Piratic flycatcher

Legatus leucophaius

Photo by Nigel Lallsingh (Internet Bird Collection)

Common name:
piratic flycatcher (en); bem-te-vi-pirata (pt); tyran pirate (fr); mosquero pirata (es); kurzschnabel-maskentyrann (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Tyrannidae

Range:
This species is found from southern Mexico to southern Brazil, northern Argentina and northern Chile.

Size:
These birds are 14-15 cm long and weigh 19-32 g.

Habitat:
The piratic flycatcher is mostly found in open forests and forest edges, but also secondary savannas, coffee plantations with tall trees, pastures and arable land. They can occur from sea level up to an altitude of 1.850 m.

Diet:
Unlike most other tyrant flycatchers, adult piratic flycatcher mostly eat fruits and berries, but will catch insects, especially dragonflies, to feed their young.

Breeding:
They breed in February-August. Piratic flycatcher get their name by the fact that they appropriate domed or enclosed nests of other, often larger, bird species. Once the persistence of the flycatchers has driven the rightful owners away, their eggs are removed, and the female lays 2-4 dark brown eggs with black spots, which she incubates alone for 15-16 days. The chicks fledge 18-20 days after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has an extremely large breeding range and a global population estimated at 5-50 million individuals. Although this species may loose potential breeding habitat due to deforestation in the Amazon forest it is not threatened.

Straight-billed hermit

Phaethornis bourcieri

Photo by Maxime Dechelle (Oiseaux)

Common name:
straight-billed hermit (en); rabo-branco-de-bico-direito (pt); ermite de Bourcier (fr); ermitaño de pico recto (es); braunbauch-schattenkolibri (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Apodiformes
Family Trochilidae

Range:
This South American species is found in the northern Amazon basin, in northern Brazil, the Guyanas, southern Venezuela, southern Colombia, eastern Ecuador and eastern Peru.

Size:
These birds are 12-13 cm long and weigh just 4 g.

Habitat:
Straight-billed hermits are found in the understory of rainforests, tropical mountain forests, swamp forests and moist scrubland, also being found in second growths, bamboo thickets and plantations. They are present from sea level up to an altitude of 1.600 m.

Diet:
They feed on the nectar of various flowers, also taking some small arthropods.

Breeding:
The straight-billed hermit nests in a a cone-shaped cup made of plant materials, placed hanging from a large leaf which folds under its weight forming a natural cover that hides the nest. There the female lays 1-3 white eggs which she incubates alone for 17-18 days. The chicks fledge 21-23 days after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and is described as fairly common. Based on the current rate of deforestation in the Amazonian forest, this species is suspected to be facing a moderate decline. Despite this, the straight-billed hermit is not considered threatened at present.

White-plumed honeyeater

Lichenostomus penicillatus

(Photo from PBase)

Common name:
white-plumed honeyeater (en); melífago-de-colar (pt); méliphage serti (fr); mielero empenachado (es); weißbürzel-honigfresser (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Meliphagidae

Range:
This species is endemic to Australia, being throughout the country except in the tropical north, Cape York Peninsula and the most arid areas.

Size:
White-plumed honeyeaters are 15-17 cm long and weigh around 20 g.

Habitat:
They are mainly found in open forests and woodlands, often near water and wetlands, showing a preference for areas with river red gum Eucalyptus camaldulensis. They are also found in dry scrublands, rural gardens and within urban areas.

Diet:
White-plumed honeyeaters eat nectar, insects and their products such as lerps and honeydew, manna and fruits, and occasionally some seeds.

Breeding:
These birds can breed all year round, but mostly in August-December. The nest is a small cup woven by the female from grass and spider web and lined with wool, hair or feathers. It is placed in the crown of a tree 1-20 m above the ground. There the female lays 2-4 ground colour or pink eggs with reddish spots, which she incubates alone for 10-14 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 12-14 days after hatching. Each pair raises 2-3 clutches per year.

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 degradation through the removal of trees along creeks and predation by domestic mammals. However, the white-plumed honeyeater is very adaptable to urban environments and not considered threatened at present.

Oilbird

Steatornis caripensis

Photo by Rodrigo Paez (Internet Bird Collection)

Common  name:
oilbird (en); guácharo (pt); guacharo des cavernes (fr); guácharo (es); fettshwalm (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Caprimulgiformes
Family Steatornithidae

Range:
This species found in northern South America, from Guyana to Colombia, and along the Andes down to Bolivia. They are also found in the Caribbean island of Trinidad.

Size:
These birds are 40-49 cm long and weigh 350-485 g.

Habitat:
Oilbirds are found in rainforests with available caves for nesting.

Diet:
They are frugivorous and forage at night, navigating by echolocation like bats. They eat a wide range of fruits, mainly of Arecaceae, Burseraceae and Lauraceae, being an important seed disperser in their rainforest habitat.

