The world is a mesmerizing place to live in, I can assure you. While we all know our homeland the best and have explored some other places while traveling, a larger part of the planet is still left unknown to most of us. Therefore, photography here comes to assistance. Supreet Sahoo, a tropical wildlife photographer from India, visited Peru, the country of one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, Machu Picchu, the Amazon rainforest, and the Inca Trail.
He loves traveling and birdwatching, so he visits all different kinds of places and shares his findings through his photography. He has shared some of the shots he has gotten in Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Brazil Atlantic forests and we have to say they are all pretty magical. One of his latest adventures was a trip to Peru. Swallow Tanager: Swallow-tanager, (Tersina viridis), bird of northern South America, the sole member of the subfamily Tersininae, family Emberizidae; some authors give it family rank (Tersinidae). About 15 cm (6 inches) long, it resembles a tanager with long wings and a swallowlike bill. The male is light blue, with black markings; the female is mostly green. Swallow-tanagers catch insects on the wing and also eat large fruits, ejecting the seeds and filling their throat pouches with the pulp. They breed in tree holes, sandbanks, and wall crevices.
Marvellous Spatuletail Hummingbird: The male Marvelous Spatuletail is a striking, high-energy spectacle, brandishing the purplish-blue spatules on its tail like a pair of castanets. This hummingbird — like so many of South America's hundreds of hummingbird species — has a name that is both charming and descriptive. The male's unique tail features two long, wire-like outer feathers ending in bluish-purple disks. The birds wave these spatules around during communal courtship displays, which draw visiting females to observe and select a mate.
Golden-Tailed Sapphire: Small hummingbird of humid lowlands. Males are iridescent green with bluish face and rich reddish golden rump and tail; females are similar but lack the blue face and are paler gray below. Usually found around forest edges and oxbow lakes; often one of the most common hummingbirds at feeders in their range.
Rufous-Crested Coquette: Tiny hummingbird; male is striking with fabulous spiky orange crest, each feather tipped in black. Otherwise greenish with dark throat and conspicuous white band across rump. Female much less obvious; look for very small size, rufous forehead and throat, and white band across rump. Range usually helps to eliminate other similar species of coquette; note especially similarity to Spangled Coquette. Found more often in edges than other coquettes, especially brushy clearings or roadsides with flowering bushes.
Black-Faced Dacnis: The Black-faced Dacnis is one of the tiniest members of the Tanager family (Thraupidae), although just as active and brightly colored as any of its cousins. Male Black-faced Dacnis are a brilliant turqouise-blue, with a white tummy, black wings and a black bandit's mask. Females and juveniles are a more drab olive-green, but all the adults have startling yellow eyes, blackish legs, and a sharp black beak.
Sword-Billed Hummingbird: Unmistakable. This ridiculous hummingbird has the longest bill in relation to its body size of any bird in the world. In addition to the striking bill, look for the overall muted green body color with a bronzy head. Found in the temperate zone of the Andes from Venezuela to Bolivia, from around 2,500m to 3,500m. Occurs in montane forest and edges, where it uses its bill to feed from long tubular flowers. Visits feeders.
Marvellous Spatuletail Hummingbird: The Marvellous Spatuletail (Loddigesia mirabilis) is one of the world's rarest hummingbirds that only occurs in the remote Utcubamba Valley in northern Peru. This hummingbird was first reported in 1835 by the bird collector Andrew Matthews who worked for George Loddiges. He collected the skin of a male that became the basis for John Gould's famous monograph featuring this bird -- a portion of which artwork is shown at right.
Collared Trogon: Relatively small, red-bellied trogon of humid forest in tropical lowlands and foothills. Perches at all levels inside forest, less often at edges. Male's tail is dark below with narrow white barring; female's tail is pale grayish below with narrow black-and-white bars at the tips. In most areas, the only other red-bellied trogon in the same habitat is the larger and distinctive-looking Slaty-tailed Trogon.
Black-Tailed Trainbearer: Small hummingbird with an exceptionally long tail. Green overall with a fairly short, slightly decurved bill. The male's long tail is striking. Sexes similar but females are more spotted below and have a shorter tail. Could be confused with Long-tailed Sylph, but the trainbearer occurs in dry, scrubby, open habitats, not in forests. Compare with very similar Green-tailed Trainbearer; Black-tailed has a longer, more decurved bill, a longer tail that usually looks slightly curved, and is somewhat duller green. Occurs from Colombia to Peru, from around 2,500 to 3,800 m. Occasionally visits feeders, but more often seen feeding at flowering shrubs.
