Sunbittern

We got up before sunrise and boarded a jeep. It was open on all sides and had two rows of raised rear seats to afford everyone a good view. These jeeps are the standard way to explore the Pantanal in Brazil, the world's largest wetland (it is 25% larger than the area of Bangladesh.) While it is justifiably famous for its Jaguars, the Pantanal also hosts numerous other wild animals and a dazzling array of birds.

And so, when we left our lodge - six tourists and a guide - to look for birds and animals, we were truly excited. We drove down a gravel road as the sun started showing signs of life. This was the dry season and water had receded just like our haors. So the submerged area had shrunk to occasional swamps and ponds on either side of the road. The terrain was mostly savannah punctuated by scattered trees.

Almost immediately we saw several birds including a Currasow, like a large black chicken with a curly black crest and a bright yellow band around its beak. Further along, seeing large movement on a shallow pond to our left, we stopped and waited silently. A large Brazilian Racoon emerged from behind a tree, stared intently at us for a few seconds, and returned to its fishing.

The light steadily improved as we progressed. Seeing movement up ahead our jeep slowed down. When I got a clear look, I was elated, because, even though I had long admired it in photographs, this bird was totally unexpected. With an elongated body, a puffy plume of brown feathers on its back, and a small head with a pointed beak, it began to walk away from us on its slender long legs. Then it spread its wings and all six of us caught our breath. A magnificent pattern unfolded, not unlike a butterfly's: on a checkered brown background, red and yellow patches bloomed at the edges of the wings like the rising sun.

Indeed, the Sunbittern is an extraordinarily beautiful bird, the only member of the Eurypygidae bird family. It is found in Guatemala and Northern Brazil. Like Egrets, Herons, Storks and Bitterns, Sunbitterns like being close to water and live on fish, amphibians such as frogs, crustaceans such as crabs, and insects. They use their long necks and spear-like bills to hunt.

Sunbitterns walk more than they fly and their flight is slow. They make shallow, cup-shaped nests of stick and mud on branches 10-20 feet above the ground. They lay 2-3 eggs at a time and incubate the eggs for 28 days until hatching. The bird is not endangered and rated as "Least Concern" by IUCN.

What about those spectacular wings? It turns out that when a chick hatches, mother and father take turns feeding and nurturing it. Chicks are easy targets for predators. If a predator approaches, the parent opens its wings to display the bright pattern. This frightens away the predator.

facebook.com/ikabirphotographs or follow "ihtishamkabir" on Instagram.