The Vultures of Iquitos -- a photo journal

The national bird of Peru is the "Cock-of-the-Rock." It gets its name from the practice of building its nests on rocky cliffs. It is rare and beautiful. 

But, in popular culture, the Cock-of-the-Rock is overshadowed by the massive Condor -- which is worshipped by indigenous peoples throughout South America.








Then there is the ignoble vulture. It is extremely common and not at all impressive—unless you like animals that eat garbage and cool themselves off by pooping on their legs. It is to the Amazon basin what rats are to New York -- ubiquitos, filthy and very large. If Ansel Adams can be famous for his pictures of National Parks and Annie Liebovitz can be famous for her photos of celebrities, then I thought that maybe I (Bill) should try my niche at a lovely collection of “The Vultures of Iquitos, Peru.” These shots were taken on the playground of Luz del Saber (one of our Latin America ChildCare schools) in Iquitos.