Orange-bellied flowerpecker

Dicaeum trigonostigma

Photo by Lip Yap (Wikipedia)

Common name:

orange-bellied flowerpecker (en); pica-flores-de-ventre-laranja (pt); dicée à ventre orange (fr); picaflores ventrinaranja (es); orangebauch-mistelfresser (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Dicaeidae

Range:

This Asian species is found in Bangladesh, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.

Size:

These tinny birds are 7,5-9 cm long and weigh 7-8 g.

Habitat:

They are found in sub-tropical and tropical moist lowland forests, mangrove forests, and moist mountain forests. They are usually prefer the forest interior but are also found in disturbed forest edges and even cultivated land.

Diet:

Orange-bellied flowerpeckers mostly eat small figs, berries and also mistletoe fruits. They sometimes also eat nectar.

Breeding:

These birds are monogamous. Both the males and the females collaborate in constructing the nest, a cup made of vegetable material, dried flowers, lichen, feathers, grass, or small roots, held together with cobwebs. The female lays 1-4 white eggs with spots, which are incubated by both sexes for about 15 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge around 15 days after hatching.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

The orange-bellied flowerpecker has a very large breeding range and, although the global population size has not been quantified, this species is described as common to locally common, although rare in Myanmar. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.

Green woodpecker

Picus viridis

Photo by Angel Domínguez (Photo.net)

Common name:

green woodpecker (en); pica-pau-verde (pt); pic vert (fr); pito real (es); grünspecht (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Piciformes

Family Picidae

Range:

This species is found throughout Europe, with the exceptions of Iceland, Ireland and the northernmost parts of Scandinavia. It is also present in north-west Africa and western Asia.

Size:

The green woodpecker is 30-36 cm long and has a wingspan of 45-51 cm. They weigh 140-200 g.

Habitat:

This species is usually found in semi-open landscapes with small woodlands, hedges, scattered old trees, edges of forests, floodplain forests and in wooded gardens and parks. They also forage in areas of grassland, heaths, plantations, orchards, lawns and even sand dunes.

Diet:

Unlike other woodpeckers, the green woodpecker does most of its foraging on the ground. This species is specialized on ants, particularly Formica and Lasius. They will also eat other arthropods, mainly flies, mosquitoes and spiders, and occasionally also worms, berries, seeds and even small fruits.

Breeding:

They breed in April-July. Male and female both contribute to nest construction, excavating a hole in a rotting tree trunk. There the female lays 5-8 white eggs, which are incubated by both parents for 17-19 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 21-27 days after hatching. Each pair only raises a single clutch each year.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

The green woodpeckers has a very large breeding range and a global population estimated at 2-5 million individuals. The population trend is stable and there is no evidence for any significant threats.

Fork-tailed flycatcher

Tyrannus savana

Photo by Yves Roumazeilles (Roumazeilles.net)

Common name:

fork-tailed flycatcher (en); tesourinha (pt); tyran des savanes (fr); tijereta sabanera (es); gabelschwanz-königstyrann (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Tyrannidae

Range:

This species is found from central Mexico all the way south to central Argentina.

Size:

Due to their extremely long tail, males are larger than female, being 37-41 cm long while females are just 28-30 cm long. They weigh 28-32 g.

Habitat:

Fork-tailed flycatchers are found in a wide variety of habitats including pastures, open savannas and cerrado, and riparian forests. They are also open residential areas with scattered trees.

Diet:

These birds mostly hunt insects in flight, but will also eat berries and small fruits during winter if insects become scarce.

Breeding:

Fork-tailed flycatchers breed in September-December. Both sexes build the nest, an open cup made of twigs placed in a small tree 2-6 m above the ground. The female lays 1-3 eggs which are incubated by both parents for 13-16 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 15 days after hatching.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

This species has a very large breeding range and has a global population estimated at 5-50 million individuals. The population is suspected to be stable owing to its nomadic nature and ability to thrive in a wide range of open habitats.

Purple sunbird

Cinnyris asiaticus

Photo by Raghuvanshi Rajesh (Internet Bird Collection)

Common name:

purple sunbird (en); beija-flor-púrpura (pt); souïmanga asiatique (fr); suimanga asiático (es); purpurnektarvogel (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Nectarinidae

Range:

This Asian species is found from the western Arabian Peninsula, through Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka, and further east to Bangladesh, Myanmar and Indochina.

Size:

They are 9-10 cm long and weigh 4-5 g.

Habitat:

The purple sunbird inhabits woodlands and bushy terrain in arid areas as well as trees and scrub near cultivated lands or gardens, tamarisk tracts along rivers, thorn shrubs and dry forests. They are found from sea level up to an altitude of 2.400 m.

