Tawny frogmouth

Podargus strigoides

Photo by Rémi Bigonneau (Internet Bird Collection)

Common name:

tawny frogmouth (en); boca-de-sapo-australiano (pt); podarge gris (fr); podargo australiano (es); eulenschwalm (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Caprimulgiformes

Family Podargidae

Range:

This species is found throughout the Australian mainland, Tasmania and southern New Guinea.

Size:

Tawny frogmouths are 34-53 cm long and weigh up to 670 g.

Habitat:

They are mostly found in deciduous forests, tree plantations and suburban gardens. They can also be found in grassland areas with scattered trees, but are absent of desert areas with no trees and from evergreen rainforests where the trees do not shed leaves.

Diet:

The tawny frogmouth mostly eats nocturnal insects, snails, slugs ans worms. They may also take small mammals, reptiles, frogs and even birds. They usually get their prey by swooping down from a perches, taking the prey either from the ground or in flight.

Breeding:

These birds breed in August-December. The nest is a loose platform of sticks, which is usually placed on a horizontal forked tree branch. There the female lays 2-3 eggs which are incubated by both parents for about 30 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 30-35 days after hatching.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

This species has a very large breeding range and, although the global population size has not been quantified, the species is reported to be generally common. Tawny frogmouth are often hit by cars while chasing insects illuminated in the beam of the headlights, but the the population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.

White-browed sparrow-weaver

Plocepasser mahali

(Photo from Blog Voyage Nature et Ornitho)

Common name:

white-browed sparrow-weaver (en); tecelão-pardal (pt); mahali à sourcils blancs (fr); gorrión tejedor de ceja blanca (es); mahaliweber (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Ploceidae

Range:

This species mainly occurs in two separate areas of sub-Saharan Africa. One extending from Ethiopia through Somalia and Kenya to Tanzania, and a larger population from Zambia to Tanzania south to Mozambique and the southern and eastern provinces of South Africa.

Size:

These birds are 16-18 cm long and weigh 40-55 g.

Habitat:

White-browed sparrow-warblers are mostly found in semi-arid Acacia and Mopane (Colosphermum mopane) savanna woodland, especially along the border between degraded and undisturbed habitat. They often nest along thornveld and scrubby, dry riverbanks.

Diet:

They mainly eat insects, seeds, fruit and fleshy leaves, doing most of their foraging in flocks of 4-10 birds, plucking food items from the ground. They are known to take Coleoptera, ants, termites, Hemiptera, Orthoptera, as well as the seeds of Stipagrostis, Uruchloa, wheat and maize.

Breeding:

The white-browed sparrow-warbler breeds throughout the year, but mainly in the warmer months. They nest in small colonies, with 10-12 pairs building their nest in the same tree. The conspicuous nest is an untidy oval of coarse, dry grass stems, looking like a loose bunch of straw. There the female lays 1-3 white or pale pink speckled eggs which the female incubates alone for 14 days. The chicks are mostly fed by the female and fledge 21-23 days after hatching.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

This species has a very large breeding range and, although the global population size has not been quantified, the species is described as common to abundant. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.

Black-and-white warbler

Mniotilta varia

Photo by A.J. Hand (Connecticut Ornithological Association)

Common name:

black-and-white-warbler (en); riscadinha (pt); paruline noir et blanc (fr); chipe rayado (es); baumläuferwaldsänger (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Parulidae

Range:

This birds breed throughout the eastern United States and much of Canada. They migrate south to winter from southern Florida through the Bahamas, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean and into northern South America in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and northern Peru.

Size:

Black-and-white warblers are 11-13 cm long and have a wingspan of 18-22 cm. They weigh 8-15 g.

Habitat:

They breed in mature and second-growth deciduous and mixed forests, requiring large trees and a dense understory. They winter in a variety of forests from high-elevation cloud forests to lowland evergreen and deciduous forests, woodland borders, gardens, and coffee plantations.

Diet:

Black-and-white warblers are insectivorous, gleaning caterpillars, flies, bugs, beetles, borers, spiders, larvae, and egg masses along branches and trunks from the canopy to the ground.

Breeding:

These birds breed in April-August. They build an open cup of dry leaves, grass, bark, and pine needles, lined with fine grasses, horsehair, and moss, usually placed on the ground next to a tree. There the female lays 4-6 white eggs speckled with brown and light purple. The eggs are incubated by the female alone for 10-12 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 8-12 days after hatching, but remain in the parents' territory for another 2 to 3 weeks.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

This species has a very large breeding range and a global population of 14 million individuals. The population has undergone a small decline over the last 40 years, mostly due to forest fragmentation and increased parasitism by cowbirds. There is also evidence that pesticide use has had a negative effect on this species.

Black-rumped flameback

Dinopium benghalense

Photo by Sagar Mhatre (Foto Community)

Common name:

black-rumped flameback (en); pica-pau-de-Bengala (pt); pic du Bengale (fr); pito bengalí (es); orangespecht (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Piciformes

Family Picidae

Range:

This species is found throughout India and Sri lanka, west to Pakistan and east through Nepal and Bangladesh and into Myanmar.

Size:

The black-rumped flameback is 26-29 cm long and weighs 90-130 g.

Habitat:

This species is found in various types of open forests, as well as coconut and palm plantations and in urban parks, gardens and wooded avenues. They are present from sea level up to an altitude of 1.700 m.

