Orange weaver

Ploceus aurantius

Photo by Jonas Rosquist (PBase)

Common name:
orange weaver (en); tecelão-laranja (pt); tisserin orangé (fr); tejedor anaranjado (es); königsweber (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Ploceidae

Range:
This species is patchily distributed from Sierra Leone to Cameroon, south to north-western Angola and east through D.R. Congo into Uganda, western Kenya and Tanzania.

Size:
These bird are 12-13 cm long and weigh 20-25 g.

Habitat:
The orange weaver in coastal lagoons and other saline wetlands, but also in freshwater lakes, moist scrublands, wet grasslands and farmland.

Diet:
They feed on grass seeds, berries and some insects.

Breeding:
Orange weavers are polygynous, with each male mating with up to 3 females. They nest among reed beds, near water and the female lays 3-5 eggs. The eggs are incubated for 12-14 days. There is no information regarding the fledgling period.

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

Common hill myna

Gracula religiosa

Photo by Rajiv Lather (Birding in India)

Common name:
common hill myna (en); mainá-da-montanha (pt); mainate religieux (fr); miná del Himalaya (es); beo (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Sturnidae

Range:
This species is found from eastern and north-eastern India, and southern China, through Indochina and into Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines. It has also been introduced to several other areas, namely Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii and Japan, Hong Kong and Macao.

Size:
These birds are 27-30 cm long and weigh about 200 g.

Habitat:
The common hill myna is mostly found in moist tropical forests, but also in mangroves and plantation. They are present at altitudes of 300-2.000 m.

Diet:
They are mainly frugivorous, taking various figs and other fruits and berries, but also eat seeds, nectar, insects and small lizards.

Breeding:
Common hill mynas breed in April-July. They nest on a small hole in a tree, usually at the forest edge, which both sexes line with twigs, leaves and feathers. The female lays 2-4 bluish-green eggs with brown spots. The eggs are incubated by both parents for 13-17 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 25-28 days after hatching. Each pair can raise 2-3 broods per year.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and is described as common to abundant. The population is suspected to be in decline owing to capture for the cage bird trade and to widespread forest destruction, although rates of decline are unlikely to be higher than moderate, as this species is tolerant of secondary and degraded habitats.

American black swift

Cypseloides niger

Photo by Glen Tepke (Mango Verde)

Common name:
American black swift (en); andorinhão-preto-americano (pt); martinet sombre (fr); vencejo negro (es); schwarzsegler (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Apodiformes
Family Apodidae

Range:
This species breeds in a few patches along western North America and Central America, namely in southern British Columbia and Alberta, Canada, in Washington, Montana, California and Colorado, United States, in western and southern Mexico, and south to Panama. They are also found in the Caribbean, from Cuba and Jamaica to Trinidad and Tobago. Most populations migrate, but it remains unclear where most of the birds spend the winter, although some of the birds have been tracked as far south as Brazil.

Size:
These birds are 18 cm long and weigh 35-45 g.

Habitat:
The American black swift breeds in sea caves, coastal cliffs and wet cliffs in inland canyons. They also use moist tropical forests and second growths, from sea level up to an altitude of 3.000 m.

Diet:
They hunt insects on the wing, mostly taking flying ants and termites, but also bees, wasps, beetles, flies and leafhoppers.

Breeding:
In North America, these birds breed in June-September. The nest is made of mud, and sometimes grasses, sea weeds or moss and attached to a rocky wall, most often in an inaccessible cliff or cave and near dripping water sources such as waterfalls. The female lays a single eggs, which is incubated by both parents for 23-29 days. The chick is fed by both parents and fledges 47-50 days after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range. There are no reliable data on population sizes, but the population appears to have declined by 6% over the last 40 years in the United States and larger declines may have taken place in Mexico. Due to their very specific nesting site requirements they may be threatened by alteration of the normal hydrological cycle due to habitat destruction, alteration of stream flow, or water diversions

Yellow-faced honeyeater

Lichenostomus chrysops

Photo by David Piko (David L Piko Photography)

Common name:
yellow-faced honeyeater (en); melífago-de-faces-amarelas (pt); méliphage à joues d'or (fr); mielero carigualdo (es); dreistreifen-honigfresser (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Meliphagidae

Range:
This species is found in eastern Australia, from north-eastern Queensland to Victoria and south-eastern South Australia.

Size:
These birds are 15-17,5 cm long and have a wingspan of 21,5-26 cm. They weigh 12,5-20,5 g.

Habitat:
The yellow-faced honeyeater is found in a wide range of habitats, mainly in open sclerophyll forests, but also in riparian woodlands, moist tropical forests, dry savannas, scrublands, coastal heathland, plantations, rural gardens and parks and gardens within urban areas.

