Red bishop

Euplectes orix

Photo by Louis Arrivet (Oiseaux)

Common name:

red bishop (en); bispo-de-testa-preta (pt); euplecte ignicolore (fr); obispo rojo (es); oryxweber (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Ploceidae

Range:

This African species occurs from Tanzania through Zambia and Angola and into southern Africa.

Size:

The red bishop is 11-13 cm long and weighs 17-30 g.

Habitat:

It generally prefers open grassland, marshes and cultivated areas, often near perennial water bodies and it prefers to breed in reedbeds. These birds are present from sea level up to an altitude of 1.700 m.

Diet:

They mostly eat grass seeds, namely cereal crops like maize and wheat. They also eat flowers and invertebrates, including beetles, caterpillars, dragonflies, kelp flies, spiders ans sand-hoppers.

Breeding:

Red bishops are polygynous, highly territorial colonial nesters, with each successful male mate with 3-8 females in a breeding season. They can breed almost year-round, but with a peak in November-February. The male builds about 3-13 nests per breeding season, tightly weaving thin strips of reeds and grass to form an oval-shaped structure with a side entrance covered by a hood. It is typically attached to reeds, sedges or bulrushes, or occasionally in crops such as maize. There the female lays 3 pale blue-green or turquoise eggs, which she incubates alone for 12-13 days. The chicks are fed by the female only and fledge 11-15 days after hatching.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

This species has a very large breeding range and, although the global population size is yet to be 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.

Jungle nightjar

Caprimulgus indicus

(Photo from Living into the Wild)

Common name:

jungle nightjar (en); noitibó-da-selva (pt); engoulevent indien (fr); chotacabras de jungla (es); dschungelnachtschwalbe (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Caprimulgiformes

Family Caprimulgidae

Range:

This Asia species is found from India and Pakistan, throughout south-east Asia, and into China, Japan and eastern Russia.

Size:

The jungle nightjar is 21-29 cm long and weighs 70-110 g.

Habitat:

This species is mostly found in dense, tropical and subtropical dry forests, but it may also be found near farms, arable land, plantations and dry scrublands. They are found from sea level up to an altitude of 3.300 m.

Diet:

Jungle nightjars forage at dusk and during the night, mostly hunting insects on the wing.

Breeding:

These birds breed in March-June. They nest in a slight depression in the ground, usually under some low bush. There the female lays 2 salmon-pink eggs with brown blotches. The eggs are mostly incubated by the female, but with some help by the male, and hatch after 16-17 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 18 days after hatching.

Conservation

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

This species has a very large breeding range and is reported to be locally common. Although this species is sometimes the target of hunting or food, the population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.

Saddleback

Philesturnus carunculatus

Photo by Paddy Ryan (Ryan Photographic)

Common name:

saddleback (en); tieque (pt); créadion rounoir (fr); tieke (es); sattelvogel (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Callaeidae

Range:

The saddleback is endemic to New Zealand, and was once widespread over the North and South Islands, and some offshore islands, but by the early 1900s, was extinct on the mainland. Today it mostly occurs in offshore islands, with several introductions in progress in both the islands and the New Zealand mainland.

Size:

These birds are 25 cm long and weigh 70-80 g.

Habitat:

The saddleback inhabits the native forests of New Zealand, but also occurs in coastal scrublands.

Diet:

These birds are mostly insectivorous, but are also known to eat fruits and occasionally nectar.

Breeding:

Saddlebacks typically breed in October-January, but will nest up to 4 times per year at recently colonised sites where resources are not limiting. They nest in tree holes, rock crevices, tree-fern crowns and dense epiphytes, usually close to the ground. The female lays 2-3 eggs which she incubates alone for 18-20 days. After the eggs have hatched, the male gathers food to be distributed between the chicks and the female, and chicks will fledge 25-27 days after hatching.

Conservation:

IUCN status - NT (Near-Threatened)

This species is confined to a number of predator free islands around New Zealand. The populations is currently estimated at 7.200 individuals and is increasing due to intensive conservation management. The main threat affecting this species is the predation by introduced mammals, namely black rat Rattus rattus, brown rat Rattus norvegicus and Pacific rat Rattus exulans. The species has been introduced to several predator free islands and to native forests surrounded by a predator-proof fence on the New Zealand mainland, but the accidental introduction of rats to further islands is an ever-present threat.

Indian robin

Saxicoloides fulicatus

Photo by J.M. Garg (Wikipedia)

Common name:

Indian robin (en); pisco-da-India (pt); pseudotraquet indien (fr); tarabilla terrestre (es); strauchschmätzer (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Muscicapidae

Range:

This Asian species is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal,Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

Size:

These birds are 12-14 cm long and weigh 16-17 g.

Habitat:

These birds are found in open stony, grassy and scrub forest habitats. They are mainly found in dry habitats and are mostly absent from the thicker forest regions and high rainfall areas. They are also often found close to human habitations. They are present from sea level up to an altitude of 1.600 m.

Diet:

The Indian robin is mostly insectivorous, but they are also known to take frogs and lizards, especially when feeding young at the nest.

