Cuyabeno part 3 | Ecuadorian Amazon, 2013

Here’s part 3 (of several more parts to come) of pictures from the 4 days we spent in the jungle, in the Cuyabeno wildlife reserve, in Ecuador’s amazon.

These are the remaining selected pictures from the first day, excluding pictures of bugs taken on the night hike we joined that evening. I plan on making one or more posts dedicated solely to bugs and night-critters (which you can choose to skip – I know not everyone is so keen on bugs).

This set includes several pictures of the bizarre ‘hoatzin‘ (or ‘stinkbird’), which looks somewhat like a giant chicken with a mohawk. These unusual birds have a digestive system somewhat similar to cows, with multiple stomachs (/chambers) to digest its vegetable staple. Hoatzins are fairly common as the haven’t been hunted much – the English nickname is inspired by the smell of the bird, which is apparently ‘manure-like’ (we didn’t get close enough to smell it, luckily enough). As a result, natives don’t hunt the birds for meat. The eggs are apparently similarly disgusting, so are rarely collected for human consumption. Still, they’re quite photogenic, and we were lucky to see them in beautiful light (although photographing them from a moving boat was still challenging).

As always, comments greatly welcomed! (Click for larger)

Another swallowtail butterfly

Hoatzin

A pair of hoatzins

Another group cruising on the lake. Note the ‘driver’ listening to music on his mobile phone.

Storm clouds looming in the background

Swifts soaking up the late afternoon sun

A closeup of a hoatzin in the afternoon sunlight

A hoatzin scratching an itch

Storm clouds looming in the distance

A closeup of the storm clouds. Note the partial rainbow.

Clouds on fire

Disturbing the calmness of the lake near the cabin as night falls

Goodnight Cuyabeno

Tags: cloud, cuyabeno wildlife reserve, hoatzin, lake, reflection, stinkbird, storm, sunset, swallowtail butterfly, swifts, wildlife

• August 25, 2013
• Cuyabeno, Ecuador, Wildlife
• 1 Comment