WHISTLING HERON Syrigma sibilatrix
With his pink bill, blue face and cinnamon neck, the little Whistling Heron is one of the most handsome representatives of his family. He doesn´t depend on water, you´re as likely to see him stalking insects in a dry pasture as you are in a marsh or lakeside. For the most part he looks like a typical heron, but as soon as he takes flight you will see the difference. Whistling Herons hold the neck extended (other herons fold it into the body) and the shrill whistles that he produces are quite unlike the harsh croaks and grunts produced by his closest relatives.
FIGURE 1 - Adult ventral, location unknown (Sylvia Centrón January 2004).
FIGURE 2 - Adult, Bahía Negra (Paul Smith September 2006).
FIGURE 3 - Adult, Estancia Laguna Blanca, Departamento San Pedro (Hemme Batjes November 2005).
FIGURE 4 - Adult calling, PROCOSARA, PB San Rafael (Alberto Esquivel December 2007 - ECOSARA Biodiversity Database).
FIGURE 5 - Pair in flight, Central Chaco (Jerry October October 2007).
VIDEO - Pair perched in tree, PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Paul Smith December 2006).
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FIGURE 2

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Designed by Paul Smith 2006. This website is copyrighted by law.
Material contained herewith may not be used without the prior written permission of FAUNA Paraguay.
Photographs on this web-site were taken by Paul Smith, Hemme Batjes, Regis Nossent, Frank Fragano,
Alberto Esquivel, Arne Lesterhuis, José Luis Cartes, Rebecca Zarza,
and Hugo del Castillo and are used with their permission.
 
Syrigma sibilatrix
1 grunts at roost recorded PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Paul Smith March 2007 - ECOSARA Biodiversity Database).
2 short whistle given when going to roost recorded PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Paul Smith March 2007 - ECOSARA Biodiversity Database).
3 flight call recorded Laguna Bombacha, Departamento Presidente Hayes (Paul Smith October 2007).
Click the links to hear the calls. Longer versions of this call can be downloaded from the Paraguay page of our partner website Xeno-Canto - the largest collection of freely downloadable Neotropical bird calls available online.