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Rufous-bellied seedsnipe, Cayambe Coca Ecological Reserve, Ecuador
From the Amazon's altitude of about 0 to well over 4,000m, and from tropical heat to the ice cold winds of the Páramo, the first 8 hours of this day were dramatic. Arriving at Cayambe Coca Ecological Reserve, we were instantly rewarded with a very brief sighting of this great bird. This one was captured at 4,085m altitude. They are not often seen but also easy to overlook.
It's a very hardy bird that can withstand harsh conditions. It feeds on the buds of cushion plants:
The rufous-bellied seedsnipe is a wader which is a resident breeding bird in the Andes of South America south from Ecuador. It is a member of the seedsnipe family, a group of small gregarious waders which have adapted to a vegetarian diet of seeds and other plant material. The most common food is the buds and leaf tips of cushion plants.
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