30 June 2023
You’ll never see this bird and mammal wandering in North America.
The bird is the cattle tyrant (Machetornis rixosa) of South America, related to the great kiskadee whose northern range extends into south Texas.
The mammal is the world’s largest rodent, a capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris), also in South America.
Capybaras are semi-aquatic (“hydro” in their genus name) and very social, living in groups of up to 100 individuals. See both characteristics in this video.
Capybaras jumping into a lake in Brazil.. pic.twitter.com/VxiUMGZnqD
— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) April 23, 2023
Capybara’s are so large that a raptor can look small when perched on one of them as shown in this vintage article.