Inca Tern: Beautiful and distinctive dark tern of the Humboldt Current. Found along rocky coasts and at harbors and piers where it is often confiding; less often found at sandy beaches and river mouths. Feeds over coastal and inshore waters, dipping to pick food from near surface rather than plunge-diving like typical terns. All plumages dark overall with narrow white trailing edge to wings. Adult has red bill and legs, yellow gape patch, and curling 'Salvador Dali' whisker. 1st-year browner overall with dark bill and legs, soon develops vestige of white whisker.
Rufous-Crested Coquette: Tiny hummingbird; male is striking with fabulous spiky orange crest, each feather tipped in black. Otherwise greenish with dark throat and conspicuous white band across rump. Female much less obvious; look for very small size, rufous forehead and throat, and white band across rump. Range usually helps to eliminate other similar species of coquette; note especially similarity to Spangled Coquette. Found more often in edges than other coquettes, especially brushy clearings or roadsides with flowering bushes.
Crimson-Mantled Woodpecker: Medium-sized woodpecker found in the subtropical and temperate zones in the Andes from Venezuela to Bolivia. Stunning and unlikely to be mistaken: bright red above and yellow below with obvious pale cheek and dark scalloping on breast. Fairly common but sometimes inconspicuous. Look for singles or pairs following mixed-species flocks, usually in the middle to upper levels of mossy cloud forest. In addition to foraging vertically on trunks in typical woodpecker fashion, seems adept at hitching along smaller horizontal branches.
Royal Sunangel Hummingbird: The Royal Sunangels (Heliangelus regalis) are endangered South American hummingbirds that are endemic to subtropical elfin forests and shrubs in the Andes of northern Peru and adjacent south-eastern Ecuador. These hummingbirds are most common at elevations between 4,800 - 7,220 feet (1,450 - 2,200 meters); in humid elfin forests and shrub; in grasslands with mossy, stunted forest, lichen-covered bushes, succulents and large ferns; as well as being found on the sides of steep, wooded ravines.
Bronzy Inca: Large hummingbird known for its remarkably drab plumage: entirely dull brownish with almost no color or iridescence. Throat is slightly paler with scaly appearance. Also note the long straight bill. Sexes alike. Fairly common in Andean cloud forest from Venezuela to Bolivia, from 1,000–2,500 m. Visits feeders.
Andean Motmot (Momotus aequatorialis): Large motmot found in forests and edges from foothills into subtropical zone; typically at higher elevations than other motmots. Green overall with blue wings and tail, black mask, and shining blue crown with black center. Long tail with rackets. The name "motmot" comes from the double-hooting call, which can sound like an owl, and is mainly uttered around dawn. Seen singly or in pairs, usually perched quietly in the midstory of mossy subtropical forest. Inconspicuous.
Gould's Jewelfront: Chunky hummingbird with a stout bill. Glittering green with a huge orange breast patch and purple forehead. Male has a black chin; female lacks this and has a short, whitish mustache stripe. Mainly a lowland species, but ranges well up into the eastern foothills of the Andes in some areas. Rather scarce in mature humid forest; occasionally visits feeders.
Grass-Green Tanager: Large, bulky tanager found in the upper subtropical and temperate zones of the Andes from Colombia to Bolivia. Striking and not likely to be mistaken: entirely bright green with red bill and legs and rufous face and undertail coverts. Fairly common in montane forests and edges, where singles or pairs often move slowly with mixed-species flocks. Forages at all levels. Listen for its distinctive nasal call notes.
Squirrel Cuckoo: Very striking and long-tailed bright rusty cuckoo, widespread in tropical lowlands and locally up into foothills. No similar species in Mexico and Central America. Occurs in a wide range of wooded and forest edge habitats. Mostly forages stealthily at mid-upper levels in trees, where can be surprisingly difficult to see. Often seen swooping across roads and eliciting a 'wow' reaction. Underside of white-tipped tail feathers is rusty overall in West Mexico, blackish overall in other areas.
Ochre-Fronted Antpittas: Small, streaky antpitta found only in a small area of the eastern Andes in northern Peru. Note the strongly marked underparts and the white mustache. Male has a chestnut face and forehead; female lacks this and has a much thicker eye-ring. Inhabits the understory of epiphyte-laden cloud forest. Unlike most larger antpittas, it is usually seen on a low perch and only occasionally comes down to the ground. Visits a feeder in at least one private reserve. Song is a short, high-pitched whistle given about every 10 seconds.
Red-Legged Cormorant: Attractive coastal cormorant; locally fairly common in Humboldt Current. Often seen perched on jetties, inshore rocks, and cliffs associating readily with Guanay Cormorant, pelicans, boobies, and Inca Terns. Mainly feeds in small groups or as scattered individuals, not in huge dense rafts like Guanay Cormorant. Note distinctive big white neck patch, pale scalloping on upperparts, brightly colored bill, and red legs. Immature has more muted pattern than adult.