Underwater - butterfly fishes

Very recently I received a new underwater camera and am still fumbling around trying to learn its features and get some fish pictures.

Besides a heap of total duds I managed these mediocre ones on the first day.

 

I’m not very conversant on the fishes and they tend not to converse with me. So I turned to the internet where I discovered the Butterflyfish category that seems to cover today’s post. Wikipedia says:

“The butterflyfishes are a group of conspicuous tropical marine fish of the family Chaetodontidae; the bannerfishes and coralfishes are also included in this group. The approximately 120 species in 10 genera^[1] are found mostly on the reefs of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. A number of species pairs occur in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, members of the huge genus Chaetodon.

Butterflyfishes look like smaller versions of angelfish (Pomacanthidae), but unlike these, lack preopercle spines at the gill covers.”

That’s verging into more than I understand yet. I welcome any efforts in comments to expand my meager knowledge - ie: PLEASE, if you can, help me identify and learn about the fish I post. And if you are as ignorant about tropical fish as I am but like seeing the pics anyway – well we can struggle along together.

Oh, you can click on the pics to see a larger version.

Pacific Reef Heron

Today the Pacific Reef Heron came to visit.

It likes the seawall and the area behind it!

 

 

 

Whether the same bird or not,

I don't know, 

but this species has come to visit

the sea wall area in the past too.

 

 

 

With its incredibly long and flexible neck,

it has proven itself to be

a rather acrobatic contortionist at times.