Banded bay cuckoo

Cacomantis sonneratii

Photo by Koshy Koshy (Oriental Bird Images)

Common name:

banded bay cuckoo (en); cuco-listado (pt); coucou de Sonnerat (fr); cuco bayo (es); Sonneratkuckuck (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Cuculiformes

Family Cuculidae

Range:

This Asian species is found in India and Sri Lanka, north to Nepal, and east to Bangladesh, Myanmar, Laos Cambodja, Thailand and Vietnam. They are also found in Malaysia and in Indonesia in Borneo, Sumatra and Java.

Size:

This small cuckoo is 22 cm long and has a wingspan of 25-27 cm. Males and females are similar in size, weighing 35 g.

Habitat:

They are found in well wooded habitats, mostly tropical and sub-tropical moist lowland forests, bur also in dense scrubland.

Diet:

Their diet is essentially insectivorous, hunting a variety of insects found in the foliage or in flight.

Breeding:

The breeding season varies widely between different parts of their range, so much that they can breed all year round. They are brood parasites, laying the eggs on the nests of other species, namely bulbuls and small babblers. The banded bay cuckoo chick hatches earlier than the chicks of the host and evicts the other eggs, or chicks from the nest as soon as possible. The hosts will then feed the chick until fledging.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

The species is described as common throughout their very large breeding range. Since there is no evidence for any declines or substantial threats, the species is not considered threatened at present.

Great rufous woodcreeper

Xiphocolaptes major

Photo by Peter Schoen (Flickr)

Common name:

great rufous woodcreeper (en); arapaçu-do-campo (pt); grand grimpar (fr); trepatroncos colorado (es); fuchsroter baumsteiger (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Dendrocolaptidae

Range:

This South American species is found in northern Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia and south-western Brazil.

Size:

This large woodcreeper is 35 cm long and weighs 155 g.

Habitat:

They are found in tropical and subtropical dry forests and in tropical and subtropical moist lowland forests.

Diet:The great rufous woodcreeper feeds on insects, spiders, and other invertebrates, for which they search in clefts in bark and among mosses, lichens, and epiphytic plants growing on tree-limbs.

Breeding: Both parents build the nest either in old woodpecker holes or in natural cavities in trees. The nest is made of fine rootlets, pieces of bark, lichens, and strands of plant fibres. The female lays 2-3 white eggs which are incubated by both parents for 15-21 days. Both parents rear the young until fledging, which takes place 19-23 days after hatching.

Conservation:

IUCN status: LC (Least Concern)

The population size has not been quantified, but the species in described as uncommon. Still, they have a very large breeding range and there is no evidence for any declines or substantial threats, so the species is not threatened at present.

Snow petrel

Pagodroma nivea

(Photo from Internet Bird Collection)

Common name:

snow petrel (en); petrel-das-neves (pt); pétrel des neiges (fr); petrel blanco (es); schneesturmvogel (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Procellariiformes

Family Procellariidae

Range:

This species is confined to the pack ice of Antarctica and the adjacent Antarctic seas. They breed in the islands of South Georgia, South Shetland, South Sandwich, South Orkney, Bouvet and Scott, and in several location on the Antarctic mainland.

Size:

The snow petrel is 30-40 cm long and has a wingspan 75-95 cm. They weigh up to 570 g.

Habitat:

They are typically found over the pack ice or out at sea, often seen flying in between icebergs. Although mostly staying near the breeding colonies, they may wander the seas north to 55º S.

Diet:

They mostly take their food on the wing, but will also forage from the edges of the pack ice. They feed mainly on fish, some cephalopods, mollusks and krill as well as carrion.

Breeding:

Snow petrels breed in November-May. The nests are simple pebble-lined scrapes usually in a deep rock crevices with overhanging protection. The female lay a single white egg which is incubated by both parents for 41-49 days. The chick is fed by both parents and fledges 7 weeks after hatching.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

With a population of 4 million and a very large breeding range, the species is not considered threatened at present.

Fiscal flycatcher

Sigelus silens

Photo by Lip Kee Yap (Wikipedia)

Common name:

fiscal flycatcher (en); papa-moscas-fiscal (pt); gobemouche fiscal (fr); papamoscas fiscal (es); würgerschnäpper (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Muscicapidae

Range:

They are found throughout South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho. They are also present in south-eastern Botswana and southern Mozambique.

Size:

The fiscal flycatcher is 17-20 cm long. They weigh 26 g.

Habitat:

They are mostly found in open habitats with scattered trees or bushes. These include moist and semi-arid grassland, fynbos, bushveld, dry savanna and Acacia scrubland.

Diet:

It mostly hunts insects, namely ants, termites, grasshoppers, moths and Hemiptera. Their diet is sometimes supplemented with fruits and nectar.

