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.

Horned lark

Eremophila alpestris

Photo by R. Gilbert (Costal Sand Ecosystems)

Common name:
horner lark (en); cotovia-cornuda (pt); alouette hausse-col (fr); alondra cornuda (es); ohrenlerche (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Alaudidae

Range:
This species is widely distributed in the northern hemisphere, being found throughout North America, northern Europe and central and northern Asia. there are also some smaller populations in the mountains of south-eastern Europe and north-west Africa.

Size:
These birds are 15-17 cm long and have a wingspan of 31-35,5 cm. They weigh 26-48 g.

Habitat:
The horned lark is mostly found in open habitats such as prairies, grasslands, dry tundra, scrublands, sand dunes and beaches, arable land and pastures. They are found from sea level up to an altitude of 5.400 m.

Diet:
They usually forage on the ground, feeding on insects and other arthropods, such as spiders, ants, grasshoppers, wasps, but also snails, fruits, berries and seeds.

Breeding:
Horned larks breed in March-July. They nest in shallow depressions in the ground where the female adds dry grass, plant down, and plant stems. The nest is usually placed near stones or under small plants in open, sandy or barren areas. The female lays 3-5 glossy grey to greenish eggs, which she incubates alone for 10-14 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 9-12 days after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has an extremely large breeding range and a global population estimated to be over 140 million individuals. The population is known to be decreasing in parts of its range

Crab plover

Dromas ardeola

Photo by Tarique Sani (Encyclopedia of Life)

Common name:
crab plover (en); caranguejeiro (pt); drome ardéole (fr); chorlito cangrejero (es); reiherläufer (de)


Taxonomy:
Order Charadriiformes
Family Dromadidae


Range:
This species breeds on the coasts and islands of Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Eritrea, Oman, Abu Dhabi and Iran. They winter along the coasts of the India Ocean, as far south as South Africa and as far east as India, Sri Lanka and Thailand.


Size:
These birds are 33-41 cm long and have a wingspan of 66-78 cm. They weigh 230-330 g.


Habitat:
Crab plovers are found in large intertidal flats with firm substratum, estuaries, lagoons, exposed coral reefs and sometimes also in rocky shorelines.


Diet:
They mainly feed on crabs, but also other crustaceans, polychaetes, bivalves, small molluscs and other intertidal invertebrates.


Breeding:
Crab plovers breed in April-August. They form large breeding colonies and each pair nests in an unlined chamber at the end of a deep burrow excavated into the sandy substrate of an island or extensive coastal dune system, where the female lays 1-2 eggs. The eggs are incubated by both parents for 32-33 days, but they leave the eggs unattended for long times as the nest burrow and the intense solar radiation allows egg development at near-optimal temperature. Unlike in other waders, the chicks remain in the nest for several days, being fed by both parents, and even after fledging they continue to receive parental care for a long period.


Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a large breeding range and a global population estimated at 60.000-80.000 individuals. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats, but the risk of oil spills within their breeding range and the potential introduction of nest predators onto breeding islands may cause problems in the future.