Virginia rail

Rallus limicola

Photo by Danny Bonilla (Pine Barrens Animals)

Common name:
Virginia rail (en); frango d'água-da-Virginia (pt); râle de Virginie (fr); rascón de Virginia (es); Virginiaralle (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Gruiformes
Family Rallidae

Range:
These birds breed across the northern and western United States, as well as in southern Canada. Most population migrate south to winter in Florida, northern Mexico and along the Gulf coast of the United States.

Size:
The Virginia rail is 20-27 cm long and has a wingspan of 32-38 cm. They weigh 65-95 g.

Habitat:
They are mostly found in freshwater marshes with dense emergent vegetation, but also in brackish marshes and coastal saltmarshes. They occur from sea level up to an altitude of 3.700 m.

Diet:
Virginia rails feed on small aquatic invertebrates, such as beetles, spiders, snails, earthworms and bugs, and also small fishes frogs, small snakes, aquatic plants and seeds.

Breeding:
These birds breed in May-August. The nest is a platform or basket of loosely woven reeds and grasses, placed over water or on a clump of vegetation. There the female lays 4-13 white or buff eggs with grey or brown spots. The eggs are incubated by both parents for 18-20 days. The chicks leave the nest within a few hours of hatching and are able to swim and drink, but the parents feed them until fledging, 25 days after hatching. Each pair may raise up to 2 broods per year.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range. The overall population trend is increasing, although some populations have unknown trends. Overall, the species has undergone a large increase of 17 % per decade over the last 4 decades.

Hooded siskin

Carduelis magellanica

Common name:
hooded siskin (en); pintassilgo-de-cabeça-preta (pt); chardonneret de Magellan (fr); cabecitanegra común (es); Magellanzeisig (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Fringillidae

Range:
This South American species is found in central Venezuela, through eastern Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia and into central and southern Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and northern Argentina.

Size:
These birds are 10-14 cm long and weigh 11-15 g.

Habitat:
The hooded siskin is found in dry woodlands and savannas, temperate forests, scrublands, grasslands and plantations, from sea level up to an altitude of 5.000 m.

Diet:
The forage both on the ground and in the vegetation, mainly eating the seeds, buds and leaves of several plant species such as thistles and Lactuca. They also eat some insetcs.

Breeding:
Hooded siskins breed in October-June. The nest is a small cup made by the female with fine plant materials. It is placed on a tall tree-top. There the female lays 2-3 eggs, which she incubates alone for 12-13 days while the male brings her food. The chicks are mainly fed by the female, while the male gathers the food, and fledge about 14 days after hatching. They continue to rely on their parents for a few days after fledging.

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

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.