I am very happy about something wonderful that happened to me on my way to my favorite coffee shop. It was a gift of nature, so I want to share this event with you.
As usual, I went with my husband in the morning to enjoy a delicious coffee in our favorite coffee shop. To get there you can do it by car or walk. When you walk it takes 10 minutes to get there, and you have to walk through a forest. Most of the time, we make the trip walking because it is a great way to exercise and admire the scenery around us.
Today was a different day. About half way through the trip, we saw birds slowly begin to perch on the edge of a fence. A few times, I had seen these birds fly from one tree to another but never so close to me. It was amazing, so I stopped and started photographing them.
The scientific name of these birds is Ortalis ruficauda, colloquially known as "Guacharaca culirroja". Their natural habitat is sparse tropical forests. These birds are native to South America, specifically the northern Caribbean (Venezuela, Colombia, and Trinidad and Tobago). They are frequently seen in wooded areas of medium altitude.
They are usually found in groups of 6 to 20 birds. However, we only found three of them. Although some people who are the owners of nearby houses tell us that these birds belong to a group of 5 birds. Today there were only three. The owners of the houses usually feed them with bananas. It is something they like very much, so they always perch on this fence and do not get scared when they see people approaching them. It is good that people take care of them and that these birds feel confident.
The body of these birds are similar to small hens or pheasants, and this is no coincidence since they belong to the order Galliforme and the family Cracidae, where turkeys are also. It´s morphological similarities between chickens and turkeys, especially their striking red crop under the beak.
One of their characteristics is how boisterous they are. Some say their loud squawks are a way of communicating to others about their location and demarcating their territory, but popular culture says the squawks are requests to the sky for rain. I really don't know who is right but if the loud squawks are asking for rain it is very logical since the weather is very hot.
I leave you a sample of the squawks of these birds so you can see that I am not exaggerating when I say that they are very loud. It is a video I managed to record during this encounter.
I was fascinated with the birds, and I believe they were comfortable with the photographs I was taking of them. I think they were posing, although, at one point, they turned and showed me their tails 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I don't know if this meant they wanted to be friendly or for me to leave 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣.
Of course, I decided at that moment to say goodbye and thank them for their kindness possing for my photos. Those birds gave me a unique moment.
After this encounter, of course, breakfast and coffee tasted great. I felt blessed to have such a special moment. I think it was the best way to start the day. What more could I ask? A wonderful encounter with the birds, the company of my husband, and a delicious coffee. Without a doubt a perfect combination.
