White-capped water-redstart

Chaimarrornis leucocephalus

Photo by Yeshev Dorji (Oriental Bird Images)

Common name:
white-capped water-redstart (en); rabirruivo-de-coroa-branca (pt); torrentaire à calotte blanche (fr); colirrojo de capa blanca (es); weißkopfschmätzer (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Muscicapidae

Range:
This species is found in central Asia, from eastern Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan, through the Himalayas and into central and southern China, and northern Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam.

Size:
These birds are 19 cm long and weigh 24-42 g.

Habitat:
The white-capped water-redstart is found along rocky rivers, streams and waterfalls and in high altitude grasslands. They are only found in mountainous areas, at altitudes of 1.800-5.100 m.

Diet:
They feed primarily on insects, namely Ephemeroptera, Diptera, Coleoptera and Hymenoptera, but also take spiders and molluscs and also berries and grass seeds during autumn and winter.

Breeding:
White-capped water-redstarts breed in May-August. The nest is a bulky cup made of grass, rootlets and moss, bound with mud and lined with rootlets, ferns and animal hair. The nest is placed in a hole, usually in a rock, tree, bank or wall, or under stones or tree roots. There the female lays 3-5 pale blue or blue-green eggs with darker markings, which she incubates alone. There is no information regarding the incubation and fledgling periods, but the young continue to be fed by adults for 5-6 days after fledging.

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

Black woodpecker

Dryocopus martius

Photo by Jari Peltomaki (Luonto Portti)

Common name:
black woodpecker (en); pica-pau-preto (pt); pic noir (fr); pito negro (es); schwarzspecht (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Piciformes
Family Picidae

Range:
This species is widely distributed in Eurasia, from the northern Iberian Peninsula to central China and north to northern Scandinavia and north-eastern Russia.

Size:
These large woodpeckers are 45-55 cm long and have a wingspan of 64-73 cm. They weigh 250-370 g.

Habitat:
The black woodpecker is found in temperate and boreal forests, and to a lesser extent in tropical dry forests. They are most common in mountanous areas, but occur at altitudes of 100-2.400 m.

Diet:
They are insectivorous, eating various insects and their larvae, particularly carpenter ants and other wood-boring insects.

Breeding:
Black woodpeckers breed in April-July. They nest on a deep which they excavate into the trunk of a tree, usually 5-20 m above the ground. There the female lays 2-6 shiny white eggs, which are incubated by both parents for about 13 days. The chicks are fed ants and at larvae by both parents and fledge 25-31 days after hatching, remaining with the parents for at least 1 more week after fledging.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has an extremely large breeding range and the global population has been roughly estimated at 4,5-16,8 million individuals. The black woodpecker has expanded its range in western Europe, central Europe and Japan, and the population in Europe has undergone a moderate increase in the last 3 decades.

Mauritius olive white-eye

Zosterops chloronothos

Photo by Mike Pope (World Birds)

Common name:
Mauritius olive white-eye (en); olho-branco-da-ilha-Maurícia (pt); zostérops de Maurice (fr); anteojitos de Mauricio (es); Mauritius-brillenvogel (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Zosteropidae

Range:
This species is endemic to the island of Mauritius, presently being confined to the a small area on the south-west of the Black River Gorges National Park.

Size:
These birds are 8-10 cm long and weigh around 8 g.

Habitat:
They are mostly restricted to native upland rainforests, but can also be found in forest clearings and nearby plantations. They are present at altitudes of 200-600 m.

Diet:
The Mauritius olive white-eye feeds mainly on the nectar of Syzygium jambos, Litsea monopetala, Rubus alceifolius and Ligustrum robustum, but also takes fruits, insects and other invertebrates.

Breeding:
These birds breed in August-March. They nest in a small cup made of grasses and palm fibres and moss, woven onto the branches of a tree. There the female lays 2-3 eggs which are incubated for 12-13 days. There is no information regarding the fledging period, but it lasts 11-16 days in the closely related Seychelles white-eye Zosterops modestus.


Conservation:
IUCN status - CR (Critically Endangered)
This species has a very small breeding range and the global population is estimated at just 190-296 individuals. The population has been declining at a rapid rate in recent decades, mainly due to habitat destruction and degradation caused by the introduction of exotic plants, and predation by introduced mammals and birds, such as rats and red-whiskered bulbuls Pycnonotus jocosus and also native Mauritius black bulbuls Hypsipetes olivaceus. Intensive management action including predator control at nest sites, rescue of wild nests, artificial incubation and hand-rearing of offspring, and a trial release of birds to the predator-free, restored offshore islet Ile aux Aigrettes have had some success in halting further population declines in this species.

Puna tapaculo

Scytalopus simonsi

Photo by Jean-Philippe Paris (Worldwide Ornithological Travels)

Common name:
Puna tapaculo (en); tapaculo-de-Simons (pt); mérulaxe de Simons (fr); churrín de la Puna (es); Punatapaculo (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Rhinocryptidae

Range:
This South American species is found in the eastern slopes of the Andes, from the Vilcanota mountains, Cuzco, Peru, south to Cochabamba, Bolivia.

