Eyes on the wings

In the Americas, there is a scientific name, Eurypyga helias, which is very gentle, but not so that they are easily bullied.

This graceful bird usually walks quietly. Their characteristics are also quite recognizable: long, slender necks, necks and legs are quite long, feet and mines are yellow. The soft coat, the upper body is grayish brown, the lower body has black stripes, the neck is brown, the head is black with white stripes, the chest is slightly brown.

When the Eurypyga helias birds protect their nests from aggressive enemies, they spread their wings up like a carrying one - at this time the wings and tail are maximized. The blobs on the wings make the meat-hunting animals mistakenly think big eyes, so they dare not attack.Recently, new biologists know that this wide spread is intimidating, for a long time, it was thought to be part of a mating ritual.

(Photo: justbirds)

"Scary birds" often live alone or in pairs in forested areas near the water. They feed on molluscs and insects, catching prey in shallow water or around rocks near water.

The male and female appearance looks very similar, they often camouflage well thanks to their speckled fur. The breeding season is the beginning of the wet season - then there is enough mud for them to nest. The nest is made of things from trees and mud. Although both males and females are involved in nesting, the nest looks very crude, the nest is often made on tree branches.

Litters per litter only 2 eggs, eggs are dark yellow. Both the mother and the father are incubating eggs for 27 days, the young birds stay in the nest for about 21 days.

The Eurypyga helias bird is distributed from South Mexico to northern South America.