I was in a canoe,  first thing in the morning in the Pantanal of Brazil when I saw this black howler monkey just waking up. Anyone who has been to an area inhabited by howler monkeys has probably heard their unmistakeable call — the alarm clock of the rain forest —  which can sometimes sound like a jet taking off. The attached sound file is a bit mellower than some I’ve heard, but gives an idea of what they sound like.
I only saw a couple of these capped herons in the Pantnal of Brazil. They are very  unique birds with their blue beaks and tassels on the back of their heads.
White necked herons are a fairly common sight along the rivers of Brazil’s Pantanal region. I was in a small boat, floating quietly past while this one was searching for fish.
And therein lies the beauty of the capybara — while some dismiss it as a gigantic rat, others can appreciate its refined social etiquette. This one here proving the point by covering it’s mouth before sneezing. For those who weren’t paying attention the last time I posted a capybara, they are the world’s largest rodent, living throughout much of South America. This one was photographed in the Pantanal of Brazil.
It’s pretty much impossible to go the Pantanal of Brazil and not see yacaré caiman. They’re everywhere. This one was just a little guy, but they can eventually grow to be about 10 feet in length (still quite small for a crocodilian species). Due to their smaller size, they are a favorite prey of jaguars and anaconda — as opposed to the 14 foot long black caiman.
With all the mammals I’ve been posting lately, thought it was time for a nice bird. This is a campo troupial, also known as a campo oriole. They were fairly common around the lodges in the Pantanal of Brazil, but seemed a little more timid than all the tanagers and they would only approach the fruiting trees to grab a bite when other birds weren’t around. Check out the campo troupial’s song below:
This one really gives a sense of how tall these guys are (four feet from ground to shoulder), the tallest canine in the Americas. Although it looks more like a fox, it’s actually a wolf, photographed in a remote area of northeastern Brazil.
A young tufted capuchin monkey reacts with surprise — to what he’s acting with surprise I couldn’t tell you. These are the tool using “Einstein” monkeys of Piaui state in northeastern Brazil.
Here’s another photo of the day because, well, I don’t have anything better to do now that my Yellowstone flight was cancelled yet again — apparently you need more than 48 hours of sunshine and clear skies in New York before airports can reopen after a snowstorm.  Delta has assured me, however, that they can get me on a flight on Saturday that will get me to Yellowstone in plenty of time to make my return flight home a few hours later on Sunday. But enough of that. For today’s photo(s), I wanted to send a species that I’ve never posted before. This master of camouflage is called a great potoo and it was photographed in Brazil. You can see from the first shot that this nocturnal bird does a great job of impersonating a stumpy branch while it sleeps during the day. In the close up, you can see the potoo’s eye opened just a bit as it reacts to my camera clicking below. Potoos are very strange looking creatures, reminding me of a Sesame Street character.
A couple of crested caracaras sharing a catfish dinner. This one was taken in the Pantanal of Brazil.