What a cracker

What the *!%@!*'s this, then? It's not obvious at first glance, unless you know already. A parrot, yes, but this one's a psittacine and a half! Meet Deroptyus accipitrinus, known alternatively as the red-fan parrot (because of its outrageous fan-like head plumes, here seen extended in alarm or excitement) or the hawk-headed parrot. Having been lucky enough to see this species quite a few times in its native habitat – wooded savannah and forest-edge in north-eastern South America – I've never thought its head looked especially like a hawk's, but the whole bird itself is decidedly raptor-ish in its silhouette and flight action. "Accipitrinus", its scientific name, hints that it might better be dubbed the hawk-like parrot. Still, what's in a name – it's an absolute cracker, superbly photographed in this case by Tony Tilford.

Rob Innes