Baltimore oriole

Icterus galbula

Photo by Henry Domke (Health Care Fine Art)

Common name:
Baltimore oriole (en); corrupião-de-Baltimore (pt); oriole de Baltimore (fr); turpial de Baltimore (es); Baltimoretrupial (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Icteridae

Range:
This species breeds throughout the eastern United States, south-eastern Canada and north-eastern Mexico, and migrate south to winter in Florida, from Mexico to western Colombia and northern Venezuela and throughout the Caribbean.

Size:
These birds are 17-20 cm long and have a wingspan of 23-30 cm. They weigh 30-40 g.

Habitat:
The Baltimore oriole breeds in open deciduous forests, forest edges, rural areas and urban parks. Outside the breeding season they also use grasslands and tropical moist forests.

Diet:
They mainly eat insects and other invertebrates, berries and nectar, especially caterpillars,
beetles, crickets, grasshoppers, moths, and flies, spiders, snails, mulberries, cherries and grapes.

Breeding:
Baltimore orioles are mostly monogamous, although extra-pair paternity is known to happen. They breed in May-June and nest on a tightly woven pouch located on the end of a branch, which the female builds using any any plant or animal materials available. It is usually placed 7-9 m above the ground. The female lays 3-7 pale greyish or bluish white eggs with brown and black blotches and streaks. She incubates the eggs alone for 11-14 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 11-14 days after hatching, becoming independent shortly after.

Conservation:
IUCN status -LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and a global population estimated at 6 million individuals. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.

Sri Lanka frogmouth

Batrachostomus moniliger

Photo by Tomas Grim (Internet Bird Collection)

Common name:
Sri Lanka frogmouth (en); boca-de-sapo-do-Ceilão (pt); podarge de Ceylan (fr); podargo de Ceilán (es); Ceylonfroschmaul (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Caprimulgiformes
Family Podargidae

Range:
This species is found in Sri Lanka and in the Western Ghats of south-western India.

Size:
These birds are 23 cm long.

Habitat:
The Sri Lanka frogmouth is found in tropical rainforests with dense undergrowth and also in degraded patches of former forest. It is present from sea level up to an altitude of 1.800 m.

Diet:
They forage at night, hunting insects either in flight or by gleaning them from the ground or tree branches.

Breeding:
Sri Lanka frogmouths breed in January-April. The nest is a small pad made of moss, lined with down, small leaves and moss, and covered on the outside with lichens and bark. It is placed in a fork in a tree, 2-12 m above the ground. There the female lays a single white egg which she incubates during the night and the male incubates during the day. There is no information regarding the length of the incubation and fledgling periods, but the chicks are known to be brooded by both parents and remain with the parents for a few months after fledging.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a large breeding range and, although the global population size is yet to be quantified, it is reported to be local and uncommon in southern India and common in Sri Lanka. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.

Green jay

Cyanocorax yncas

Photo by Dorgelis Alcocer (Facebook)

Common name:
green jay (en); gaio-verde (pt); geai vert (fr); chara verde (es); grünhäher (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Corvidae

Range:
This species is found in two separate population, one from southern Texas, in the United States, down to northern Honduras, and another from northern Venezuela and along the slopes of the Andes of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru down to central Bolivia.

Size:
These birds are 25-31 cm long and have a wingspan of 35-40 cm. They weigh 65-110 g.

Habitat:
The green jay is mostly found in tropical rainforests, both in lowlands and mountainous areas, moist scrublands and dry savannas, but also in high-altitude scrublands and dry scrublands. They are present from sea level up to an altitude of 3.000 m.

Diet:
They are omnivorous eating arthropods, small vertebrates, fruits, berries, seeds and nuts. Their prey includes beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, bugs, wasps, spiders, centipedes, small rodents, lizards and the eggs and young of small birds.

Breeding:
Green jays are monogamous and nest in a bulky but loose cup of sticks and thorny twigs, lined with rootlets, grass, moss, and sometimes leaves. The nest is placed in a dense tree or scrub, usually placed 2-5 m above the ground. The female lays 3-5 greenish-white eggs with dark spot, which she incubates alone for 17-18 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 19-22 days after hatching. The young may remain in the parental territory until the following breeding season, and may even help feed the next brood.

Conservation:
IUCN status -  LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range. There is no information regarding the trend of the global population, but the green jay is increasing and expanding in range in the United States.

Dusky woodswallow

Artamus cyanopterus

Photo by J.J. Harrison (Wikipedia)

Common name:
dusky woodswallow (en); andorinha-do-bosque-sombria (pt); langrayen sordide (fr); artamo sombrío (es); rußschwalbenstar (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Artamidae

Range:
This species is endemic to Australia, being found in two separate populations. The eastern population is found from Atherton Tableland, Queensland south to Tasmania and west to Eyre Peninsula, South Australia. The other population is found in south-western Western Australia.

Size:
These birds are 17-18 cm long and weigh 35 g.

Habitat:
The dusky woodswallow is mostly found in open, dry tropical forests and savannas, but also in dry scrublands, rural gardens, urban areas and occasionally in moist tropical forests and temperate forests.

Diet:
They feed mostly on insects, which are either taken on the wing or collected from the foliage or from the ground. They also eat nectar.

Breeding:
Dusky woodswallows breed in August-January. The nest is a loose bowl of twigs, grass and roots, lined with fine grasses, and it is placed in a tree fork, behind bark, in a stump hollow or in a fence post, usually 1-10 m above the ground. The female lays 3-4 white eggs which are incubated by both parents for 16 days. The chicks are raised by both parents and fledge 20 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 suspected to be in decline owing to the clearance of native vegetation for agriculture, but it is not threatened at present.