Diet:

They mainly feed on the nectar and fruit juices of various plants including Acacia, Hibiscus, Prosopis, Cordia, Albizzia, Convolvulus, Aloe, Bougainvillea, Citrus, Tecoma, Calotropis, Eucalyptus, Melia and Phoenix. Small insects and spiders are also taken during the chick rearing period.

Breeding:

Purple sunbirds breed in November-April. The nest is built by the female, consisting of a pouch made of cobwebs, thin strips of vegetation, lichens and bark with an entrance hole on the side that is often shaded by a overhanging projection. There the female lays 2-3 eggs which she incubates alone for 15-17 days. The chicks are fed insects and spiders by both parents and fledge 14-18 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, this species is described as common throughout most of its range, although rare and local in Bhutan. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.

African emerald cuckoo

Chrysococcyx cupreus

Photo by Jonas Rosquit (PBase)

Common name:

African emerald cuckoo (en); cuco-esmeraldino (pt); coucou foliotocol (fr); cuco esmeralda (es); smaragdkuckuck (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Cuculiformes

Family Cuculidae

Range:

This species occurs throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa, excluding extremely arid areas. They are found from Senegal, across Mali and Nigeria and into Sudan and Ethiopia, and south all the way to South Africa. This species is also present in the São Tomé and Príncipe archipelago.

Size:

The African emerald cuckoo is 22 cm long and weighs 35 g.

Habitat:

It generally prefers evergreen and riparian forest, dense woodland and moist savanna, occasionally moving into well-wooded suburbs.

Diet:

African emerald cuckoos do most of their foraging in the middle and upper forest canopy. They mostly eat caterpillars and grasshoppers, supplemented with adult Acraea butterflies and fruits such as the wild peach Kiggeleria africana.

Breeding:

They are promiscuous, territorial brood parasites. Each male defends a display territory and mates with multiple females, which then lay their eggs in the nests of other birds. Their hosts include the green-backed camaroptera Camaroptera brachyura, the white-starred robin Pogonocichla stellata, the yellow-throated woodland-warbler Phylloscopus ruficapilla and the black-throated wattle-eye Platysteira peltata. They breed in October-January and each female lays a single egg in each host nest, after destroying one host egg, for a total of about 20 eggs over the whole breeding season. The eggs are incubated by the hosts for about 16 days. The chick kicks out any of the host's eggs or nestlings at about 2 days of age, and fledges about 22 days after hatching.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

The African emerald cuckoo has an extremely large breeding range and is reported to be fairly common. Despite ongoing destruction of riparian and lowland forest across their range, the population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.

Lesser bird-of-paradise

Paradisaea minor

(Photo from Liva Kara)

Common name:

lesser bird-of-paradise (en); ave-do-paraíso-pequena (pt); paradisier petit-émeraude (fr); ave del paraíso pequeña (es); kleiner paradiesvogel (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Paradisaeidae

Range:

The lesser bird-of-paradise is found in Indonesia and Papua-New Guinea.

Size:

These birds are 32 cm long and weigh up to 160 g.

Habitat:

They are mostly found in tropical and sub-tropical moist lowland forests, but may also occur in areas of degraded forest or even in arable land.

Diet:

The diet of the lesser bird-of-paradise consists mainly of fruits and insects.

Breeding:

Lesser birds-of-paradise are polygamous, with the males performing courtship displays in leks to attract females. After mating, each female builds a nest using dried leaves and grasses, where she lays 1-2 pinkish eggs with dark markings. The female incubates the eggs alone for 18 days. The chicks are raised by the female alone and fledge 16-20 days after hatching.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

This species has a large breeding range and is reported to be common and widespread. Despite the fact that this species is often captured for the pet trade and for their feathers, the population is suspected to be stable.

Yellow-throated laughingthrush

Garrulax galbanus

Photo by Forrest Fong (Hong Kong Bird Watching Society)

Common name:

yellow-throated laughingthrush (en); zaragateiro-de-garganta-amarela (pt); garrulaxe à gorge jaune (fr); tordo jocoso de Austen (es); gelbbauchhäherling (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Timaliidae

Range:

This Asian species is found from north-eastern India, south-eastern Bangladesh, into western Myanmar and southern China.

Size:

They are 23 cm long and weigh 50 g.

Habitat:

The yellow-throated laughingthrush is found in grassy areas with bushes and trees, in scrubland and in forest edges. They are present at altitudes of 800-1.800 m.

Diet:

They mostly hunt for insects among the forest leaf-litter, but will also eat fruits.

Breeding:

These birds build small cup-shaped nests using twigs and plant fibres. The female lays 2-3 eggs which are incubated by both parents for 13 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge about 14 days after hatching.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

The yellow-throated laughingthrush has a very large breeding range and is described as generally not uncommon, although scarce and local in Myanmar. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any current declines or substantial threats.