Whip-poor-will

Caprimulgus vociferus

Photo by Michael Drummond (Albany Pine Bush News)

Common name:

whip-poor-will (en); noitibó-cantor (pt); engoulevent bois-pourri (fr); chotacabras cuerporruín (es); schwarzkehl-nachtschwalbe (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Caprimulgiformes

Family Caprimulgidae

Range:

The birds are found in south-eastern Canada and in the eastern half of the United States. They can also be found in the southwest of the United States, in California, Nevada and Texas, and some birds migrate south to Central America from Mexico all the way down to Panama.

Size:

This medium-sized nightjar is 22-26 cm long. They have a wingspan of 45-48 cm and can weigh up to 64 g.

Habitat:

The habitat of the whip-poor-will includes open country for foraging and woodland for nesting. They are mostly found in tropical lowland evergreen forests, in pine forests and in pine-oak forests, up to an altitude of 3.200 m.

Diet:

These nocturnal birds hunt for insects in flight, mostly eating moths.

Breeding:

The whip-poor-will nests on the ground, among the leaf litter. The female lays 2 cream-coloured eggs with darker spots. The eggs are incubated for 19-20 days and the chicks fledge after 20 days.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

The species has a very wide breeding range and a population of 2 million. Although they may be declining in some areas, the species is not considered threatened at present.

Violaceous euphonia

Euphonia violacea

Photo by Dario Sanches (Wikipedia)

Common name:

violaceous euphonia (en); gaturamo-verdadeiro (pt); organiste teité (fr); fruterito violáceo (es); veilchenorganist (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Fringillidae

Range:

The violaceous euphonia is a South American species found in Brasil, in the lower Amazon basin, north to Suriname, the Guyanas and eastern Venezuela, and south to the easternmost parts of Paraguay and Argentina. They are also found in Trinidad and Tobago.

Size:

These birds are is 11-12 cm long and have a wingspan of 16-17 cm. They weigh 14-15 g.

Habitat:

The violaceous euphonia is found is forest edges, clearings, secondary forests and plantations of cocoa and citrus fruits. They are also found in urban parks and gardens but avoid dry open habitats.

Diet:

These birds are mostly frugivorous, eating small fruits and berries, namely mistletoe berries. They may occasionally take insects.

Breeding:

The violaceous euphonia breeds during the southern Spring and Summer in November-February. They build a ball nest on a bank, tree stump or cavity. The female lays 3-4 red-blotched white egg which she then incubates alone for 15 days. The chicks become independent after 35 days.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

They have a very large breeding range. Although there is no reliable population estimate, the population is believed to be stable and with no substantial threats.

Village weaver

Ploceus cucullatus

Common name:

village weaver (en); tecelão-malhado (pt); tisserin gendarme (fr); tejedor de la villa (es); dorfweber (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Ploceidae

Range:

The village weaver is an African species found south of the Sahara. They are found throughout the Sahel and towards the south down to Angola in the west and down to Mozambique and north-eastern South Africa in the east. The species has been introduced to Mauritius, Réunion and to the Caribbean island of Hispaniola.

Size:

This stocky weaver is 15-17 cm long with males being slightly larger than females. They have a wingspan of 24-25 cm and weigh 32-45 g.

Habitat:

They are found in a wide range of open and semi-open habitats, including sparse woodlands, forest edges, savannas, along rivers and streams, in agricultural areas and in gardens and parks within human settlements.

Diet:

Village weavers mostly eat seeds and grains, often becoming a crop pest. They also eat green vegetation and fruits and may also take insects, especially when feeding the young, which partially compensate the damage to agriculture.

Breeding:

The village weaver usually nests during the rainy season. These colonial breeders weave a nest suspended on the branch of a tree or in reeds. Each tree has a large number of nests. The male builds the nest, a coarsely woven globular structure, built with grasses and leaf strips, with a short entrance tube pointing downwards. The female lays 2-3 eggs and incubates the eggs alone for about 13 days. The chicks are fed by the female alone and fledge after 18 days.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least concern)

The village weaver has an extremely wide breeding range and is described as abundant throughout this range. The population is believed to be stable and there is no evidence for any substantial threats.

Brown kiwi

Apteryx australis

Common name:

brown kiwi (en); kiwi-castanho (pt); kiwi austral (fr); kiwi común (es); streifenkiwi (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Struthioniformes

Family Apterygidae

Range:

The brown kiwi is restricted to Fiordland in the South Island of New Zealand. They are also found in Stewart Island.

Size:

These birds are 45-55 cm long and have merely vestigial wings. Females tend to be larger than males. The females weigh 2,1-3,9 kg while the males weigh 1,6-2,8 kg.

Habitat:

Brown kiwis are found in densely vegetated habitats, mostly temperate and sub-tropical forests, scrubland and grassland. In Stewart Island they are found on sand dunes.

Diet:

These birds are nocturnal, using smell to find invertebrates in dirt. They mostly eat earthworms, coleoptera larvae, snails, spiders, centipedes and orthoptera.

