Stories
The Black-fronted Nunbird (Monasa nigrifrons), master of bluff
The Black-fronted Nunbird (Monasa nigrifrons) is a six-inch nondescript black bird with a red bill from the puffbird family (Bucconidae). It is common in the floodplains and secondary forests of the Amazon, where it forages below the mid-story. You find it sitting vertically in small groups, often erupting into a noisy chorus.
Does it claim fame? It is one of the forest’s sentinels. It accompanies mixed-species flocks of birds, often teaming with dozens of species of other birds to forage together. Every now and then it will produce a resonant alarm. Instantly, the rest of the flock will stop and quiet down. They will hide under leaves or branches, wary of nearby birds of prey the Nunbird has spotted. Sometimes I have also seen squirrel monkeys and brown capuchins react to the call. Quite a service.
But who pays for this service? Remember there is no free lunch. So once in a while, the nunbird bills the flock. When it sights a juicy grasshopper, the nunbird will also call the alarm, even if there is no bird of prey. And with the rest of the flock looking above for the bird of prey, the nunbird easily swoops in for the kill. It lies.
The amazing story does not end there. I came across the nunbird in the most unexpected of places: Murray Gell Mann’s The Quark and the Jaguar, his magnum opus on complexity theory and adaptive systems. The nunbird is cited in a chapter on how certain numbers appear in completely unrelated places across the world. Fifteen percent, for example, is the optimal amount of times a poker player bluffs. Bluff anymore, and no one will believe you. Bluff any less, and you’re missing out on chances to win. It turns out fifteen percent is the exact amount of times a Black-fronted nunbird calls out false alarms when confronted with juicy prey!
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The lodge is located in the middle of the forest accessible only by boat. The experience was very unique and exciting. Service is great, and the fun part are the nature activities and tours the hotel offers for free. We had an amazing tour guide that had a lot of knowledge and was fun to spend time with. The rooms are totally open to the forest which is really cool the struggle is the there is no privacy at all in between the rooms, also food was pretty basic. All together a very unique experience. Read all
This hotel is the perfect blend of comfort and hospitality, with the natural experience. The hotel is reached by a hours boat ride from Puerto Maldonado, expertly organized and accomplished. Most staff are members of the local Esa Ejja community. The food is good and plentiful. Hot water is always available and lovely bedding features mosquito nets. There is of course no air conditioning (one side wall is open in rach room) and the electricity is off for a few hours at night affecting overhead fans, so I was glad to have brought a small battery powered fan for sleeping. But the best of the experience is the wildlife. Our expert guide Oscar Mishaja introduced us to nearly 100 bird species, along with caimans, river otters, poison dart frogs and capybara. A trip of a lifetime. Read all
Excellent experience overall— really kind and welcoming staff at every point of the journey. All transfers were well organized and smooth. Excellent and educational excursions all around the rainforest. Delicious food for every meal. We had wonderful guides- Freet and Alvaro. Enjoyed our time here! Read all
We had a surreal experience at Refugio Amazonas. From the well organized transportation to the warm welcome, hospitality and the experience of living in nature - we loved it all. Huge shout out to our guide Boris who went out of his way to ensure we had a good experience and got to watch all kinds of wild life. The meals and cocktails were delicious. And even though this place is smack in the middle of the jungle there was super fast WiFi available. We made unforgettable memories. Read all
We had an amazing time in TRC. From the guide, tours, lounge staff, food and room, everything has exceeded our expectation and like an amazing dream came true. We highly recommend to directly book with the lounge website, so that you got a private guide for your group. Special thanks to our guide Saul, who made this experience extra special! We were so impressed by his knowledge about all the animals and the rainforest. Read all
We had an amazing time in TRC. From the guide, tours, lounge staff, food and room, everything has exceeded our expectation and like an amazing dream came true. This is the only lounge available in Tambopata national park, and this eco lounge takes environment seriously. We highly recommend to directly book with the lounge website, so that you got a private guide for your group. Special thanks to our guide Saul, who made this experience extra special! We were so impressed by his knowledge about all the animals and the rainforest. If you are a natural lover, you can’t miss this place Read all
Excellent and luxurious place, wonderful experience and our guide Boris was first class, he had a unique patience with my 8 year old son. An experience in the tropical rainforest that marks the life of its visitors. In addition to the scientific research that takes place in the place: a whole research center. Rooms: Very comfortable and luxuriou Read all
El mejor hotel para visitar la Amazonia peruana. Hotel eco turístico metido en medio de la selva, equipado para visitar y vivir la selva, su flora y fauna, en todas sus facetas. Todo incluido, con guías preparados y amables, resultó una experiencia increíble para mi familia. Dentro de las opciones no se debe perder el Canopy de 45 metros de altura para observar y escuchar la selva, así como el lago de las tres Chimbadas, lugar único para ver caimanes, nutrias gigantes, monos y aves exóticas. Recomiendo mínimo dos noches!!! Read all
Wunderbare lodge mit freundlichen Menschen. sehr persönliche guides, tolle Tourangebote und super kulinarische Verpflegung ! Wir wurden herzlichst von Caesar empfangen und unser guide JuanJo hat uns phantastische Dinge gezeigt. Wir können die lodge nur wärmstens empfehlen! Read all
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