Black wheatear

Oenanthe leucura

Photo by Marco Valentini (Internet Bird Collection)

Common name:
black wheatear (en); chasco-preto (pt); traquet rieur (fr); collalba negra (es); trauersteinschmätzer (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Muscicapidae

Range:
This species is found in south-western Europe, in Spain, and marginally into Portugal and France. Also in north-west Africa, in Morocco, northern Algeria, Tunisia, Western Sahara and northern Mauritania.

Size:
These birds are 16-19 cm long and have a wingspan of 26-29 cm. They weigh 37-44 g.

Habitat:
The black wheatear is found in arid, stony areas, such as mountains, cliffs and gorges, and also in coastal cliffs, rocky offshore islands, dry scrublands and dry woodlands. They are present from sea level up to an altitude of 3.000 m.

Diet:
These birds feed primarily on insects, such as beetles, butterflies, grasshoppers and flies, which they catch either on the ground or by flying from a perch. They also take spiders, small reptiles and berries.

Breeding:
Black wheatears breed in March-June. The nest is a cup of dry grasses and rootlets, lined with feathers and wool. They often add a platform of small stones around the nest, which is placed in a rock crevice, cliff, cave or man-made wall. The female lays 3-6 pale blue eggs with some reddish speckles, which she incubates alone for 14-18 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 14-15 days after hatching. Each pair may raise up to 3 broods per year.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and the global population is estimated at 25.000-192.000 individuals. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.

African snipe

Gallinago nigripennis

Photo by Ronald Bontrop (Biodiversity4all)

Common name:
African snipe (en); narceja-africana (pt); bécassine africaine (fr); agachadiza africana (es); Afrikanische bekassine (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Charadriiformes
Family Scolopacidae

Range:
This species has scattered breeding populations along eastern and southern Africa, in Ethiopia, Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa, but can winter over all the regions between these breeding areas.

Size:
African snipes are 30-32 cm long and weigh 105-145 g.

Habitat:
These birds are found in fresh water or brackish wetlands, such as vleis, marshes, highland bogs, wetlands around artificial water bodies, ditches, inland deltas, shallow estuaries and lagoons, swampy lake edges, seasonally flooded grasslands and wet moorlands. They are mostly found at altitudes of 1.500-4.000 m, but can be found on lowland wetlands.

Diet:
They feed by probing soft mud with their long bill, taking worms, insect larvae, small molluscs, crustaceans and seeds.

Breeding:
African snipes can breed all year round. They are monogamous, solitary nesters and the nest is built by the female, consisting of a saucer-shaped grass structure placed in a tuft of grass or rushes. There she lays 1-3 eggs, which are incubated for 19-21 days. The chicks are cared for by both parents, fledging 19-20 days after hatching and probably becoming fully independent soon afterwards.

Conservation:
IUCN status -LC (Least Concern)
This species has a large but scattered breeding range. The population trend is difficult to determine because of uncertainty over the impacts of habitat modification on population sizes. The main threats are habitat loss and degradation through agricultural expansion, encroachment, overgrazing, burning and the drainage of wetlands. Extreme draughts and outbreaks of avian botulism may also pose a threat to this species. Despite theses, overall the African snipe is not considered threatened at present.

White-flanked antwren

Myrmotherula axillaris

Photo by Hugo Viana (Flickr)

Common name:
white-flanked antwren (en); choquinha-de-flancos-brancos (pt); myrmidon à flancs blancs (fr); hormiguerito flanquialbo (es); weißflanken-ameisenschlüpfer

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Thamnophilidae

Range:
This species is found from Honduras down to Bolivia and northern Brazil. There are also isolated populations along the coast of eastern and south-eastern Brazil.

Size:
These birds are 9-10,5 cm long and weigh 8-9 g.

Habitat:
The white-flanked antwren is mostly found in the understory and mid-canopy of moist tropical forests and swamp forests, and also along rivers and streams and to a lesser extent in second growth areas. They are present from sea level up to an altitude of 1.200 m.

Diet:
They forage among the foliage, taking small insects and spiders.

Breeding:
White-flanked antwrens breed in a deep cup made of dry leaves, plant fibres and dark fungal rhizomorphs, placed on a tree or scrub up to 4 m above the ground. The female lays 2 white eggs with purple spots, which are incubated by both sexes for 16-19 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 10-11 days after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and is described as common. The population is expected to decline moderately based on a model of Amazonian deforestation.

Red-backed fairywren

Malurus melanocephalus

Photo by Mark Andrews (Internet Bird Collection)

Common name:
red-backed fairywren (en); carriça-australiana-de-dorso-vermelho (pt); mérion à dos rouge (fr); ratona australiana de lomo rojo (es); rotrücken-staffelschwanz (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Maluridae

Range:
This species is endemic to Australia, being found in the north, from northern Western Australia to Queensland and east of the Great Dividing range down to north-eastern New South Wales.

Size:
These birds are 10-13 cm long and weigh 5-10 g.

Habitat:
Red-backed fairywrens are mostly found in tropical grasslands, preferring tall grasses such as bladygrass Imperata cylindrica, Sorghum sp. and Eulalia sp. They can also be found in arable land.

Diet:
They are mainly insectivorous, taking various insects such as weevils and other beetles, bugs, grasshoppers, moths, wasps and cicadas. They also eat insect eggs and larvae, spiders and some seeds and other plant material.

