New Zealand pigeon

Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae

Photo by Pete McGregor (The Ruins of the Moment)

Common name:
New Zealand pigeon (en); pombo-maori (pt); carpophage de Nouvelle-Zélande (fr); paloma maorí (es); Maorifruchttaube (de)


Taxonomy:
Order Columbiformes
Family Columbidae


Range:
This species is endemic to New Zealand, being found in both the North island and the South island, as well as in the Chatham islands.


Size:
These large pigeons are 46-55 cm long and weigh 550-850 g.


Habitat:
The New Zealand pigeon is mostly found in native podocarp forests, but outside the breeding season will also use exotic plantations and gardens.


Diet:
They are mainly frugivorous, eating large native fruits and drupes such as karaka, tawa and taraire, but also leaves, shoots, flowers and buds of native and exotic species in winter and spring, when fruits are not available.


Breeding:
The breeding season of the New Zealand pigeon varies according to the availability of ripe fruits, but is mostly concentrated in October-April. They are monogamous, with pair bonds lasting for more than one season, and nest in a frail platform of twigs placed in a tree. There the female lays a single white egg which is incubated by bth parents for 28-30 days. The chick is fed crop milk by both parents and fledges 30-45 days after hatching.


Conservation:
IUCN status - NT (Near-Threatened)
This species has a relatively large breeding range and is described as not uncommon, but the population is suspected to be declining at a moderately rapid rate, owing to hunting, habitat degradation and introduced predators. The introduction of exotic species is the main threat for this species, namely predators such as brush-tailed possum Trichosurus vulpecula, black rat Rattus rattus, stoat Mustela erminea and cats. The first two also compete for fruits. The New Zealand pigeon is illegally hunted and the loss of forest habitat through burning and clearance for farmland, removal of firewood and browsing by herbivores is also a threat.

White-naped tit

Parus nuchalis

Photo by Arpit Deomurari (Avian Diversity)

Common name:
white-naped tit (en); chapim-d'asa-branca (pt); mésange à ailes blanches (fr); carbonero nuquiblanco (es); weißflügelmeise (de)


Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Paridae


Range:
This species is endemic to India, where it occurs in two isolated populations. One in the north-west of the country, in central and southern Rajasthan, Kutch and northern Gujarat, and another in the south, in the Eastern Ghats of southern Andhra Pradesh, northern Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.


Size:
These birds are 12-13 cm long and weigh 13-14,5 g.


Habitat:
The white-naped tit is mostly found in dry thorn-scrub forests, mainly Acacia. They also use deciduous woodlands, gardens and orchards and even river beds and irrigated crops. They occur from sea level up to an altitude of 700 m.


Diet:
They mainly feed on insects and berries, but are also known to eat nectar.


Breeding:
White-naped tits breed in May-October. They nest in tree cavities, often in old woodpecker nests, which they line with plant fibres, down, animal hair and wool. The nest is usually 2-5 m above the ground. The female lays 3-6 eggs, which are incubated for 12 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 12-14 days after hatching, but continue to be fed for at least another 6-7 days.


Conservation:
IUCN status - VU (Vulnerable)
This species has a restricted and fragmented breeding range and the global population is estimated at just 2.500-10.000 individuals. The population is suspected to be declining rapidly as a result of habitat loss and degradation through wood-cutting for fuel wood and illegal charcoal making, clearance for agriculture and settlement construction, and over-grazing. Mining activities and the spread of exotic scrubs such as Prosopis glandulosa and P. chilensis may also have negative impacts on this species.

Winding cisticola

Cisticola galactotes

Photo by Hugh Chittenden (Bird Info)

Common name:
winding cisticola (en); fuinha-de-dorso-preto (pt); cisticole roussâtre (fr); buitrón musical (es); schwarzrücken-cistensänger (de)


Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Cisticolidae


Range:
This African species is found from Senegal to Sudan and Ethiopia and south to Angola, northern Namibia and Botswana, Mozambique and north-eastern South Africa.


Size:
These birds are 11-15 cm long and weigh 10-15 g.


Habitat:
Winding cisticolas are mostly found in marshes, bogs, swamps and seasonally flooded grasslands, but also occur in scrublands, dry savannas, plantations and arable land.


Diet:
They are insectivorous, mostly taking crickets, grasshoppers, beetles and caterpillars. They are also known to eat seeds.


Breeding:
The winding cisticola breeds in September-February. They are monogamous and territorial, nesting in an oval or ball shaped structure with a side entrance, woven with dry grasses and living grass blades. The nest is lined with plant down and grass inflorescences and placed in a marsh near the water surface, amongst grass or reeds up to about 1,2 m above the ground. The female lays 2-4 eggs which are incubated for 12-19 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 14-17 days after hatching.


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

Cooper's hawk

Accipiter cooperii

Photo by Seth Cutright (A Hawk Counters World)

Common name:
Cooper's hawk (en); gavião-de-Cooper (pt); épervier de Cooper (fr); gavilán de Cooper (es); rundschwanzsperber (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Falconiformes
Family Accipitridae

Range:
This species is found breeding throughout the United States and southern Canada and winters in the southernmost parts of the United States, in Mexico and in Central America down to Costa Rica.

