Readers’ wildlife photos

We’re getting near the end again, and I ask you to think about a submission of good photos to keep the feature going (I can always make it sporadic). Today we have the last batch of Robert Lang‘s photos from the Brazilian Pantanal: birds. But we have one more post from him to come: eight videos of various creatures. Robert’s narrative and IDs are indented, and click on the photos to enlarge them.

Readers’ Wildlife Photos: The Pantanal, Part XII: Birds

Continuing our mid-2025 journey to the Pantanal in Brazil, by far the largest category of observation and photography was birds: we saw over 100 different species of birds (and this was not even a birding-specific trip, though the outfitter also organizes those for the truly hard core). Here is the final installment of the alphabetarium of common names of birds (though not quite the final installment from the Pantanal!).

Whistling herons (Syrigma sibilatrix):

White-headed marsh tyrant (Arundinicola leucocephala). Though I like to think of this one as a “baby bald eagle”:

White-rumped monjita (Xolmis velatus). The only bird that comes with a sprig of mint:

White woodpecker (Melanerpes candidus):

Wood stork (juvenile) (Mycteria americana):

Yellow-billed cardinal (Paroaria capitata):

Several yellow-billed cardinals with a saffron finch (Sicalis flaveola) sneaking into the scrum:

Yellow-billed tern (Sternula superciliaris):

Golden-collared macaw (Primolius auricollis):

The same bird, taking flight:

And that wraps up the birds of the Pantanal! This was by far the best bird-sighting place I’ve ever traveled to (both for quantity of species and ease of photography; most photos were taken with a Canon 200–400 mm zoom lens on a Digital Rebel XTi body (both now sadly contributing to global warming—recommendations from experts for their replacements gratefully accepted). But not the last of my Pantanal imagery: one more installment coming, this time with the newfangled moving-type pictures.