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10 cm. It is very small, smaller than a sparrow. The feet are relatively big. The back and wings are brown and the ventral part white barred in black. The forehead of the male is red, while the female’s is black with white dots. In the immature the head is all brown. Can be told apart from the White-Barred Piculet ( Picumnus cirratus ) for having an ochraceous region around the neck and for being darker, mainly on the upper parts. Distribution: Southeastern Brazil and spread southwards up to Argentina. Habitat: Forest edges, gallery and secondary forests, woods, parks and gardens in big cities. Diet: Feeds mainly on ants larvae and pupae, but also on other insects. Reproduction: ...

Physical appearance: 26 cm. The upper parts are green, somewhat yellow, barred in black. The inferior parts are buffy or white, also barred. The tail and the top of the head are black. The male has a red spot below the eye while in the female this spot is black. Distribution: From Eastern Amazon to Uruguay and Argentina. Habitat: Forest borders, gallery and secondary forests, woods and parks in cities. Diet: Feeds on ants and insect larva, mainly beetles. Also eats fruits. Reproduction: After courtship the couple builds a nest inside an old tree, sometimes palm trees and others. The nest is generally downwards, avoiding the water when it rains. Two to four eggs are laid and the ...

28cm Identification: easily told apart from other woodpeckers for the black and white pattern, being the wings and the tail black. There is a yellow region on the face. It lives in noisy groups of 3 to 8 individuals. As other woodpeckers the diet is based on insects that it catches hammering tree trunks. The nest is built by the couple in a natural tree hole or a carved one. The female lays 3 or 4 eggs. The young birds leave the nest within about 35 days.

White-spotted Woodpecker 18cm. Identification: it is a small woodpecker with drab colors. The body is brown, heavily spotted and barred in darker shades of brown and with some white spots below. The male has reddish regions in the head. Very little is known about this woodpecker, probably due to its inconspicuous colors and behavior. It lives in areas with plenty of trees as parks, woods and secondary forests. This woodpecker occurs mainly in the medium and higher forest levels, rarely coming to the ground. Like other woodpeckers it feeds on insects it collects from tree trunks and also on berries.

35cm Identification: the head is dark with a bege band on the eyebrows and another one on the neck. The throat is white, but unlike Falco rufigularis this ribbon is not extended up to the back of the neck. The chest is light brown with black dots, unlike Falco deiroleucus which presents this region orange. The belly is dark with white spots and there is a red patch near the tail. The tail is dark with three white bars. It is one of Brazilian commonest falcons since it inhabits open landscapes, included those disturbed by men. Feeds on small rodents and birds, reptiles and large insects. Like other falcons these are monogamous birds with fixed breeding grounds. The nest is built o...

Picture taked at the rural area of the municipal district of Altônia-PR in 08/27/2006.

24cm In urban areas there is only one other species of owl about the same size of the Screech Owl, that is the Burrowing Owl ( Athene cunicularia ), but while the Burrowing Owl is a diurnal species which lives mostly in open areas and spends most of the time on the ground, the Screech Owl lives on trees and has a pair of ``ears´´. The song reminds that of the Rococo Toad ( Bufo ictericus ). The Screech Owl feeds mainly on large insects but may also take mice, frogs and lizards. The nest is built in tree holes or in artificial boxes.

12,5 cm. The male’s upper parts are dark gray. The face and a ribbon around the neck (the collar) are black. The posterior part of the throat, the belly and a narrow band around the eye are white, sometimes buffy. The color of the beak varies individually. The female and the Young males are brown with the inferior parts lighter. Distribution: From Bahia to Rio Grande do Sul, Uruguay, Argentina to Peru. Habitat: Grasslands, crops. They sleep in tall grass and sugar cane crops were they may bend the stems with their weight. Diet: Feeds on grains. Follows the expansion of seed producing grasses, thus invading new areas as the Distrito Federal. Frequently eats arthropods such as insect...