Chestnut-capped foliage-gleaner

Hylocryptus rectirostris

Photo by Alessandro Abdala (Flickriver)

Common name:

chestnut-capped foliage-gleaner (en); fura-barreira (pt); anabate à bec droit (fr); barranquero de pico recto (es); östlicher rötelbaumspäher (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Furnariidae

Range:

This South American species is endemic to the Cerrado region of southern Brazil and northern Paraguay.

Size:

These birds are 20-22 cm long and weigh 45-55 g.

Habitat:

This species is found in the undergrowth of gallery forests and in patches of deciduous woodland.

Diet:

The chestnut-capped foliage-gleaner mostly searches for food among dead leaves on the ground, often near water, taking various arthropods, namely grasshoppers and caterpillars. They are also known to occasionally eat amphibians.

Breeding:

These birds breed in August-November. Both sexes help build the nest, excavating a hole on a river bank, inside which they build a cup using small twigs and bark. There the female lays 2-3 white eggs which are incubated by both parents for 17 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 21-25 days after hatching, but remain within the parental territory for up to 3 months.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

This species has a large breeding range, but is described as rare. The chestnut-capped foliage-gleaner is presumably threatened by selective logging and agricultural conversion of forested areas within the Brazilian planalto, but the population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines.

Golden white-eye

Cleptornis marchei

Photo by Peter Bonser (Archive)

Common name:

golden white-eye (en); olho-branco-dourado (pt); zostérops doré (fr); pájaro de miel dourado (es); goldhonigfresser (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Zosteropidae

Range:

This species is endemic to the Northern Mariana Islands, occurring on the islands of Saipan and Aguijan.

Size:

This large white-eye is 14 cm long and weighs 20 g.

Habitat:

The golden white-eye is mostly found in native forests, particularly limestone forests in the steep slopes and cliffs of the islands, but it also occurs in open scrubland and suburban areas.

Diet:

It forages predominantly in the foliage of trees, particularly Cynometra ramifolia, feeding on invertebrates, flying insects, nectar, fruit and flowers and also taking insects from tree bark.

Breeding:

The golden white-eye can breed all year round, with a peak in March-July. The species is monogamous, nesting in simple undecorated cups of casuarina needles, grasses, and vines. There the female lays 2 blue-green eggs with brown splotches, which are incubated by both parents for 14 days. The chicks are fed insects and caterpillars by both parents and fledge 10-14 days after hatching.

Conservation:

IUCN status - CR (Critically Endangered)

This species has an extremely restricted breeding range and the global population, currently estimated at 58.000 individuals, is likely to undergo an extremely rapid population decline following the recent establishment of the brown tree snake Boiga irregularis on Saipan. Beside the predation pressure caused by this alien snake, the other main threat facing the species is climate change and the consequent sea-level rise. Conservation measures are under-way, namely controlling the brown tree snake population and capturing golden white-eyes to begin a captive breeding programme and the potential establishiment of new populations on additional islands of the Marianas.

Black-browed barbet

Megalaima oorti

(Photo from Internet Bird Collection)

Common name:

black-browed barbet (en); barbudo-malaio (pt); barbu malais (fr); barbudo cejinegro (es); schwarzbrauen-bartvogel (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Capitonidae

Range:

This Asian species is found in southern China and Taiwan, south through Laos, Vietnam and Cambodja, and into the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra.

Size:

The black-browed barbet is 20-24 cm long and weighs 70-80 g.

Habitat:

These birds are found in the upper and middle levels of tropical and sub-tropical forests, up to an altitude of 2.500 m.

Diet:

They eat fruits, berries and insects.

Breeding:

The black-browed barbet breeds in April-September. Both sexes excavate a nest hole in a tree, or sometimes they may utilize an existing natural cavity. There the female lays 2-4 white eggs which are incubated by both parents for 13-15 days. The chicks are fed insects and berries by both parents and fledge 23-29 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 fairly common to common in most of its range. There is no information regarding population trends, but the species is not considered threatened at present.

Bullock's oriole

Icterus bullockii

Photo by Kevin Cole (Encyclopedia of Life)

Common name:

Bullock's oriole (en); corrupião-de-Bullock (pt); oriole de Bullock (fr); bolsero calandria (es); Bullock trupial (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Icteridae

Range:

This American species breeds in western North America, from British Columbia, in Canada, down to northern Mexico. They migrate south to winter from central Mexico sown to Guatemala.

Size:

These birds are 17-19 cm long and have a wingspan of 31 cm. They weigh 29-43 g.

Habitat:

They mostly breed in riparian corridors, open woodland, and scrub forest. In winter they are found in riparian woodlands and woodland edge, typically in pine, pine-oak, or fir forests.

Diet:

The Bullock's oriole feeds primarily on insects, namely butterflies and their larvae, beetles, weevils and scale insects. They also eat fruits, berries, seeds and nectar. Ocasionally, they may also eat molluscs, small lizards and even hummingbirds.

Breeding:

These birds breed in May-July. They are monogamous and both sexes build the nest, a deep, pensile structure, made of of plant fibre, especially flax fibre, oat stalks, and the interior bark of willow and juniper trees. The nest is usually placed on the outer branches of a tree. The female lays 3-6 pale bluish or grey eggs, which she incubates alone for about 11 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 14 days after hatching. The family groups typically stay together after the young fledge, and may join with other families in post-breeding flocks.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

This species has a very large breeding range and a global population estimated at 3,8 million individuals. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.

