Grove-billed Ani, Aguan Valley, Honduras

We birded from the bus (once it was light) all the way from the Lodge at Pico Bonito to the Honduran Emerald Preserve…three hours both ways. Much of the trip was in the interior valley of the Aguan river…beautiful open country with rushing tributaries and a backdrop of mountains on either side. We pulled up beside a large “tank”, a scrape pond made for watering cattle, to look for ducks and waders, and this Grove-billed Ani was sunning itself on a fence post not far from the bus. This shot was taken out the open window of the bus.

Anis are not the most beautiful of birds, but they are interesting. The massive bill and the always somewhat disheveled plumage with its touch of iridescence are pretty unique. This bird is letting the sun into its feathers to kill mites that live there.

Sony HX400V at something over 1200mm equivalent field of view (using Clear Image Digital Zoom). 1/800th @ ISO 400 @ f6.3. Processed in Lightroom on my Surface Pro 3 tablet.