Eurasian scops-owl

Otus scops

Photo by Paul Cools (Internet Bird Collection)

Common name:
Eurasian scops-owl (en); mocho-d'orelhas (pt); petit-duc scops (fr); autillo europeo (es); zwergohreule (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Strigiformes
Family Strigidae

Range:
This species breeds in Morocco, Algeria and southern Europe as far north as northern France, Austria and Slovakia, than in the Ukraine, Belarus and into southern Russia and through the Middle East into central Asia as far east as Kazakhstan, north-western China and western Mongolia. Most population migrate south or south-west to winter along the Sahel belt in sub-Saharan Africa.

Size:
These birds are 16-20 cm long and have a wingspan of 53-63 cm. They weigh 90-145 g.

Habitat:
The Eurasian scops-owl is mostly found in both boreal and temperate deciduous forests, but also in scrublands, orchards, parks within urban area, agricultural areas with scattered trees and sometime also in open coniferous forests. This species is present from sea level up to an altitude of 3.000 m.

Diet:
They are mostly insectivorous, taking cicadas, grasshoppers, beetles, moths and flying ants. They also take woodlice, earthworms, mice and shrews, small birds and sometimes even amphibians and small reptiles.

Breeding:
Eurasian scops-owls breed in March-August. They are mostly monogamous, although some cases of polygyny are known to occur. They nest in a hole in an old tree trunk, sometimes using abandoned woodpecker nests, and may also use cavities in walls of old buildings, or under roofs of cabins in parks and gardens.There the female lays 3-6 white eggs which she mostly incubates alone for 24-25 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and leave the nest 21-29 days after hatching, before their plumage is completely grown. they start flying at 30-33 days of age but continue to be fed by the parents for another 5 weeks and sometimes migrate south together with their parents.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and the global population is estimated at 1-3 million individuals, although further validation of this estimate is needed. The population is suspected to be in decline owing to ongoing habitat destruction and fragmentation, and the use of pesticides.

Rufous-breasted spinetail

Synallaxis erythrothorax

Photo by Michael Retter (Internet Bird Collection)

Common name:
rufous-breasted spinetail (en); joão-teneném-de-peito-ruivo (pt); synallaxe à poitrine rousse (fr); pijuí centroamericano (es); rotbrust-dickichtschlüpfer (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Furnariidae

Range:
This species is found in two disjunct populations, one along the Atlantic slopes of Central America from south-eastern Mexico to north-western Honduras, and another along the Pacific slopes of south-eastern Chiapas, in Mexico, southern Guatemala, and El Salvador.

Size:
These birds are 13-15,5 cm long and weigh 15-19 g.

Habitat:
The rufous-breasted spinetail is found in densely vegetated habitats, including secondary forests, scrublands, the edges of lowland rainforests and swamps. They are present from sea level up to an altitude of 750 m.

Diet:
They are mostly insectivorous, plucking adult insects, caterpillars and spiders from the foliage on taking them from the ground. They also eat small berries.

Breeding:
Rufous-breasted spinetails breed in April-September. The nest  is a large, domed structure with an entrance in the small end, attaching to a tunnel that leads to the nest chamber at the large end. It is made of sticks and placed on an horizontal branch of a small tree or scrub, usually 2-4 m above the ground and near a water source such as a stream. The female lays 2-4 white or pale blue eggs, which are incubated by both sexes for 17-18 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 14-16 days after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a 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 and they seem to be able to adapt to secondary habitats, thus being less affected by deforestation than other species more associated with primary rainforests.

Grey-crested helmetshrike

Prionops poliolophus

(Photo from Bird Forum)

Common name:
grey-crested helmetshrike (en); atacador-de-poupa-cinzenta (pt); bagadais à huppe grise (fr); prionopo crestigrís (es); grauschopf-brillenwürger (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Prionopidae

Range:
This species occurs in a restricted area of south-western Kenya and adjacent areas of northern Tanzania, mostly between lake Victoria and lakes Natron and Eyasi.

Size:
These birds are 24-26 cm long and weigh about 50 g.

Habitat:
The grey-crested helmetshrike is found in open Acacia dephanolobium and Tarconanthus woodlands, riparian woodlands dominated by Acacia xanthophloea, Acacia abyssinica and Protea, and wooded grasslands and scrublands. They are present at altitudes of 1.200-2.200 m.

Diet:
They feed on insects, including insect larvae, grasshoppers and praying mantises.

Breeding:
Grey-crested helmetshrikes breed in April-July. They are cooperative breeders, living in groups of 12-17 individuals, all of which help build the nest, incubate the eggs, and brood and feed the young. The nest is an open cup made of bark and grasses and lined with spider webs which are also used to bind the nest to the branch of a tree. Each female lays 3-4 eggs, though more than one clutch may be laid in the same nest, and all group members help incubate them for 16-18 days. The chicks are fed by all group members, but there is no information regarding the length of the fledgling period.

Conservation:
IUCN status - NT (Near-Threatened)
This species has a relatively large breeding range and, although the population size of this species has not been quantified, it is described as generally scarce. The population is suspected to be in decline owing to ongoing habitat destruction and degradation, mainly due to increasing densities of livestock and cultivation of marginal land. Hybridisation with the white-crested helmetshrike Prionops plumatus may also represent a potential risk.