Breeding:

Fiscal flycatchers breed in July-February, with a peak in October December. They female builds the nest alone, on a thick forked branch, among dead leaves or inside a dead stump. The nest consists of a bulky, open cup built of stems of dry grass combined with other plants. The interior is usually thickly lined with material such as soft plant down, feathers, rootlets. The female lays 2-4 brown eggs, which she incubates alone for 13-16 days while being fed by the male. The female feeds the chicks alone until fledging, which takes place 15-17 days after hatching.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

These birds have a very large breeding range. Although the population size is unknown, they are described as widespread and common, and there is no evidence for any substantial threats.

Coppery-headed emerald

Elvira cupreiceps

Photo by Ferran Vaquero (Internet Bird Colection)

Common name:

coppery-headed emerald (en); beija-flor-de-cabeça-acobreada (pt); colibri à tête cuivrée (fr); esmeralda capirotada (es); bronzekopf-elvirakolibri (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Apodiformes

Family Trochilidae

Range:

This bird is endemic to Costa Rica. It is only found in the mountain ranges in the north and central parts of the country, in Cordillera de Guanacaste and Cordillera de Tilarán.

Size:

These small hummingbirds are 7,5 cm long and weigh just 3,2 g.

Habitat:

They are found in the canopies and edges of tropical and sub-tropical mountain moist forests at altitudes of 700-1500 m.

Diet:

The coppery-headed emerald mostly eats nectar and small beetles.

Breeding:

Males take no part in the nesting process. The female build a nest cup in a tree, typically made of lichens and spider webs. There she lays 2 white eggs which she incubates alone for 14-19 days.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

Although they have a small breeding range, the coppery-headed emerald is described as fairly common within that range. Despite some concern regarding local habitat loss this species is not considered threatened at present.

Calandra lark

Melanocorypha calandra

Photo by Durzan Cirano (Trek Nature)

Common name:

calandra lark (en); calhandra-real (pt); alouette calandre (fr); calandria común (es); kalanderlerche (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Alaudidae

Range:

Calandra larks are found breeding in around the Mediterranean basin, and further east through Turkey and northern Iran and into southern Russia. The Mediterranean populations are resident, but the birds in Russia migrate south to the Arabian Peninsula and Egypt.

Size:

This large lark is 17,5-20 cm long and has a wingspan of 38 cm. They weigh 54-73 g.

Habitat:

They are mostly found in dry open country, including grassland, cereal pseudo-steppe and real steppeland. Although they avoid deserts and semi-deserts, than may be found in more arid areas with scarce vegetation. They are mostly found in lowlands, but may occur up to an altitude of 1400 m.

Diet:

The calandra lark changes from an essentially insectivorous diet during the breeding season, when they take grasshoppers, caterpillars, spiders and other invertebrates, to a mostly granivorous diet in the autumn and winter, when they forage on numerous seeds and cereals, also eating grass shoots.

Breeding:

They usually start nesting in April. The nest is on the ground often sheltered by some plant, tussock or small bush. The female lays 4-5 greenish eggs, which she incubates alone for 12-14 days. The chicks are fed by both parents. They leave the nest after 11-12 days, but will only fly at about 20 days after hatching. Each pair produces two broods per year.

Conservation

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

With a population of 60-300 million and a very large breeding range, the calandra lark is not threatened at present. Still, the species has suffered some declines, at least in south-west Europe, probably due to pesticide abuse and agricultural intensification.

Brown-necked parrot

Poicephalus robustus

(Photo from Pinterest)

Common name:

brown-necked parrot (en); papagaio-de-bico-grosso (pt); perroquet robuste (fr); lorito robusto (es); kappapagei (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Psittaciformes

Family Psittacidae

Range:

They are mostly found in east Africa, in Tanzania, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi. Some occur in west Africa, along the border between Angola and Namibia, and they are also found in the eastern half of South Africa.

Size:

These medium-sized parrots are 33-35 cm long. Males are larger than females. Males weigh 300-400 g while females weigh 280-350 g.

Habitat:

They occur in a range of habitats including Podocarpus forests, riverine woodlands, savanna woodlands, mountain forests and lowland forests. The habitat preferences vary depending on the subspecies and part of their range.

Diet:

Adult brown-necked parrots are strictly frugivorous, foraging on the fruits of a range of African trees, mostly yellowwoods (Podocarpus) and their relatives.

Breeding:

They mostly breed in August-February. The nest is a pre-existing tree hole, often in a yellowwood tree. The female lays 2-5 eggs, which she incubates alone for 28-30 days. The chicks stay in the nest for 55-79 days, being fed seeds by both parents. Even after fledging, the young will remain dependent on their parents for up to 1 year.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least concern)

The species as a whole has a very large breeding range, being described as generally scarce but patchily common. While the species is not considered threatened at present, the South African subspecies P. r. robustus is rare with as little as 1000 individuals living the wild. The brown-necked parrot is affected by habitat loss and illegal persecution for trade and export as pets.