Breeding:

These birds breed in December-September. The nests are built between rocks, in holes in walls or in a tree hollow and are lined with animal hair and sometimes pieces of snake sloughs. The female lays 3-4 white or faint green eggs, which are incubated by the female alone for 10-12 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge around 12 days after hatching.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

The Indian robin has a very large breeding range and, although the global population size has not been quantified, the species is described as common throughout the Indian Subcontinent south of the Himalayas, uncommon to rare in Nepal and very common in the dry zone in Sri Lanka. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.

Eastern screech owl

Megascops asio

Photo by Wolfgang Wander (Wikipedia)

Common name:

eastern screech owl (en); mocho-americano-oriental (pt); petit-duc maculé (fr); autillo yanqui (es); ost-kreischeule (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Strigiformes

Family Strigidae

Range:

This species is found through the eastern United States, also marginally across the border into southern Canada and south to north-east Mexico.

Size:

The eastern screech owl is 21-23 cm long and has a wingspan of 54-56 cm. They weigh 120-240 g.

Habitat:

This species inhabits open mixed woodlands, deciduous forests, parklands, wooded suburban areas, riparian woods along streams and wetlands, mature orchards, and woodlands near marshes, meadows, and fields. They will avoid dense forests because great horned owls Bubo virginianus use that habitat.

Diet:

Eastern screech owls hunt from dusk to dawn, being an opportunistic hunter. A large part of their diet is composed of large insects, namely beetles, moths, crickets, grasshoppers and cicadas. They also take crayfish, snails, spiders, earthworms, scorpions, and centipedes, small mammals up to the size of a rabbit. Small birds such as chickadees, sparrows and warblers are often also hunted, but they can eat larger avian prey, including rock pigeons, northern bobwhite and even ruffed grouse. Irregularly, small fish, small snakes, lizards, baby soft-shelled turtles, small frogs, toads, and salamanders are also preyed upon.

Breeding:

These birds breed in April-June. They nest almost exclusively in tree cavities, with enlarged natural cavities being preferred, but they also using old woodpecker nests placed 2-6 m above the ground. The female lays 3-5 eggs which are mostly incubated by the female for 26 days. The male provides most of the food while the female broods the chicks, and will stockpile food during early stages. The chicks fledge 31 days after hatching. Each pair only produces a single clutch per year, but may re-nest if the first clutch is lost.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

The eastern screech owl has a very large breeding range and a global population estimated at 800.000 individuals. This population has undergone a small increase over the last 4 decades and is not considered threatened at present.

Rufous hornero

Furnarius rufus

Photo by Dario Sanches (Flickr)

Common name:

rufous hornero (en); joão-de-barro (pt); fournier roux (fr); hornero cómun (es); rosttöpfer (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Furnariidae

Range:

This South American species is found in Bolivia, much of southern Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and northern and central Argentina.

Size:

The rufous hornero is 18-20 cm long and weighs around 50 g.

Habitat:

They are found in a wide variety of arid, open habitats, often near streams, rivers or lakes, and also near human settlements and roads. They can be found up to an altitude of 3.500 m.

Diet:

The rufous hornero is a ground forager, mostly eating insects, worms and possibly molluscs. They ocasionally also take vegetable matter, such as seeds and fruit.

Breeding:

These birds breed in August-December. They build an elaborate oven-shaped mud nest, generally placed on a tree, fence posts or telephone pole. The internal nest cavity is accessed through a side-hole entrance. The nesting structure is used once and then abandoned, although disused nests may persist for several years and are often used by other species. The female lays 2-4 eggs which are incubated by both parents for 14-18 birds. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 23-26 days after hatching, but remain in the parental territory for around 6 months.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

The rufous hornero has a very large breeding range and is described as common and widespread. This population is suspected to be increasing as ongoing habitat degradation is creating new areas of suitable habitat.

Spectacled warbler

Sylvia conspicillata

Photo by J. Sagardía (Birding in Lanzarote)

Common name:

spectacled warbler (en); toutinegra-tomilheira (pt); fauvette à lunettes (fr); curruca tomillera (es); brillengrasmücke (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Sylviidae

Range:

This species is mostly found around the Mediterranean basin, from Portugal, Spain and Morocco in the west, through France, Italy and Libya, and into Cyprus, Syria, Israel, Jordan and Lebanon. They are also found in the Canaries and Cape Verde archipelagos.

Size:

The spectacled warbler is 12-13 cm long and has a wingspan of 16-18 cm. They weigh 8-10 g.

Habitat:

These birds are mostly found in dry scrubland, open terrain and sometimes also in salt marshes.

Diet:

These birds are mostly insectivorous, taking various insects including grasshoppers, caterpillars, flies, ants and small beetles, but also spiders, molluscs and sometimes seeds and berries.

Breeding:

Spectacled warblers breed in March-June. The nest is a neat but loosely constructed deep cup of dried grass stems, rootlets, and leaves, often including rag, wool, cobwebs, and paper, usually placed in dense vegetation from the ground level to 1,5 m above the ground. There the female lays 3-5 eggs which are incubated for 12-14 days. The chicks fledge 11-13 days after hatching.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

This species has a very large breeding range and a global population estimated at - million individuals. Although apparently expanding its range in some areas, the total population is suspected to be in decline owing to ongoing habitat destruction and degradation, but this species is not considered threatened at present.