish with a distinctive black throat. The bill is black and the iris is brown.

Silent bird that lives in low strata of humid forests. Its name Malacoptila means soft plumage and derives from the Greek roots malakos = soft and ptilon = plumage. His epithet mystacalis means mustache and comes from the Greek mustax, mustakos.

Of the Puffbirds it is one of the most conspicuous and active species. Currently the taxonomic status of its subspecies is under discussion. Its name Hypnelus derives from the Greek hupnelos = sleepy and the epithet ruficollis means reddish neck and derives from the Latin rufus = reddish and collis = neck.

Previously classified in the genus Piculus, this species is quite polytypic and in Colombia there are at least 4 races. Its name Colaptes derives from the Greek kolaptes = pecker, chiseller. The epithet rubiginosus derives from Latin and means reddish.

It is an inconspicuous cuckoo that prefers dry areas although it has spread to more humid regions in deforested areas. Its name Coccycua derives from coccys = cuckoo and Coua which is a genus of cuculiform birds endemic to Madagascar. The epithet pumila derives from Latin and means tiny.

The cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis) is a cosmopolitan species of heron (family Ardeidae) found in the tropics, subtropics and warm temperate zones. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Bubulcus, although some authorities regard two of its subspecies as full species, the western cattle egret and the eastern cattle egret.

The Gray-headed Tanager (Eucometis penicillata) is a species of passerine bird in the Thraupidae family, the only one in the monotypic genus Eucometis. It is native to tropical America (Neotropics), widely distributed from southern Mexico to Paraguay.

This species is found in the Andes with a very localized distribution. Its name Chlorophonia comes from the Greek roots khloros = green and euphonia = euphony or excellence of tone. Its epithet pyrrhophrys comes from the Greek roots purrhos = flame color or red and ophrus = eyebrow.