Yellow-bellied greenbul

Chlorocichla flaviventris

Photo by Ian White (Flickr)

Common name:
yellow-bellied greenbul (en); tuta-amarelo (pt); bulbul à poitrine jaune (fr); bulbul de vientre amarillo (es); gelbbauchbülbül (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Pycnonotidae

Range:
This species is found in sub-Saharan Africa, from Angola and northern Namibia in the west, through southern D.R. Congo and Zambia and into Kenya, southern Somalia, Mozambique and north-eastern South Africa.

Size:
These birds are 20-22 cm long and weigh 32-52 g.

Habitat:
The yellow-bellied greenbul is found in tropical forests and scrublands, especially areas of thick undergrowth in clearings in riverine and coastal forests, but also in dry miombo and mopane savannas, rural gardens, mangroves and semi-arid scrublands.

Diet:
They mainly eat fruits, but also seeds, flowers and insects. They are also known to take ticks from mammals such as impalas.

Breeding:
Yellow-bellied greenbuls breed in September-March. The nest is a fragile, thin-walled cup built of tendrils, twigs, dry grass and other plant fibres, typically attached with spider web to the foliage of a sapling, scrub or creeper. The female lays 1-3 eggs, which she incubates alone for 14 days. The chicks are fed and brooded by both parents and fledge 16-18 days after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and is described as widespread and generally common. The population in Mozambique has been estimated at 40.000 individuals, but represents only a small part of the global range. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.

Thick-billed parrot

Rhynchopsitta pachyrhyncha

Photo by Ernesto Enkerlin (Neotropical Birds)

Common name:

thick-billed parrot (en); (pt); conure à gros bec (fr); cotorra serrana occidental (es); arasittich (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Psittaciformes

Family Psittacidae

Range:

This species is mostly restricted to the western Sierra Madre, in western Mexico, although it was breeding in southern Arizona and New Mexico until recently and reintroduction efforts are underway in those areas of the United States.

Size:

These birds are 38-43 cm long and weigh around 300 g.

Habitat:

The thick-billed parrot is found in temperate conifer, mature pine-oak, pine and fir forests. They breed at altitudes of 2.000-2.700 m but outside the breeding season can range to altitudes of 1.200-3.600 m.

Diet:

They feed primarily on the seeds of several pine species, especially Mexican white pine Pinus ayacahuite, Durango pine Pinus durangesnsis, Arizona pine Pinus arizonica, Mexican pinion pine Pinus cembroides, Pinus strobiformis, Chihuahua pine Pinus leiophylla, Ponderosa pine Pinus ponderosa, Apache pine pinus engelmannii, weeping pine Pinus lumholtzi and Douglas fir Pseudotsuga menziesii. They also steal acorns from acorn woodpecker Melanerpes formicivorus granaries and eat the juniper berries and nectar from agave flowers.

Breeding:

Thick-billed parrots breed in June-October, when pine cones are more abundant. They nest in tree cavities, often originally excavated by woodpeckers. There the female lays 2-4 creamy-white eggs, which she incubates alone for 25-28 days while being fed by the male. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 59-65 days after hatching, but only become fully independent up to 7 months later.

Conservation:

IUCN status - EN (Endangered)

This species has a small breeding range and a global population estimated at 2.000-2.800 individuals. The population is suspected to be declining rapidly, due to clearance and degradation of old-growth forests within their range. Logging, drug growing and cattle grazing are the main reasons for forest clearance in the region. Illegal trade may also be a threat to this species, although it is believed to be a much smaller problem now than in the past. Some of the conservation measures underway include forest protection, management agreements for responsible logging and captive breeding with the objective of reintroducing the species to the United States.

Elegant sunbird

Aethopyga duycenbodei

Photo by Mark Thibault (Oriental Bird Images)

Common name:
elegant sunbird (en); beija-flor-elegante (pt); souimanga des Sangi (fr); suimanga elegante (es); Sangihenektarvogel (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Nectariniidae

Range:
At present, the elegant sunbird in endemic to the Indonesian island of Sangihe, located north of Sulawesi, but there are historical records of this species on the nearby island of Siau.

Size:
These birds are 12 cm long.

Habitat:
The elegant sunbird is found in primary rainforests, forests edges, and in adjacent moist scrublands and plantations. They are present at altitudes of 75-1.000 m.

Diet:
They feed on the nectar of various plants, including coconuts, but will also take small invertebrates, sometimes being seen collecting insects caught in spider webs.

Breeding:
Elegant sunbirds probably have two mating season, one starting in May and another in November. The clutch size is 2 eggs which are incubated for 14-17 days, but there is no information regarding the length of the fledgling period.

Conservation:
IUCN status - EN (Endangered)
This species has a restricted breeding range and a global population estimated at just 13.000-29.000 individuals. Despite its tolerance to secondary habitats, this species is suspected to be declining at a moderate rate, mostly due to agricultural intensification and continued agricultural encroachment of the last few primary forest, especially at lower altitudes. There are some plans to protect some of the remaining areas of forest in Sangihe, which could help halt further population declines in this species.

Chestnut-backed antbird

Myrmeciza exsul

Photo by Ned Haight (Neotropical Birds)

Common name:
chestnut-backed antbird (en); formigueiro-de-corso-castanho (pt); alapi à dos roux (fr); hormiguero dorsicastaño (es); braunrücken-ameisenvogel (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Thamnophilidae

Range:
This species is found from Guatemala south to western Colombia and Ecuador.