Size:
These birds are 37-45 cm long and have a wingspan of 62-90 cm. Males are smaller than females, weighing 220-410 g while females weigh 330-680 g.

Habitat:
They are mostly found in temperate forests and woodlands, but also in scrublands, tropical and sub-tropical forests, rural gardens and even within urban areas. They are found from sea level up to an altitude of 3.000 m.

Diet:
The Cooper's hawk mainly hunts birds, such as starlings, doves, pigeons, robins, jays, flickers, quails, grouse, pheasants and chickens. They also take rodents, bats and occasionally reptiles and amphibians.

Breeding:
These birds breed in March-July. The nest is a pile of sticks lined with bark flakes and, sometimes, green twigs. It is placed in a large tree 8-16 m above the ground. The female lays 3-6 bluish to greenish-white eggs with darker spots, which she mostly incubates alone for 30-36 days while receiving food from the male. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 27-34 days after hatching, but continue to receive food from parents for another 2 months.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
The Cooper's hawk has a very large breeding range and, after the declines causes by pesticides and persecution until the 1970s, the population is now recovering at a rate of 37% per decade.

Black bulbul

Hypsipetes leucocephalus

Photo by Irene Ho (Internet Bird Collection)

Common name:
black bulbul (en); tuta-preta (pt); bulbul noir (fr); bulbul nero (es); schwarzfluchtvogel (de)


Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Pycnonotidae


Range:
This species is found in southern Asia, with one population in western India and Sri Lanka and another from northern India and Pakistan, through the Himalayas and into southern China and Indochina.


Size:
These birds are 24-25 cm long and weigh 34-40 g.


Habitat:
The black bulbul is mostly found in tropical moist forests, but also in second growths and rural gardens. They occur from sea level up to an altitude of 3.200 m.


Diet:
They mainly feed on seeds, insects and berries, but also eat the nectar of various flowers.


Breeding:
Black bulbuls breed in February-June. The nest is a cup made of grasses, dry leaves, mosses, lichens and spider webs, lined with ferns and rootlets and placed in a fork in a tree or scrub. The female lays 2-3 eggs, which are incubated for 12-13 days. The chicks fledge 11-12 days after hatching.


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

Yellow-chinned spinetail

Certhiaxis cinnamomeus

Photo by Celi Aurora (Flickr)

Common name:
yellow-chinned spinetail (en); curutié (pt); synallaxe à gorge jaune (fr); curutié colorado (es); gelbkinn-riedschlüpfer (de)


Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Furnariidae


Range:
This South American species is found from northern Colombia and Venezuela, through Brazil and into Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and northern Argentina.


Size:
These birds are 13-16 cm long and weigh 13-17 g.


Habitat:
The yellow-chinned spinetail is found in humid areas such as marshes, mangrove borders and grassy or scrubby wetlands with plenty of emergent or floating vegetation. They occur from sea level up to an altitude of 1.000 m.


Diet:
They feed on various invertebrates, such as spiders, adult and larval insects, earthworms and snails.


Breeding:
The breeding season of the yellow-chinned spinetail varies according to its range. The nest is  a bulky spherical structure made of sticks and twigs, placed in a fork in a tree up to 9 m above the ground, usually near running water. There the female lays 2-5 greenish-white eggs, which are incubated by both parents for 14-15 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 13-18 days after hatching, but remain with their parents for a few more weeks.


Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and is described as common. This population is suspected to be in decline owing to ongoing habitat loss and degradation

Cuckoo roller

Leptosomus discolor

Photo by Alberto Rios (Internet Bird Collection)

Common name:
cuckoo roller (en); rolieiro-courol (pt); courol vouroudriou (fr); carraca curol (es); kurol (de)


Taxonomy:
Order Coraciiformes
Family Leptosomidae


Range:
This species is only found in Madagascar and the Comoros islands.


Size:
These birds are 38-50 cm long and weigh 190-270 g.


Habitat:
The cuckoo roller is mostly found in moist forests and woodlands, but also in dry forests, grasslands and scrublands, as well as plantations. They are found from sea level up to an altitude of 2.000 m.


Diet:
They are mostly insectivorous, eating locusts, grasshoppers, beetles, caterpillars and walking sticks, but are also known to eat small reptiles such as geckos and chameleons.


Breeding:
Cuckoo rollers nest in natural tree cavities, 4-6 m above the ground. The female lays 1-4 white eggs, which she incubates alone for 20 days while receiving food from the male. The chicks fledge 30 days after hatching.


Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a large breeding range and is reported to be widespread in suitable habitat and elsewhere patchily distributed and uncommon. The populationis suspected to be in decline locally owing to ongoing destruction of natural forest habitat, but the cuckoo roller has proven to be resistant to habitat change and is not targeted by hunting.