Female Gray-hooded Sierra-Finch - Phrygilus gayi - Cometocino de Gay
On our second full day in Parque Patagonia we drove with Sergio to an area of Southern Beech Forest. Before ariving at our destination we stopped at a steep, rocky slope by the roadside and scanned the heights for a rare and unusual mammal - the Wolffsohn's Viscacha. Soon enough we spotted one of the giant chinchillas and obtained excellent views through the scope. Wishing to secure photographs, I headed up the hill and positioned myself near where we had seen the animal.
While waiting for the viscachas to emerge from their rocky home, I was visited by a pair of Gray-hooded Sierra-Finch. The female alighted at near minimum focal distance, allowing me to capture a lot of detail. One thing we noticed on almost all the finch-type birds we encountered was a heavy layer of a purple, tar-like substance on their bills - perhaps the remains of a berry they had been feeding on. This bird looks like it had scrapped away the detritus, maybe taking the outer layer of the tip of its bill in the process. Lots of hazards in the wild.
Member of the Flickr Bird Brigade
Activists for birds and wildlife
Female Gray-hooded Sierra-Finch - Phrygilus gayi - Cometocino de Gay
On our second full day in Parque Patagonia we drove with Sergio to an area of Southern Beech Forest. Before ariving at our destination we stopped at a steep, rocky slope by the roadside and scanned the heights for a rare and unusual mammal - the Wolffsohn's Viscacha. Soon enough we spotted one of the giant chinchillas and obtained excellent views through the scope. Wishing to secure photographs, I headed up the hill and positioned myself near where we had seen the animal.
While waiting for the viscachas to emerge from their rocky home, I was visited by a pair of Gray-hooded Sierra-Finch. The female alighted at near minimum focal distance, allowing me to capture a lot of detail. One thing we noticed on almost all the finch-type birds we encountered was a heavy layer of a purple, tar-like substance on their bills - perhaps the remains of a berry they had been feeding on. This bird looks like it had scrapped away the detritus, maybe taking the outer layer of the tip of its bill in the process. Lots of hazards in the wild.
Member of the Flickr Bird Brigade
Activists for birds and wildlife