This one goes out to my monkey loving nieces Cierra and Skylar — a black howler monkey from the Pantanal in Brazil.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (with 1.4 teleconverter for 550mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/800th of a second

I photographed this very small primate in Piaui State, Brazil. They were about the size of squirrels. A troop of five or six of them all of a sudden appeared while I was photographing birds. I snapped off a series of shots before they vanished again into the forest.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/160th of a second

Always a pleasure to view and photograph kingfishers. They come in many varieties and can be found worldwide. This little guy is the Amazon kingfisher. I spotted him while searching for jaguars in the Pantanal of Brazil (I was the one searching for the jaguars, not the kingfisher). The kingfisher was doing what kingfishers do — sitting quietly above the water, waiting to dive bomb an unsuspecting fish of some sort. I rarely use a teleconverter, but I did on this shot to extend my 400mm zoom lens out to 550mm.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens with 1.4 teleconverter attached (for 550mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/250th of a second

I loved the look of this bird when I first saw a few of them in Brazil a few years back. The yellow eye patch against the white feathers is very distinctive. Citrus farmers are also very fond of these birds, but probably not because of the eye patch. Rather, they eat the irapuá bee which is a pest to citrus fruits.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/1000th of a second

This is a black-collared hawk. You can see the black collar from which it gets its name. They usually build their nests near water and eat mostly fish, but also snails, water bugs, lizards and rodents. They live throughout Central and South America. I photographed this one from a boat while exploring a small river in the Pantanal of Brazil.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 240mm) ISO 800, f/5 at 1/125th of a second

I’ve posted similar photos before of caiman in colorful water. This one really shows off the late day light that was reflecting greens, oranges and golds off the surface of a river in the Pantanal of Brazil. Yacare caiman are a medium sized crocodilian, with males reaching about 8 to 10 feet in length. Not exactly small, but not as big as some of its larger relatives.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 360mm) ISO 800, f/5 at 1/320th of a second

Where there is a capybara, there is usually a bird or two. In this case, it’s a pale legged hornero getting a free ride, as well as a few delicious bugs. The capybara is the world’s largest rodent. They are widespread throughout much of South America, up into southern Central America. I photographed this one in the Pantanal of Brazil.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/250th of a second

As the sun sets on the 2016 summer games in Rio, I thought I’d post one more (well, actually two more) from Brazil. The Pantanal may be the world’s largest flooded plain, but there are also plenty of areas that remain dry and ideal for termites. This particular landscape, just a few hundred yards from the lodge I was staying at, was dotted with these conical spires.
Top Photo — Nikon D700 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 22mm) ISO 200, f/20 at 1/30th, 1/125th, 1/80th, 1/20th and 1/10th of a second
Bottom Photo — Nikon D700 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 30mm) ISO 200, f/22 at 1/60th, 1/250th, 1/100th, 1/30th and 1/15th of a second

Here’s yet another one from the Pantanal in Brazil. This is the crab eating fox. A few of these guys came sniffing around our lodge every night, apparently looking for more than crabs to eat. These guys are mostly nocturnal, and sometimes called the forest fox, wood fox or common fox.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 70mm) ISO 200, f/10 at 1/60th of a second, Nikon SB-800 flash

Due to their amazing colors, ability to talk, and close bonding behavior with humans, macaws are popular in the pet trade. But to see them out there in the wild, flying high up in the blue sky, well, that’s a whole other thing altogether. I’ve photographed quite a few different species. These guys are aptly named blue and yellow macaws. I saw them in Piaui State, Brazil the same day that I photographed the maned wolf that I posted yesterday.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens with Nikon 1.4 teleconverter (for 550mm) ISO 400, f/8 at 1/1250th of a second