Diet:

Black-rumped flamebacks forage both on the ground and in the canopies, mainly eating beetle larvae, termites, ants, weevils and spiders. They also eat fruits and occasionally nectar.

Breeding:

These birds breed in February-July. They nest in a hole, excavated by both sexes on a tree or more rarely in mud embankments. There the female lays 2-3 glossy white eggs which are incubated by both parents for 11 days. The chicks are cared for by both parents with regurgitated food and fledge 19-21 days after hatching.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

This species has a very large breeding range and, although the global population size has not been quantified, it is reported to be common to locally common throughout this range. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats, so the black-rumped flameback is not threatened at present.

Redwing

Turdus iliacus

Photo by Andreas Trepte (Wikipedia)

Common name:

redwing (en); tordo-ruivo (pt); grive mauvis (fr); zorzal alirrojo (es); rotdrossel (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Turdidae

Range:

These birds breed from Iceland and the Faroe Islands, across northern and eastern Europe, and into Siberia to the Altai region and the lower Kolyma river, in Russia. They migrate south to winter in western and southern Europe, North Africa, around the Black and Caspian seas, and into south-west Asia.

Size:

Redwings are 20-24 cm long and have a wingspan of 33-35 cm. They weigh 55-75 g.

Habitat:

During the breeding season these birds are found in a wide range of habitats, including open forest margins, forest clearings, shoreline thickets, tundra willow Salix and birch Betula scrub, parks, gardens, and rocky areas. They winter in open woodland, fields, hedgerows, orchards, gardens and scrub thickets, particularly where berry-bearing bushes and grassy areas occur in close proximity.

Diet:

The redwing mostly eats invertebrates, including ants, beetles , crickets, earthworms, grasshoppers, flies, milipeds , snails, slugs and spiders. During autumn and winter their diet is often supplemented with fruits and berries, namely ivy, holly, juniper, buckthorn, currants Ribes, bramble, elder, cherry, elderberry, hawthorn, rowan, madder, apples, pears, olives, wild strawberries and even certain roots.

Breeding:

They breed in April-July. The nest consists of a bulky cup of grass, moss and twigs, bound together with mud and vegetation and lined with grass and leaves. The nest may be placed on trees, scrubs, on the ground in thick vegetation, on tree stumps, in tree hollows, or even on buildings. There the female lays 4-6 bluish-green eggs with brown blotches, which are incubated for 12-14 days. The chicks fledge 12-15 days after hatching, but continue to depend on their parents for another 2 weeks. Each pair may produce 1-2 clutches per year.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

This species has a very large breeding range and a global population of 65-130 million individuals. The population may be facing a moderate decline, at least in Europe, but it is not threatened at present.

White-lored spinetail

Synallaxis albilora

Photo by Nick Athanas (Antpitta)

Common name:

white-lored spinetail (en); joão-do-pantanal (pt); synallaxe ocré (fr); pijuí ocráceo (es); weißzügel-dickichtschlüpfer (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Furnariidae

Range:

This South American species is restricted to the Pantanal wetlands in south-western Brazil, eastern Bolivia and northern Paraguay.

Size:

The white-lored spinetail is 9-11 cm long and weighs 17-18 g.

Habitat:

They are found in the undergrowth of lowland moist forests, dense gallery forests and wet scrublands along rivers, streams and permanent creeks.

Diet:

White-lored spinetails are insectivorous, taking various insects and other invertebrates.

Breeding:

They breed in July-December. Both sexes participate in nest building, the nest being similar to a retort, built with pieces of kindling and lined with leaves. Its exterior consists of larger

pieces of kindling and thorns. There the female lays 3-4 whitish eggs which are incubated for 14-16 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 13-15 days after hatching.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

This species has a relatively large breeding range and, although the global population size has not been quantified, this species is described as common. This population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.

Great spotted cuckoo

Clamator glandarius

Photo by Stephen Daly (Andalucian Guides)

Common name:

great spotted cuckoo (en); cuco-rabilongo (pt); coucou geai (fr); críalo europeo (es); häherkuckuck (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Cuculiformes

Family Cuculidae

Range:

These birds are found from southern Europe and the Middle East to Iran, and throughout Mediterranean Africa down to Senegal, Sudan and Somalia and further south along eastern Africa down to South Africa. The more northern population migrate south for the winter.

Size:

The great spotted cuckoo is 35-39 cm long and has a wingspan of 58-66 cm. They weigh 140-170 g.

Habitat:

They are mostly found in savannas and open woodlands, in semi-arid areas, rocky hillsides or dry cultivations.

Diet:

Great spotted cuckoos are mostly insectivorous, taking caterpillars, ants, beetles, dragonflies, damselflies, termite alates and grasshoppers. They can also eat small lizards.

Breeding:

This species can breed all year round, with the breeding season varying between different parts of its range. These birds are brood parasites, meaning that they lays their eggs in the nests of other birds, namely crows, magpies and starlings. The female waits until the potential host has left the nest, then inspects it to see if it is suitable. If it is, she lays 1-4 eggs, laying up to 6 eggs per day and up to 23 in one breeding season. The incubation period is about 12-15 days, being shorter than that of the host. The chicks are fed by their host parents, but unlike some cuckoos they do not always kill their "siblings", but these often die because they cannot compete successfully with the young cuckoos for food. The chicks fledge 22-29 days after hatching.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

This species has an extremely large breeding range and a global population of 500.000-5.000.000 individuals. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.