Breeding:
Red-backed fairywrens breed in August-February. They are mostly monogamous, although some males will mate with several females. Some pair will have helpers that help raise the young. The nest is mostly built by the female, consisting of a spherical structure made of dry grasses and lined with finer grasses and hairs, concealed in a grass tussock or low scrub. There she lays 3-4 white eggs with reddish-brown spots, which she incubates alone for 2 weeks. The chicks are fed by both parents and sometimes helpers and fledge 11-12 days after hatching, but only become independent 1 month later.

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

Galapagos hawk

Buteo galapagoensis

Photo by Mark Putney (Wikipedia)

Common name:
Galapgos hawk (en); bútio-das-Galápagos (pt); buse des Galapagos (fr); ratonero de las Galápagos (es); Galapagosbussard (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Falconiformes
Family Accipitridae

Range:
This species is endemic to the Galapagos islands of Ecuador, being found in the islands of
Santiago, Española, Isabela, Fernandina, Pinta, Marchena, Pinzón and Santa Fe.

Size:
These large hawks are 55 cm long and have a wingspan of 120 cm. They weigh 650-850 g.

Habitat:
The Galapagos hawk is found in all types of habitats found in the Galapagos islands, including bare lava fields, coastal areas, open rocky and scrubby areas, deciduous forests and mountain peaks. They are present from sea level up to an altitude of 1.700 m.

Diet:
They hunt seabirds such as shearwaters and boobies, doves, rats, lizards, iguanas and invertebrates. They are also known to take carrion and follow fishing boats and hunters for scraps.

Breeding:
Galapagos hawks can breed all year round. They are polyandrous, with one female mating with several males, all of which help rear the young. The nest is a large stick structure lined with grass, bark, leaves and other available soft materials, and placed on low branches of a tree, in a lava outcrop or on the ground. There the female lays 2-3 greenish-white eggs with brown spots, which are incubated for 37-38 days. The chicks fledge 50-60 days after hatching. They reach sexual maturity at 3 years of age.

Conservation:
IUCN status - VU (Vulnerable)
This species has a restricted breeding range and a global population estimated at just 270-330 individuals. The population is believed to be stable, but its small size and restricted range makes it susceptible to human persecution and predation or competition by invasive species such as feral cats. Lack of genetic diversity may pose a further threat to this population.

Sprague's pipit

Anthus spragueii

Photo by Gerald Romanchuk (PBase)

Common name:
Sprague's pipit (en); petinha-da-pradaria (pt); pipit de Sprague (fr); bisbita llanera (es); präriepieper (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Motacillidae

Range:
This species is found breeding in inland areas of southern Canada and the northern United States, from British Columbia to Manitoba and south to Montana and South Dakota. They migrate south to winter in Mexico and the southern United States, from California to Florida and north to Oklahoma and Arkansas. There are isolated wintering areas in South Carolina, Illinois, Nebraska and Utah.

Size:
These birds are 14-16 cm long and weigh 22-26 g.

Habitat:
Sprague's pipits are found in open grasslands with few scrubs, especially in areas of native grasses such as wheat grass, June grass, blue grama, candy blue, green needle grass, smooth brome and crested wheat. During migration they are also found in stubble and fallow agricultural fields and pastures.

Diet:
They feed on insects and spiders, as well as grass seeds. They are known to eat grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, weevils, bugs, ants and caterpillars.

Breeding:
Sprague's pipits breed in April-August. They are monogamous and the females build the nest. The nest is small cup made of dry grasses, placed on the ground and sometimes covered by a grass dome. There the female lays 4-7 eggs, which are incubated by the female for 13-14 days. The chicks are fed by the female and fledge 10-11 days after hatching. After hatching the chicks are cared for by the male for 1-2 weeks until becoming independent.

Conservation:
IUCN status - VU (Vulnerable)
This species has a very large breeding range and a global population estimated at 870.000 individuals. The population has undergone a large decline of 34% per decade over the last 4 decades, mainly due to habitat loss caused by the conversion of prairie to seeded pasture, hayfields and cropland, and inappropriate grazing. Further threats include strip-mining for tar sands, the introduction of alien plant species and changes in agricultural management.

Alagoas foliage-gleaner

Philydor novaesi

Photo by Ciro Albano (NE Brazil Birding)

Common name:
Alagoas foliage-gleaner (en); limpa-folha-do-nordeste (pt); anabate d'Alagoas (fr); ticotico de Alagoas (es); Alagoas-blattspäher (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Furnariidae

Range:
This species is endemic to eastern Brazil, only being found in Alagoas and Pernambuco.

Size:
These birds are 18 cm long and weigh 30-38 g.

Habitat:
The Alagoas foliage-gleaner is found along the edges of clearings in interior moist tropical forests, and sometimes also in old secondary forests, at altitudes of 400-550 m.

Diet:
They glean the foliage and bark of trees and dead wood in search of adult and larval insects, namely ants, beetles and grasshoppers.

Breeding:
There is virtually no information regarding the breeding behaviour of the Alagoas foliage-gleaner. Fledged young have been found in January.

Conservation:
IUCN status - CR (Critically Endangered)
This species has a very small breeding range and the global population is estimated at just 50-250 individuals. This species was only discovered in 1979 but the population is believed to be declining rapidly owing to the widespread and ongoing clearance of forest through logging, felling for charcoal and for conversion to sugar cane plantations and pastures. Beside habitat destruction and fragmentation, this species may also be threatened by climate change as distribution lays close to the maximum altitude within its range.