Breeeding:

Brown kiwis are monogamous and pair for life. The nests are made in burrows or sheltered beneath thick vegetation, and the female typically lays just 1 egg. The male incubates the egg for 90 days. A few days after hatching the chick will exit the nest and feed on its own, but it may stay near the parents for up to 1 year.

Conservation:

IUCN status - VU (Vulnerable)

The brown kiwi population is estimated at 27.000 individuals. They have a restricted breeding range and are declining fast due to predation by introduced species. Cats, stoats Mustela erminea and brush-tailed possums Trichosurus vulpecula eat chicks and juveniles up to c. 1200 g, while dogs, ferrets Mustela furo and the brush-tailed possum kill juveniles and adults. The predation pressure is believed to be lower in Stewart Island, where the population is more stable.

Purple martin

Progne subis

Common name:

purple martin (en); andorinha-azul (pt); hirondelle noire (fr); golondrina purpúrea (es); purpurschwalbe (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Hirundinidae

Range:

They breed throughout temperate North America, in south and south-east Canada, in the whole eastern half of the United States and along the Pacific coast from southern Canada down to Mexico. They winter in the Amazon basin, throughout Brazil, north to Colombia and the Guianas, west to Ecuador and Peru and south to Paraguay and Argentina.

Size:

This large swallow is 19-20 cm long and has a wingspan of 39-41 cm. They weigh 45-60 g.

Habitat:

During the breeding season the species is mostly found near human settlements where birdhouses are provided. They can also be found in areas with saguaro cactus and in mountain forests around beaver ponds. During the winter they are found in rainforests, forest clearings and agricultural areas and may roost in village plazas.

Diet:

The purple martin feeds almost exclusively on flying insects. They may occasionally take insects from the ground.

Breeding:

The purple martin nests in birdhouses, holes in trees and cactus, or crevices in cliffs and buildings. the nest is made of twigs, plant stems, mud and grasses. The female lays 3-6 white eggs which are incubated for 15-18 days. The female is the main incubator, with some help from the male. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge after 28-29 days. The parents will continue to feed the young even after fledging.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least concern)

With an extremely large range and a stable population estimated at 11 million, the purple martin is not threatened at present.

Tibetan sandgrouse

Syrrhaptes tibetanus

Photo by Manjula Mathur (Forum Zoologist)

Common name:

Tibetan sandgrouse (en); cortiçol-do-Tibete (pt); syrrhapte du Tibet (fr); ganga tibetana (es); Tibetflughuhn (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Pterocliformes

Family Pteroclidae

Range:

This Asian species is found in and around the Tibetan plateau, from the Kashmir and Pamir mountains of Pakistan and Tajikistan in the west, east to the Chinese provinces of Qinghai and Sichuan, and north to the Chinese mountains of Astin Tagh and Nan Shan.

Size:

This large sangrouse is 30-41 cm long and can weigh up to 500 g.

Habitat:

They occur in high altitude (3500-5000 m), barren, stony semi-deserts. In some areas they move to lower elevation in winter.

Diet:

The Tibetan sandgrouse feeds on seeds, grasses, buds and legumes.

Breeding:

This species breeds in May-June. The female lays 3 pale brown eggs with cryptic markings in a depression on bare stony ground. Sometimes the nest may be protected by a stone or grass. The eggs are incubated for 20-25 days, the males incubate during the night and the females incubate during the day. The precocial chicks leave the nest soon after hatching and are able to feed themselves, but the parents will protect and warm them for the next few weeks.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

The Tibetan sandgrouse has a large breeding range and is reported to be common within that range. Although the population is believed to be declining in some areas, the species is not considered threatened at present.

Red-necked francolin

Francolinus afer

Photo by Ian White (Flickr)

Common name:

red-necked francolin (en); francolim-de-gola-vermelha (pt); francolin à gorge rouge (fr); francolín gorgirrojo (es); rotkehlfrankolin (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Galliformes

Family Phasianidae

Range:

This African species is found in the southern half of the continent, from Kenya, Uganda, D.R. Congo, Congo and Gabon in the north, and all the way down to South Africa.

Size:

The red-necked francolin is 25-38 cm long. They have a wingspan of 39-42 cm. Males tend to be larger than females, females weigh around 500 g while the males can weigh up to 700 g.

Habitat:

The red-necked francolin is mostly found in tropical and sub-tropical lowland moist forests and in tropical and sub-tropical dry grasslands. They are also found in dry savannas.

Diet:

Their diet consists mainly of seeds, tubers, bulbs, roots, berries and grass stalks. They can also eat molluscs, and insects and their larvae, namely termites and ticks.

Breeding:

The timing of breeding varies with rainfall, but tends to occur mostly in November-April. The red-necked francolin nests on a bare scrape in the ground, where the female lays 3-9 eggs. The eggs are incubated for 23 days by the female. The young are fully grown after 3-4 months.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

This is a very widespread and abundant species. Although some populations have declined locally, especially in Zimbabwe due to over-hunting, the species is not threatened at present.