Several hours north of San Pedro de Atacama, we spent the morning searching a high-altitude bofedal for one of the Andes’ most sought-after birds: the Diademed Sandpiper-Plover. The sandpiper-plover never appeared. Instead, the wetland revealed its own rewards. Guanacos grazed along the stream, Lesser Rheas wandered through the grass tussocks, and a small bird hopped among the vegetation, picking up seeds. It was a Red-backed Sierra Finch, known in Chile as the Cometocino del Norte—a handsome “finch” that is actually a member of the tanager family.
What struck me most was how tame it was. As I slowly worked my way closer, it seemed completely unconcerned by my presence. Then it hopped onto a nearby rock and paused. Suddenly, the photograph came together. Against the soft blur of the surrounding grasses, the bird stood out perfectly. For a moment, it felt almost as though it were posing for me.
We never found the Diademed Sandpiper-Plover that day, but when I think back to that morning in the Altiplano, it is the Cometocino del Norte that I remember most clearly.
