A wattled jacana watching its step:
The snake bird (Anhinga anhinga) dries its wings in the sun, sometimes fanning them to speed up the process. Unlike most bird feathers, the anhinga’s lack a waxy coating, which reduces their buoyancy as their feathers become progressively more waterlogged. Though this has implications for flight, it improves their underwater efficiency:
White-fronted capuchin (Cebus albifrons). Though difficult to make out, this juvenile is holding a rock between its front and hind legs. It uses this to break open bamboo in search of water and grubs. Tool use is one of the skills that requires a significant amount of observation, and trial and error between community members. This juvenile quickly gave up after a few unsuccessful attempts:
Red-howler monkeys (Alouatta sp.) are a unique denizen of the rainforest in that their calls can be heard over kilometres, especially greeting the morning. Apparently they are the loudest land mammal (according to Guiness) thanks to an enlarged hyoid bone:
Mother spider monkey (Ateles chamek) with baby. Spider monkeys are often used as a barometer for forest health since they are sensitive to ecological disturbance and they are often one of the first species hunted out for bushmeat:
Emperor tamarind (Sanguinis imperator) apparently named after Kaiser Willhelm II, who sported a moustache of a similar ilk. There doesn’t seem to be a great consensus on the function of the moustache, though some credit it with intra-specific identification:
The giant river otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) is an apex predator of lake and riparian ecosystems. Their collaborative family dynamics enable them to efficiently corral fish, defend against large would-be predators like caiman, and to successfully, communally raise young. Their unique throat-patches are used as identification markers between individuals, with no two being the same. They engage in a behaviour called 'periscoping' in which they bob out of the water, displaying their neck markings.
The harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja) is another Amazonian apex predator. Its talons are as long as a Grizzly bear’s, and it stands almost 1 metre tall. This is a rare encounter on the trail where it has descended with a black capuchin monkey which it will depilate and consume on the spot:
Thanks for looking and commenting,
Happy New Year to all
-Paul
