Plain parakeet perched, Atlantic Rainforest, Brazil

  Plain Parakeets (Brotogeris tirica) are endemic to, and common in, southern and eastern Brazil; its range stretching from southern Bahia to Sao Paulo west across southern Minas Gerais to southern Goias. They appear to be restricted to that area of South East Brazil that used to be covered in Atlantic Rain Forest. Their natural habitats include open country with trees and bushes, lowland evergreen forest areas, second-growth forests, degraded former forest areas, partially cultivated land, woodlands, parks and urban areas. They can be found at elevations up to 1,200 to 1,300 meters (~4,000 to 4,265 feet). They occur in pairs, groups or small flocks. These noisy parakeets are often seen flying between trees or buildings. The Plain Parakeets seems to have adapted to the destruction of 95% of their natural habitat and survives well in many areas where fruiting trees grow, specifically large urban centers and city parks. Global populations are said to be stable as this species is still considered “common” in most of its large range. Even though, this species is currently evaluated as Least Concern by IUCN, a considerable decline in its population has been noted following large-scale conversion of its original habitat for agricultural use. […]

Male Yellow fronted woodpecker on a perch, Atlantic Rainforest, Brazil

  The yellow-fronted woodpecker (Melanerpes flavifrons) is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is found in Brazil, Paraguay and far northeastern Argentina. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and heavily degraded former forest. This colourful woodpecker is about 18 cm (7 in) long. The sexes are similar apart from the male having a red crown and nape while this region in the female is bluish black. Both have a yellow fore-crown, yellow cheeks, chin and throat, and a broad black band running from the base of the beak, through the eye to the nape. The mantle and upper wings are mainly black, and the back and rump are white. The tail is black with some white barring on the outer feathers. The breast is grey or olive, the belly red and the flanks barred in black and white or black and buff. The iris is blue-black and the distinct orbital ring is yellowish or orange. The beak is black and the legs and feet olive-brown. The juvenile is similar to the adult but less glossy and rather browner, with less red on the belly and crown. The species has a mixed diet consisting […]

Hovering violet capped woodnymph male, Atlantic Rainforest,

The violet capped woodnymph (Thalurania glaucopis) is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It is found in forest (primarily humid), dense woodland, gardens and parks in south-eastern Brazil, eastern Paraguay, Uruguay, and far north-eastern Argentina (primarily Misiones Province). Violet-capped Woodnymphs inhabit a wide range of habitats from untouched forests, to scrub, to suburban and city gardens. They gather nectar from both native and non-native flowers and also hunt for insects. During certain parts of the year, Violet-capped Woodnymphs migrate short distances. Males have a bluish violet cap and sparkle with dark green above and gold-green below. Females are dark greenish above and off-white below. During the breeding season, these woodnymphs adorn the outside of their nests with ferns and lichen. The violet capped woodnymph Forages for nectar at a great variety of native and introduced plants, from low in understorey to canopy level. The male is distinctive, being overall green with a blue cap and deeply forked dark blue tail. It is occasionally confused with the swallow-tailed hummingbird. The female lacks the blue crown, has entirely greyish-white underparts, and a shorter, white-tipped tail. It is widespread and generally common, and therefore considered to be of Least Concern by […]

Hovering scale throated hermit, Atlantic Rainforest, Brazil

The scale-throated hermit (Phaethornis eurynome) is a species in the hummingbird family, Trochilidae. It is found in the Atlantic forest in north-eastern Argentina, south-eastern Brazil, and eastern Paraguay. This comparatively large hummingbird, which is endemic to the Atlantic Forest biome, is easily identified within its range by virtue of it being the only larger, predominantly green and gray-plumaged hermit, with a rather long, decurved, bill. The Scale-throated Hermit inhabits the understory of both lowland and highland forests, as well as old second growth, from southeast Brazil (as far north as southern Bahia) to eastern Paraguay and northeast Argentina, and is recorded at 2250 m at least. It feeds, like most hermit hummingbirds, by trap-lining, although some arthropods are also taken, and the species will periodically also visit feeders to take ‘artificial’ nectar. This hermit is tolerably common in most parts of its range. The Scale-throated Hermit looks similar to the Pale-bellied Hermit, (Phaethornis anthophilus) found in Colombia, Panama, and Venezuela. The Scale-throated Hermits weigh on average 4 grams or 0.14 oz. Its plumage is mostly green and coppery brown. It has a dark band from its eyes down to its throat contrasting against the white stripe right below. Its most […]

Golden-chevroned tanager perched, Atlantic Rainforest, Brazil

The golden-chevroned tanager (Thraupis ornata) is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae. It is endemic to Brazil. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical moist montane forest, and heavily degraded former forest. The Golden-chevroned Tanager is well named for its bright yellow shoulder patch, which marks the species out as undoubtedly the most attractive of the lowland group of Thraupis tanagers. It is endemic to southeast Brazil, where it is reasonably common, but undoubtedly outnumbered by the sympatric Palm Tanager (Thraupis palmarum) and the Sayaca Tanager (Thraupis sayaca), both of which possess far more uniform plumage than the Golden-chevroned Tanager, which in contrast most resembles the exclusively Andean-distributed Blue-capped Tanager (Thraupis cyanocephala) in morphology. The present species is generally fairly common in its reasonably wide range in the Atlantic Forest from southern Bahia to Santa Catarina, and is usually conspicuous and easily observed, like its congenerics. The golden-chevroned tanager diet mainly consists of fruit, particularly bananas and figs, and insects. It is about 18 cm having a Blue head, neck, upper chest and Dusky lores. This species is classified as least concern by IUCN.