Size:
These birds are 14 cm long and weigh 24-32 g.

Habitat:
The chestnut-backed antbird is mostly found on the understorey of mature evergreen rainforests, but can also occur in second growths, abandoned plantations and drier forests. They are present from sea level up to an altitude of 1.200 m.

Diet:
They feed on a variety of invertebrates, including beetles such as Cerambycidae, Curculionidae, Carabidae, Chrysomelidae, cockroaches and their eggs, grasshoppers, crickets, earwigs, bugs, caterpillars, spiders, centipedes and mantids. They occasionally also take small frogs and lizards, phasmids and a few seeds. Sometimes they follow army ant swarms to hunt.

Breeding:
Chestnut-backed antbirds are monogamous. The nest is an untidy open cup made of dead leaves, rootlets, dead ferns and moss, and lined with rhizomorphs. There the female lays 1-2 whitish eggs with brown or purplish blotches, which are incubated by both parents for about 16 days. The are fed by both parents and fledge 11 days after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a large breeding range and is described as common. The population is suspected to be in decline owing to ongoing habitat destruction, but it is not considered threatened at present.

Striped crake

Aenigmatolimnas marginalis

Photo by John Carlyon (Zest for Birds)

Common name:
striped crake (en); franga d'água-estriada (pt); marouette rayée (fr); polluela culirroja (es); graukehl-sumpfhuhn (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Gruiformes
Family Rallidae

Range:
This species is patchily distributed in West Africa, from Ghana to Congo and also in the area from Uganda, Kenya and eastern D.R. Congo, south through Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia and northern Mozambique and into northern Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe.

Size:
These birds are 18-21 cm long.

Habitat:
The striped crake is mostly found in seasonally flooded grasslands with marsh grasses, but also in shallow lakes and rivers, abandoned rice fields and nearby savanna.

Diet:
They feed on invertebrates, such as beetles, grasshoppers, moths, flies, spiders, snails and earthworms, and also small fishes and tadpoles.

Breeding:
Striped crakes are polyandrous, with each female mating with multiple males and having no further part in the breeding process after laying. In southern Africa they breed in December-March. The nest is a small saucer-shaped structure, built of dry grass and concealed in a grass tuft, where the female lays 3-5 eggs which are incubated for 17-18 days. The chicks leave the nest 4-5 days after hatching and rely on the father for protection until fledging, which takes place 46-53 days after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range but the global population is estimated at just 670-17.000 individuals. The population is thought to be in decline owing to continued habitat loss and degradation through overgrazing, damming, draining and cultivation of seasonal and ephemeral wetlands, but it is not considered threatened at present.

Daurian redstart

Phoenicurus auroreus

Photo by Mathew Poll (Birds Korea)

Common name:
Daurian redstart (en); rabirruivo-dáurico (pt); rougequeue aurore (fr); colirrojo dáurico (es); spiegelrotschwanz (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Muscicapidae

Range:
This species breeds in south-eastern Russia, eastern Mongolia, Korea and north-eastern and central China. They migrate south or east to winter in Japan, southern China, extreme north-eastern India, Myanmar and northern Thailand, Laos and Vietnam.

Size:
These birds are 15 cm long and weigh 11-20 g.

Habitat:
The Daurian redstart is found in sparse, open sub-alpine forests and forest edges, forest clearings, scrublands, riverine thickets, orchards, parks and gardens. It can also be seen near human settlements. They mostly breed at altitudes of 2.500-3.700 m but can be found and lower altitudes outside the breeding season.

Diet:
They feed on arthropods, berries and seeds. Spiders and caterpillars are the main prey during the breeding season, while berries and seeds are more important during the rest of the year.

Breeding:
Daurian redstarts are monogamous and territorial. They breed in April-August and nest in a hole on the ground, on a tree, rock, wall, bank or cliff, or even on old buildings, up to 1,5 m above the ground. The nest cup is made of straw, bark, moss and rootlets, and lined with soft grass, hair and feathers. There the female lays 3-6 eggs that can be pinkish, whitish, pale greenish or pale blue with brown markings. The eggs are incubated for 16-18 days and the chicks fledge 2 weeks after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and is described as common in most of its breeding range, although rare on the northern edge of its range. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.

African thrush

Turdus pelios

Photo by Steve Garvie (Wikipedia)

Common name:
African thrush (en); tordo-africano (pt); merle africain (fr); zorzal africano (es); Kapdrossel (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Turdidae

Range:
This species is found in sub-Saharan Africa, from Senegal to Sudan and south to Angola, Zambia and western Tanzania.

Size:
These birds are 20-23 cm long and weigh 45-70 g.

Habitat:
The African thrush is found in well wooded areas, including dry tropical forests, moist tropial forests, dry savannas and moist scrublands. That are also found in agricultural areas, plantations and pastures, from sea level up to an altitude of 3.000 m.

Diet:
They are omnivorous, eating insects, earthworms, millipedes, snails, spiders, fruits, berries and seeds.

Breeding:
African thrushes can breed all year round. The nest is built by both sexes, consisting of a cup-shaped structure made of grasses, herbs, weeds, roots and earth laid out in a clockwise manner, and lined with fine plant materials. The nest is placed on a thick tree branch, 6-8 m above the ground. The female lays 2-3 pale greenish-blue eggs with brown lavender markings, which she incubates alone for about 14 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 14-16 days after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status -LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and is reported to be frequent to common. The population trend is difficult to determine because of uncertainty over the impacts of habitat modification on population sizes.