Laboratório de Tecnologia Educacional BIBLIOTECA DIGITAL               DE CIÊNCIAS

36 cm. The legs and the beak are yellow. The tail is short and the wings are broad, with a somewhat rectangular shape when flying. The chest is light brown streaked in different colors and the upper parts are in shades of gray. The immature is brown and striated. The female is slightly larger than the male. Distribution: From Mexico to Argentina. Habitat: Inhabits cerrado, gallery and secondary forests, fields, farms and cities. Diet: Big insects, amphibians, small lizards , mammals and birds. Sometimes hunts perched bats. May follow groups of coatis or monkeys, catching animals displaced by their movements. Reproduction: The nest is a platform built on the top of tall trees....

35cm Identification: when seen from below its body is basically white with the tip of the wings and a region around the eyes black. There is a gray area on the upper parts of the wings. Its color pattern reminds that of some seagulls. The name in Portuguese – Gavião Peneira – means hovering hawk and it is due to the behavior of hovering before diving onto the prey. It is certainly one of the most beautiful hawks found in urban areas. It flies over open areas, pastures, crops and even on the banks of polluted streams in search for rats. This kite feeds mainly on large insects such as grasshoppers and beetles and on small rodents and lizards. The nest, made of twigs, is built o...

19 cm. The body is brown, darker in the back and ferruginous in the tail. The ventral part is light brown. Distribution: Northeast, Mideast to South of Brazil, also in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia. Has been spreading its distribution along with deforestation. Habitat: Open landscapes, fields, cerrado, lawns and gardens. Diet: Mainly arthropods, sometimes seeds. Reproduction: The couple builds the nest with mud, manure and straw that they carry with their beaks and model with their feet. The nest is usually built on tall trees. Each year a new nest is built, sometimes over the previous ones (up to 11 nests one above the other). The nest has two divisions and the eggs...

The general coloration is light brown, yellow in some parts. The wings are dark brown and there is a small black region behind the eye. The immature individuals have lighter shades of brown in the wings and the chest is streaked in white. Distribution: From southern Amazon to Rio Grande do Sul. Habitat: Open areas, cerrado, caatinga, farms and urban areas. Diet: Feeds on ticks, insects, carrion, small rodents, birds, snakes, lizards and even fishes. Reproduction: The nest is a platform built on the top of tall trees. Natural history: This hawk is associated with cattle because of its behavior of climbing on the back of the cattle in search for ticks and other ectoparasites. It ...

22 cm. The beak is strong and black. The chest and the belly are bright yellow and the back is brown. The throat is white and the head black, with a white band above the eyes. Male and female are similar. Distribution: From Texas (U.S.A) to Patagonia. Habitat: It is one of the most generalist birds. Thrives in environments as different as rocky beaches and semi-arid landscapes. It is very common in cities. Does not penetrate dense vegetation, but may be found in forests near the riverbanks or in the borders. Diet: Also very generalist in the diet, consumes mainly insects, but also fruits, learns to catch small fish and tadpoles (as from the author’s tanks), hunts hatchlings and...

12 cm. Small, the legs, beak and neck are short. The back is blue and the belly white. Male and female are similar. The immature individuals are brown in the upper parts and buffy in the inferior parts. Distribution: From Costa Rica to Southern Brazil. In the Amazon region it is only seen during seasonal migrations. Habitat: Farms, villlages, cities and open areas in general. Uses rocky places and roofs to rest. Diet: Feeds on flying insects. Reproduction: The nest is similar to the one of Progne chalibea. The white eggs (2 to 6) are incubated by the couple. Male and female share the task of feeding the brood. Natural history: The southern populations migrate northwards after br...