Cory's shearwater

Calonectris borealis

Photo by Gérard Souty (Espaço Talassa)

Common name:

Cory's shearwater (en); cagarro (pt); puffin cendré (fr); pardela cenicienta (es); gelbschnabel-sturmtaucher (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Procellariiformes

Family Procellariidae

Range:

This species breeds on the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores, Madeira and Canary Islands, as well as in small offshore islands on the coast of the Iberian Peninsula. Outside the breeding season they spread as far north as the British Islands, as far west as the coast of North America and as far south as the coasts of South Africa and northern Argentina.

Size:

The Cory's shearwater is 45-56 cm long and has a wingspan of 112-126 cm. These birds weigh 560-1060 g.

Habitat:

They mostly breed in barren offshore islands, occupying cliffs, caves and boulder fields, and forage at sea, both in coastal and oceanic waters.

Diet:

The Cory's shearwater mostly feeds on squid, fish (namely boar fish Capros aper, trumpet fish Macrorhamphosus, sauries like Scomberesox saurus and Nanychthys simulans, horse mackerel Trachurus picturatus and chub mackerel Scomber japonicus) and crustaceans. They are regularly attracted to trawlers to feed on offal.

Breeding:

They breed in March-November. They nest in colonies, often with other seabirds, building the nest at the end of a burrow or rock crevice, which may measure up to 1 m in length. There the female lays 1 white egg which is incubated by both parents for 52-62 days, each taking shifts of 6-8 days while the other goes out fishing. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 90-105 days after hatching. These birds are very long-lived and typically only start breeding at 7-13 years of age.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

This species has an extremely large range and a global population estimated at 502.000 individuals. The population is believed to be incresing due predominantly to a population recovery at Selvagem Grande, the ost important breeding colony located between Madeira and the Canary Islands. Populations in the Azores are suspected to be declining. Curent threats include introduced mammalian predators, such as the black rat Rattus rattus, poaching of chicks, fledgling mortality caused by artificial lights and by-catch on longline fishing gear. Predator control and regulations to longline fishing are currently under-way in order to minimize these threats.

Cherry-throated tanager

Nemosia rourei

Photo by Andre Luca (Arkive)

Common name:

cherry-throated tanager (en); saíra-apunhalada (pt); tangara rougegorge (fr); frutero de garganta cereza (es); rubinkehltangare (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Thraupidae

Range:

This species is endemic to Brazil and is currently only found the south-eastern state of Espírito Santo, at Fazenda Pindobas and Mata do Caetés.

Size:

These birds are 12,5-14 cm long and weigh 22 g.

Habitat:

It occurs primarily in the canopy of humid montane forest at elevations of 850-1.250 m.

Diet:

The cherry-throated tanager mostly eats small invertebrates such as caterpillars, butterflies, ants and other arthropods.

Breeding:

Although not much information is available, this species seems to breed in October-January. Similar species have a clutch size of 3-5 eggs and the females incubate the eggs alone for 10-13 days. In similar species the chicks fledge 8-11 days after hatching.

Conservation:

IUCN status - CR (Critically Endangered)

This species has an extremely restricted breeding range and the global population size is estimated at just 50-250 individuals. This species was first recorded in the 1870s, but was rarely recorded until the 1990s. Currently the population is suspected to be declining at a rate of 10-19% over ten years, as a result of ongoing forest clearance owing to conversion to coffee plantations, mining activities and subsistence usage.

Green woodhoopoe

Phoeniculus purpureus

(Photo from Internet Bird Collection)

Common name:

green woodhoopoe (en); zombeteiro-de-bico-vermelho (pt); irrisor moqueu (fr); abubilla-arbórea verde (es); baumhopf (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Coraciiformes

Family Phoeniculidae

Range:

This species is found throughout most of sub-Saharan Africa, with the exception of the lowland forest of the D.R. Congo and West Africa.

Size:

The green woodhoopoe is 37-44 cm long and weighs up to 100 g.

Habitat:

This species generally prefers arid and mesic savannas, open miombo woodlands, palm groves, riverine forests, forest fringes, valley bushveld, thickets and wooded gardens. They are found from near sea level to altitudes of over 2.000 m.

Diet:

The green woodhoopoe mainly eats arthropods, foraging mainly on tree trunks and branches, probing and searching for food and occasionally descending to the ground. They are known to take Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera, Hemiptera, Orthoptera, Neuroptera, Odonata, Aranea, Sulifugae and Chilopoda. They may ocasionally also take small reptiles and amphibians, plant seeds, nectar, berries and fruits.

Breeding:

These birds can breed all year round. They are monogamous, cooperative breeders, meaning that the breeding pair is assisted by non-breeding helpers. They nest in pre-existing cavities such as hollows in trees, fence posts or buildings. The female lays 2-5 blue eggs which she incubates alone for 17-18 days, while being provided food by the male and group members. The chicks are mostly fed by the female, but the food is gathered by the male and a number of helpers. The chicks fledge 28-30 days after hatching, but continue to receive food from their parents for another 2-3 months.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

The green woodhoopoe has an extremely large breeding range and is reported to be extremely widespread and often common to locally common. The population is declining locally owing to ongoing habitat destruction.