Breeding:
Oilbirds are colonial cave nesters and appear to be monogamous. The nest is a large, truncated cone made of concentric layers of regurgitated seeds, droppings, mud and fruit pulp, all held together with the birds’ saliva. The nests are placed in cave ledges and shelves close to the cave ceiling, up to 30 m above the ground. The female lays 2-4 glossy white eggs which are incubated by both parents for 32-35 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 100-115 days after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range but the population size is yet to be quantified. This species is suspected be loosing habitat due to Amazonian deforestation and nestlings are harvested for food and oil production in several countries, but overall the oilbird is not considered threatened at present.

Hutton's vireo

Vireo huttoni

Photo by Greg Gillson (Pacific NW Birder)

Common name:
Hutton's vireo (en); juruviara-de-Hutton (pt); viréo de Hutton (fr); vireo de Hutton (es); Hutton-vireo (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Vireonidae

Range:
This species is found in western North America, in two distinct populations. One is found along the Pacific coast from British Columbia, Canada, to Baja California in north-western Mexico. The other population is found from northern Mexico, Arizona and Texas to Guatemala, being separated from the former by the Mojave and Sonoran deserts.

Size:
These birds are 12-13 cm long and weigh 9-15 g.

Habitat:
Hutton's vireos are mainly found in evergreen forests, preferring oak or pine-oak forests and tall chaparral, at altitudes of 900-3.500 m.

Diet:
They mainly glean caterpillars, beetles, crickets and spiders from the forest canopy, but will also take berries, small fruits and plant galls.

Breeding:

The Hutton's vireo nests in an open cup woven of lichens, spider webs, plant down, bark shreds, fine grasses, small green leaves, and moss, lined with grasses and placed in a fork in a branch, 2-8 m above the ground. There the female lays 3-5 white eggs with a few brown speckles, which are incubated by both parents for 14 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 the population has undergone a large increase of 17% per decade over the last 4 decades.

White-collared manakin

Manacus candei

Photo by Tristan Bantock (Flickr)

Common name:
white-collared manakin (en); rendeira-de-colar-branco (pt); manakin à col blanc (fr); saltarín cuelliblanco (es); weißbandpipra (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Pipridae

Range:
This species is found along the Caribbean slopes of Central America, from south-eastern Mexico to northern Panama.

Size:
These birds are 11 cm long and weigh 18-20 g.

Habitat:
The white-collared manakin in found moist tropical forests and scrubland, typically in open woodlands, thickets along forest edges, second growths, old cocoa plantations and along watercourses. They occur from sea level up to an altitude of 950 m.

Diet:
They mainly feed on fruits, but will also take some small insects.

Breeding:
White-collared manakins are polygamous, with the males displaying in leks to attract females, having no further part in the reproductive process after mating. The female builds the nest, a delicately woven cup made of black fungal rhizomorphs, plant fibres and inflorescences, placed in an horizontal fork in a tree up to 2 m above the ground. There she lays 2 white eggs with brown sprinkles, which she incubates alone for 18-21 days. She also feeds an takes care of the chicks alone until they fledge.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a relatively large breeding range and a global population estimated at 50.000-500.000 individuals. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.

Pallas's fish eagle

Haliaeetus leucoryphus

Photo by Johan Stenlund (PBase)

Common name:
Pallas's fish eagle (en); águia-de-Pallas (pt); pygargue de Pallas (fr); pigargo de Pallas (es); bindenseeadler (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Falconiformes
Family Accipitridae

Range:
This species is found in central Asia, from Kazakhstan to Mongolia and northern China, and south to northern India and Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and southern China.

Size:
This large eagle is 72-84 cm long and has a wingspan of 180-215 cm. They weigh 2-3,7 kg.

Habitat:
The Pallas's fish eagle is found in inland wetlands, namely large freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes and along river and creeks, from sea level up to an altitude of 5.000 m.

Diet:
They mainly eat fish, which they take from the water surface rather than by plunge-diving. They are also know to eat frogs, turtles, reptiles and other birds, and often consume carrion or steal food from other predators such as ospreys.

Breeding:
Pallas's fish eagle breed in November-July. The nest is a huge platform of sticks lined with hay, rushes, straw, fine twigs and green leaves, placed on a tree or even on the ground, along the edges of lakes and rivers. There the female lays 2-4 white eggs, which are mostly incubated by the female for 40-45 days, while the male brings her food. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 10-15 weeks after hatching, but invariably the last chick to hatch will die, as it cannot compete effectively with its older siblings for food from its parents.

Conservation:
IUCN status - VU (Vulnerable)
This species has a very large breeding range, but the global population is estimated at just 2.500-10.000 individuals. The population currently declining at a moderate rate, mostly because of the loss, degradation and disturbance of wetland habitats and adjacent nesting trees throughout its range. Pollution and eutrophication of wetlands, together with over-fishing are major threats to this species, as is the constrution of hydroelectric dams. Hunting may be a localized problem in parts of China.