The Colorful and Majestic Birds of the Pantanal

Cocoi Heron

Birds of the Pantanal

The bird life is spectacular, especially the water birds as they caught the plentiful fish in the rivers of the Pantanal. Let’s meet a few of the 582 species that are in the Pantanal and that we saw on our trip.

Neotropic Cormorants

They are abundant and quite active as they hunt freshwater fish. They “swim” underwater in a manner similar to flying in the air, and move fast enough underwater to catch fish. That is quite an achievement.

As you will see from the following photos they sometimes pierce the fish with their beaks, and they also like to toss them in the air prior to eating. It is a wonder they can swallow such a large animal with such a thin neck and esophagus.

Cocoi Heron

Like the cormorants, they are abundant and great fishers. They are quite similar to our Great Blue Herons. When they catch a fish they tend to fly to a dry location off the river to eat, as opposed to the cormorants that eat their fish right on the river when they catch it.

Anhinga

They often dry their wings in the sun in between fishing. They look and act similar to the cormorants, although the white head, neck and breast is a giveaway.

Black Collared Hawk

This is a fish eating hawk that flies off a tree branch right into the water after a fish in a manner similar to an osprey. It tends to skim the water after a fish as opposed to the osprey that dives into the water.