The sungrebe or American finfoot is a bird which breeds in tropical Central and South America from southern Mexico to northeast Argentina and southern Brazil. These tropical birds of swamps and marshes have broad lobes on their feet, similar to grebes. These are shy birds which swim in slow-flowing streams and secluded waterways, sometimes partly submerged, like an anhinga.
Similar species: Crane-like Birds
By Thibaud Aronson
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Uploaded Nov 30, 2022. Captured Nov 14, 2022 07:35 in 6H5X+3J Puerto Nariño, Amazonas, Colombia.
comments (5)
We were going down a black-water channel that connects two lakes, and the sungrebe, which we had completely failed to see, flushed and landed in the middle of the channel, completely exposed. We paddled back to get closer, and were able to follow her (the orange cheek patch is characteristic of females) as she moved closer to the riverbank, then flushed again to the open water, and crossed to the other side, where the beautiful sunlight allowed for some nice photos.
All in all a very unusual encounter with a typically skulking bird that usually hides under overhanging vegetation, and the first manifestation of the good luck we were about to have that day... Posted 2 years ago