California gnatcatcher

Polioptila californica

Photo by Richard Bledsoe (Bird Forum)

Common name:

California gnatcatcher (en); balança-rabo-da-California (pt); gobemoucheron de Californie (fr); perlita californiana (es); Kalifornienmückenfänger (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Polioptilidae

Range:

These birds are only found in the southernmost parts of California, in the United States, and in Baja California, Mexico.

Size:

The California gnatcatcher is 10-11 cm long and has a wingspan of 14-15 cm. They weigh 5-6 g.

Habitat:

They typically prefer open sage scrub, namely areas with California sagebrush Artemisia californica.

Diet:

Their diet consists of small insects and spiders, namely Orthoptera, Araneae, Coleoptera, Homoptera, Hymenoptera and Lepidoptera larvae.

Breeding:

California gnatcatchers build an open nest cup, placed in a scrub less than 70 cm above the ground. The female lays 3-4 eggs which are incubated by both parents for 14 days. Both parents feed the chicks until fledging, which takes place 10-15 days after hatching. Each pair may produce 3-4 clutches per year.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

This species has a relatively restricted breeding range an a population of just 80.000 individuals. Although the population is suspected to be in decline due to ongoing habitat destruction and fragmentation, the species is not considered threatened at present.

African palm swift

Cypsiurus parvus

Photo by J.M. de Bruyn (Internet Bird Collection)

Common name:

African palm swift (en); andorinhão-das-palmeiras (pt); martinet des palmes (fr); vencejo palmero (es); palmensegler (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Apodiformes

Family Apodidae

Range:

This species is found throughout sub-Saharan Africa, including Madagascar. They are also found in the south-west of the Arabian Peninsula.

Size:

These birds are 16-17 cm long. They weigh 10-14 g.

Habitat:

The African palm swift generally prefers savannas and grasslands with with scattered palm trees. They are also found in towns with indigenous or exotic palms, such as Livistona and Washingtonia.

Diet:

It almost exclusively eats flying insects, hunting mainly just above the tree canopy. They mostly take beetles, flies, termites and ants.

Breeding:

These monogamous birds can breed all year round, with a peak in August-November. Both sexes build the nest, which is a shallow cup of feathers and plant detritus, glued together with saliva. It is usually placed on the upper side of a palm frond. The female lays 1-3 eggs, which she immediately glues to the nest using her own saliva. The eggs are then incubated by both sexes for 18-22 days. The chicks are brooded and fed by both parents until fledging, which takes place 29-33 days after hatching.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

This species has a very large breeding range, being described as common to locally abundant. The African palm swift is not threatened at present.

Mistletoebird

Dicaeum hirundinaceum

Photo by Duncan McCaskill (Wikipedia)

Common name:

mistletoebird (en); pica-flores-de-peito-vermelho (pt); dicée hirondelle (fr); picaflores golondrina (es); Rotsteiß-mistelfresser(de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Dicaeidae

Range:

This species is found throughout mainland Australia, and also in Papua New Guinea and the archipelagos of Watubela, Aru and Tanimbar in eastern Indonesia.

Size:

These birds are 9-11 cm long. They weigh 7,5-11 g.

Habitat:

The mistletoebird is found in any habitat that supports mistletoes, including various forested habitats, savannas and scrublands.

Diet:

They mostly eat the berries of mistletoes, namely of the grey mistletoe Amyema quandang with which they have a mutualistic relationship. Their diet also includes nectar, pollen, spiders and insects.

Breeding:

Mistletoebirds breed in September-March. The female builds the nest with no help from the male. The nest is made of crushed plants and spider webs, which holds it together and holds it to the tree. There she lays 3 eggs which she incubates alone for 12 days. Both sexes feed the young in the nest until fledging, which takes place 15 days after hatching.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

Although the population size is yet to be quantified, the species is described as common throughout its very large breeding range. With no evidence for any declines or substantial threats, the mistletoebird is not threatened at present.

Black stork

Ciconia nigra

(Photo from Bird Banding and Nature)

Common name:

black stork (en); cegonha-preta (pt); cicogne noire (fr); cigüeña negra (es); schwarzstorch (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Ciconiiformes

Family Ciconiidae

Range:

They breed from Japan and north-eastern China, in the far east, along the temperate latitudes of Eurasia all the way to eastern and Central Europe. Asian birds migrate south to southern China, Myanmar and northern India and Pakistan. Central and eastern European birds migrate south to the Sahel and to Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. There are two isolated resident populations, one in Europe, in the Iberian Peninsula, and another in southern Africa, in Angola, Zambia and South Africa.

Size:

The black stork is 90-105 cm long and has a wingspan of 173-205 cm. They weigh 2,9-3 kg.

Habitat:

They breed in large marshy wetlands with interspersed coniferous or broad leaf woodlands, but also in hilly or mountainous forested areas with a sufficient network of creeks. In winter they can occupy almost any type of wetland, such as pans, rivers, flood plains, ponds, lagoons, dams, swamp forests, mangrove swamps, estuaries, tidal mudflats and patches of short grass close to water.

Diet:

They mostly eat fish, amphibians, bird nestlings and tortoises, but also insects and freshwater snails.