Size:
These birds are 10-12 cm long and weigh 15-18 g.

Habitat:
Puna tapaculos are found in elfin forests near the treeline, and in stunted trees and scrubs in tussock grass above the treeline. Also in Polylepis woodlands. They occur at altitudes of 2.900-4.300 m.

Diet:
They mainly eat insects, but also grass seeds.

Breeding:
They nest in a cup made of dry grasses, placed at the end of a burrow near the top of a steep bank. There the female lays 2 white eggs, which are incubated for about 16 days. The chicks fledge 15-20 days after hatching.

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

Iris lorikeet

Psitteuteles iris

Photo by Johannes Pfleiderer (Internet Bird Colection)

Common name:
iris lorikeet (en); piriquito-de-Timor (pt); loriquet iris (fr); lori iris (es); irislori (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Psittaciformes
Family Psittacidae

Range:
These birds are only found in the islands of Timor and Wetar, both in Indonesia and in East Timor.

Size:
The iris lorikeet is 20-22 cm long and weigh 65-75 g.

Habitat:
They are in monsoon forests, Eucalyptus woodlands and savannas, plantations and agricultural land with flowering trees. They occur from sea level up to an altitude of 1.500 m.

Diet:
Iris lorikeets feed on flowering trees, eating the nectar of flowers such as Sesbania sp.

Breeding:
These birds breed in tree cavities. The female lays 2 white eggs, which are incubated for about 23 days. The chicks fledge 8-10 weeks after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - NT (Near-Threatened)
The iris lorikeet has a relatively small breeding range and a global population estimated at 6.600-6.700 individuals. There is no information regarding population trends, but the species is suspected to be in decline owing to trapping for the bird trade and habitat degradation.

Tufted titmouse

Baelophus bicolor

Photo by Dick Daniels (Carolina Birds)

Common name:
tufted titmouse (en); chapim-bicolor (pt); mésange bicolore (fr); herrerillo bicolor (es); indianermeise (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Paridae

Range:
This species is found throughout the eastern United States, from Michigan to New Hampshire and south to Florida, Louisiana and eastern Texas. They are also found in Canada, in southern Ontario.

Size:
These birds are 14-16 cm long and have a wingspan of 20-26 cm. They weigh 18-26 g.

Habitat:
The tufted titmouse is found in mostly deciduous and mixed deciduous-evergreen forests, as well as in swamp forests, typically in areas with a dense canopy and many tree species. They are also found in scrublands, orchards, parks, and suburban areas, from sea level up to an altitude of 600 m.

Diet:
During the spring and summer they mainly eat invertebrates, such as caterpillars, beetles, wasps, ants, bees, stink bugs, treehoppers, spiders and snails. During the rest of the year they also eat fruits, berries, seeds, nuts and acorns, being known to hoard food, storing many of the seeds they get in tree holes.

Breeding:
Tufted titmice breed in March-June. They nest in tree cavities, using either natural cavities or old woodpecker nests, which they line with soft materials such as hair, fur, wool, and cotton. The nest is usually high in the trees, up to 30 m above the ground. The female lays 3-9 white to creamy white eggs with brown, purple, or lilac spots. The eggs are incubated by the female for 12-14 days while the male brings her food. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 15-16 days after hatching, but only become fully independent several weeks later. Each pair may raise 1-2 broods per season.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and a global population estimated at 12 million individuals. The population has undergone a small increase over the last 4 decades and is expanding its range northward, possibly due to warming climate, reversion of farmlands to forests, and the growing popularity of backyard bird feeders.

Golden-headed cisticola

Cisticola exilis

Photo by Julian Robinson (Canberra Ornithologists Group)

Common name:
golden-headed cisticola (en); fuinha-de-cabeça-dourada (pt); cisticole à couronne dorée (fr); buitrón de capa dorada (es); goldkopf-cistensänger (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Cisticolidae

Range:
This species is found in eastern and northern Australia, through Papua-New Guinea and Indonesia and into southern Asia as far north as and as far west as southern India.

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

Habitat:
The golden-headed cisticola is found in sub-coastal areas, including wetlands, swamp margins, grasslands, scrublands, savannas, rivers, and irrigated farmland.

Diet:
They mainly feed on insects, taken from the ground or from tall grasses and scrubs, but will also eat grass seeds.

Breeding:
In Australia the golden-headed cisticola breeds in September-March. The nest is a rounded structure with a side entrance near the top, built by both sexes by sewing together living leaves, using fine grasses, plant down and spider webs. The female lays 3-4 eggs, which she incubates alone, but there is no information regarding the length of the incubation and fledging periods.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and is reported to be locally common.
The population is estimated to be increasing following recorded range expansions owing to forest clearance and agricultural development.