Zigzag Heron Zebrilus undulatus

Brazilian name:
socoĆ­-zigue-zague
Zigzag  Heron, Cristalino River, Mato Grosso, Brazil, April 2003 - click for larger image Cristalino River, Mato Grosso, Brazil

The Zigzag Heron is a difficult bird to see and it is relatively poorly known. While scarce, it is widespread in the Amazon and Orinoco Basins where it inhabits streams, pools and marshes in tropical forest.

Zigzag  Heron, Cristalino River, Mato Grosso, Brazil, April 2003 - click for larger image We heard its song at dusk and dawn on the rio Cristalino and there must have been about 5 or 6 birds calling along a stretch of about 1 kilometre of river. We saw and photographed this bird at about 5:30 am. It was in a low bush overhanging the river where the flow was slow and it was standing less than a metre above the water. It was only when we went round the other side of the bush that we realised it was building a nest. This consisted of an untidy flattish platform of twigs.
Zigzag  Heron, Cristalino River, Mato Grosso, Brazil, April 2003 - click for larger image Little is known about its eating habits but it has a much shorter bill than most herons. It seems to feed on small fish and flying insects. It is one of the smallest of the family at about 30 cm (12")

There are illustrations in HBW, Volume 1, Pages 401 and 424 and Hilty & Brown, Plate 2

Zigzag Heron, Cristalino River, Mato Grosso, Brazil, December 2006 - click for larger image There are recordings and a distribution map on xeno-canto.
Zigzag Heron, Cristalino River, Mato Grosso, Brazil, December 2006 - click for larger image
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