Diet:
They feed on nectar, pollen, fruits, seeds, honeydew and invertebrates. They are known to eat at the flowers of silver banksia Banksia marginata, heath-leaved banksia Banksia ericifolia, fern-leaved banksia Banksia oblongifolia, mountain devil Lambertia formosa and green spider flower Grevillea mucronulata. Among their invertebrate prey are insects such as flies, mosquitoes, midges, and beetles, as well as spiders.

Breeding:
Yellow-faced honeyeaters are monogamous and breed in July-March. The nest is a fragile cup, made of grasses and moss and lined with hair, namely of koala Phascolarctos cinereus. It is placed in an understory scrub, close to the ground. The female lays 1-3 pinkish-white eggs with reddish-brown spots and blotches. She incubates the eggs alone for about 14 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 13 days after hatching, but remain in the parental territory for another 2 weeks. Each pair may raise 2-3 clutches per season.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and the global population is estimated at 100.000-1.000.000 individuals. The population is suspected to be in decline owing to the introduction of exotic predators, as well as habitat degradation through land clearing, grazing and infestation by exotic weeds.

Black-throated laughingthrush

Garrulax chinensis

Photo by Darren Whifflepeg (Flickr)

Common name:
black-throated laughingthrush (en); zaragateiro-de-garganta-preta (pt); garrulaxe à joues blanches (fr); charlatán golinegro (es); weißohrhäherling (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Timaliidae

Range:
This species is found in southern China, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, northern Thailand and into parts of Cambodia.

Size:
These birds are 25 cm long and weigh 90-130 g.

Habitat:
The black-throated laughingthrush is found in tropical and sub-tropical moist forests, and also in wet grasslands and moist scrublands.

Diet:
They feed on insects, crustaceans and various seeds.

Breeding:
These birds nest in a cup made of mosses, dead leaves, and other plant materials. The female lays 2-4 glossy blue eggs, which are incubated for 14 days. The chicks fledge 13-16 days after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and is described as fairly common. The population is suspected to be declining due to ongoing habitat destruction and fragmentation, but the black-throated laughing thrush is not considered threatened at present.

Oriental pied hornbill

Anthracoceros albirostris

Photo by Mario Widmer (Wikipedia)

Common name:
oriental pied hornbill (en); calau-de-faces-brancas (pt); calao pie (fr); cálao cariblanco (es); orienthornvogel (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Coraciiformes
Family Bucerotidae

Range:
This species is found in south-east Asia, from northern and north-eastern India, through Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar, and into extreme southern China, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and the Indonesian islands of Sumatra, Borneo and Java.

Size:
These birds are 55-60 cm long and weigh 600-900 g.

Habitat:
The oriental pied hornbill is mostly found in moist tropical forests, but also uses dry tropical forests, dry savannas, plantations and arable land. They are present from sea level up to an altitude of 700 m.

Diet:
They feed on fruits and small animals, namely figs, rambutan, guava, papaya, soursop and palm fruits, and small birds and eggs, small snakes, lizards, geckos, skinks, crabs, earthworms, spiders and insects.

Breeding:
These bird are monogamous. They nest in a tree cavity, where the female seals herself in leaving just a small hole for the male to provide her food. There she lays 3 eggs, which she incubates alone for 27-28 day. She feeds the chicks with food provide by the male, and in some cases may kill the weaker chick to feed the others. About 2 months after hatching the female breaks open the seal and the chicks fledge.

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

Straight-billed earthcreeper

Ochetorhynchus ruficaudus

Photo by Glenn Seeholzer (Flickr)

Common name:
straight-billed earthcreeper (en); andarilho-de-bico-direito (pt); upucerthie à bec droit (fr); bandurrita de pico recto (es); geradschnabel-erdhacker (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Furnariidae

Range:
This species is found along the eastern slopes of the Andes, from southern Peru and Bolivia to eastern Chile and western Argentina as far south as Comodoro Rivadavia.

Size:
These birds are 16-19 cm long and weigh 28-41 g.

Habitat:
The straight-billed earthcreeper is found in rocky slopes and ravines, and dry mountain scrublands, at altitudes of 1.300-4.300 m.

Diet:
They forage on the ground and among rock crevices, taking various insects including larvae and eggs.

Breeding:
Straight-billed earthcreepers breed in December-March. they are mostly monogamous and can mate for life. They nest in natural cavities at the end of a short tunnel, in a bank or rocky crevice. the nest chamber is lined with grasses, hairs and feathers. The female lays 2 whitish eggs which are incubated by both parents for 15 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 2 weeks after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and is described as fairly common. The population seems to be fairly stable, although some declines are suspected due to ongoing habitats degradation through overgrazing.