Way down in the jungle, where dangerous terciopelo* lurk near a river no one has ever seen, a birdie plays hide and seek with me.
Where are you?
Come around, show your big beak.
Oh, there you are, nice!
You’re so pretty and colorful, a pleasure to watch.
Come a little closer, please!
Maybe another time. I’ll be waiting up here, little toucan!
My visitor was a Keel-billed Toucan, Ramphastos sulfuratus. Lately, several toucans have come by early in the mornings for a quick snack of guarumo fruit from the tree below my terrace, before flying deeper into the canyon. They’re tough to catch on camera because they’re very shy and the foliage hides them well.
* A decidedly unwelcome visitor would be a ‘terciopelo’, a ‘velvety’ pit viper, Bothrops asper, also called fer-de-lance. They live further down the hill near the river. Mostly …
NOT IN A STRAIGHT LINE by Photolera Claudinha 
Please no snakes in the house.
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