Sunbittern

Eurypyga helias

Spreads its wings to reveal hidden eyespots that look like two giant owl eyes. Predators bolt.

Habitat: Humid Neotropical forest streams, rivers, ponds, swamps and lagoons, typically with open understory near flowing or still water; from near sea level up to roughly 1,800 m elevation.
Fun fact: When threatened, a sunbittern spreads its wings and tail to flash a dramatic sunburst pattern of eyespot-like markings (variously described as orange/chestnut/black or red/yellow/black depending on source) hidden when the wings are folded, startling predators into thinking they face a much larger animal.
Range: Central America (Guatemala south through Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama) and western Ecuador, plus South America east of the Andes through Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, the Amazon and Orinoco basins, Peru, Bolivia, and the Pantanal region of Brazil/Paraguay.
Diet: Carnivorous generalist that stalks slowly along stream banks and shallows, striking with its long bill at insects (dragonfly larvae, beetles, cockroaches, katydids), other invertebrates (spiders, crabs, earthworms, shrimp, snails), and small vertebrates (fish, tadpoles, frogs, toads, eels, lizards).
Size: 0.46 m
Lifespan: 15 years

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