Breeding:

Black storks are monogamous, probably forming life-long pair bonds. They nest in April-September, with both sexes building the nest, a fairly flat platform made of dry reeds, sticks and other dry plant matter, with a shallow central bowl lined with grass and other soft material. The nest is typically placed on a cliff ledge or tall tree. The female lays 2-5 eggs which are incubated by both parents for 35-36 days. The chicks fledge 63-71 days after hatching, becoming fully independent 2 weeks later.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

The species has a very large breeding range, but a relatively small population estimated at 24.000-44.000 individuals. The overall population trend is uncertain, as some populations are decreasing, while others are increasing, stable or have unknown trends. Overall the species is not considered threatened at present.

Lesser white-fronted goose

Anser erythropus

Photo by Jari Petomäki (Luonto Portti)

Common name:

lesser white-fronted goose (en); ganso-pequeno-de-testa-branca (pt); oie naine (fr); ansar careto chico (es); zwerggans (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Anseriformes

Family Anatidae

Range:

This species breeds in the northern parts of Eurasia, in the interface of the taiga and tundra zones, from Scandinavia in the west, all the way to north-eastern Siberia. They winter primarily in south-eastern Europe, around the Black and Caspian seas, on the lower Euphrates in Iraq, and in the lowlands of eastern and southern China.

Size:

They are 53-66 cm long and have a wingspan of 115-135 cm. Males tend to be larger than females, weighing 1950-2300 g while females weigh 1400-2150 g.

Habitat:

The lesser white-fronted goose breeds in low-lying bogs, scrub-covered tundra and taiga-forest edges close to wetlands, up to 700 m above sea level. It can also be found on the slopes by lower parts of mountain streams, on mountain foothills, mountain lakes and on alpine precipices, often in thawing boggy areas or on stone fields. During winter and on migration this species frequents open short grassland in the steppe and semi-arid zones, particularly in seashore pastures, arable farmland, pastures and meadows.

Diet:

This species is herbivorous, feeding on grasses, roots, stems, leaves, fruits and the green parts of aquatic and terrestrial plants along lake-shores, rivers and marshes. During the winter they sometimes supplement their diet with agricultural grains.

Breeding:

Lesser white-fronted geese start nesting in May-June. They nest on snow-free patches available early in the breeding season, namely rocky outcrops or prominent hummocks, hidden amongst vegetation or in boggy hollows. The female lays 4-6 eggs, which she incubates alone for 25-28 days. Both parents take care of the chicks until fledging, which takes place 35-40 days after hatching.

Conservation:

IUCN status - VU (Vulnerable)

Although they have a very large breeding range, the specie has suffered a rapid population reduction in its key breeding population in Russia, and equivalent declines are predicted to continue. The Fennoscandian population has undergone a severe historical decline, and has not yet recovered. The current population size is estimated at 20.000-25.000 individuals. They are threatened by unsustainable levels of hunting on the staging and wintering grounds and habitat deterioration, justifying the current vulnerable conservation status.

Black-throated tit

Aegithalos concinnus

(Photo from Oho)

Common name:

black-throated tit (en); chapim-de-garganta-preta (pt); mésange à tête rouge (fr); mito gorjinegro (es); rostkappen-schwanzmeise (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Aegithalidae

Range:

They are found in northern Pakistan and India, in the foothills of the Himalayas. Also in south-west China and south to Myanmar, Vietnam and Taiwan.

Size:

This small tit is 10,5-11 cm long and weigh just 4-9 g.

Habitat:
The black-throated tit is found in both broad leaf and pine forest, at middle altitudes from 1200 to 2700 m.

Diet:They mostly feed on small insects and spiders, as well as small seeds, fruits and berries, particularly raspberries.

Breeding:Black-throated tits nest in February-May. They build the nest on the branches of trees, an oval cup made from lichen and moss, bound together with spider webs. The female lays 3-6 white or pale pink eggs which are incubated for 12-18 days. Once hatched, youngsters are cared for by the parents and, in some cases, other members of the flock, often individuals whose own breeding attempts have failed. The young fledge within three weeks of hatching and remain with the parents' flock over the first winter.

Conservation:IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
Although the global population has not been quantified, the species is reported to be fairly common to abundant throughout their very large breeding range. With no evidence for any declinesor significant threats, the species is not considered threatened at present.

Green honeycreeper

Chlorophanes spiza

Photo by Dario Sanches (Wikipedia)

Common name:

green honeycreeper (en); saí-verde (pt); guit-guit émeraude (fr); mielero verde (es); kappennaschvogel (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Thraupidae

Range:

The green honeycreeper is found in the Americas, from southern Mexico down to Peru, Bolivia and southern Brazil. They are also found in the islands of Trinidad and Tobago.

Size:

These birds are 12,5-14 cm long. They weigh 17-19 g.

Habitat:

This forest species is mostly found in secondary woodland and rain forests, typically high up in the canopy. They may also be found in forest clearings, forest edges and orchards.

Diet:

Their diet consists of fruits, nectar and small arthropods.

Breeding:

The green honeycreeper breeds in April-July. The female builds a small cup nest in a tree, and incubates the clutch of 2 brown-blotched white eggs alone for 13 days. The chicks fledge 12 days after hatching.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

These birds have a very large breeding range and an estimated population of 500.000-5.000.000. With no evidence for any declines or substantial threats, the species is not considered threatened at present.