Striated Heron: Panama Canal, Gamboa, Panama (near Canopy Tower), July 2022 — I might have said this before, but I was surprised by the number of new birds I saw in Panama this trip. I have birded in Panama twice before, in Bocas del Toro both times, and I birded in extreme southern Costa Rica last December, but still there are a lot of birds I either missed, or that reach their northern limits in area of the Canal Zone in Panama. Turns out the Striated Heron is found pretty much all around the world in the tropics on either side of the equator, ranging further south in South American and Africa, and further north in Pacific Asia. It used to be considered the same species as the Green Heron, and if you lump the ranges of both birds that would extend the range to all of North America and Europe. Truly a bird found on every continent. I actually saw this same bird, according to some authorities, on the Galapagos, where it is called the Galapagos Heron. Those who still consider this heron to be a single species, wherever it is found, still call it the Green-backed Heron, which, if your birding memory goes back beyond the 1990s, is what we used to call the Green Heron when we saw one in North America. 🙂 Interestingly, on the Canal we saw both Green Herons and Striated Herons. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 500 @ f4 @ 1/500th.