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The South American Sea Lion from specie Otaria flavescens.

Elephant seals of the South hemisphere, Leonine mirounga species. Photo geted in the Peninsula Valdéz - Argentina

Physical appearence: 12cm. The upper parts are grayish with black and ferruginous stripes The chest is light brown with spots in the immature. There are yellow ribbons above the eyes and in the wings. The coloration may change when it is dirty due to contact with earth. Distribution: The Grassland Sparrow is found east of the Andes from Colombia to central Argentina but is missing from the Amazon Basin upstream from the Tapajós river. Habitat: Dry fields with grass, cerrado and crops. Diet: Feeds on grains and small insects. Reproduction: During the breeding season they live in pairs in a territory defended by the male. The nest is opened and placed on the ground. The eggs are ...

Physical appearance: 11 cm. The upper parts are dark and the inferior parts yellow. There is a white bar in the supercilium. The females are smaller than the males. The immature individuals have grey belly and do not have the bar above the eye. Distribution: From Mexico to Chile. Habitat: Inhabits various environments provided there is plenty of trees and flowers. Diet: Feeds mainly on nectar. Also eats insects. Visits hummingbird feeders. Reproduction: Builds two kinds of nest. A breeding one that is compact with thick walls and a resting nest made of leaves, grass and spider webs. Lays two or three white eggs. Only the female incubates. The male helps feeding the brood with i...

18,5 cm. The body is brown, darker in the upper parts, wings and tail. The tip of the wings are cinnamon. The male’s head is light grey. The immature has buffy spots in the wings. Distribution: Throughout Brazil. From Mexico to Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina. Habitat: Lives in any open landscape. Adapts to life in big cities. Diet: Feeds on grains and fruits. Swallows the whole seeds, thus it may be poisoned by seeds with pesticides. Searchs for food on the ground. Reproduction: Breeds throughout the year, and may have three or four broods. When mating the male raises one of the wings. They caress each other in the head and give food as gifts. It is a monogamous species. The...

33 cm. The tail is very long. It is all black. The bill is thick and strong. The skin is also black. Male and female are similar. Distribution: From Florida (U.S.A) to Argentina. Habitat: Inhabits open landscapes with grass. Prefers moist places. Diet: Consumes arthropods, mainly grasshoppers, and small vertebrates as lizards, mice and frogs. Also eats hatchlings. Fishes in shallow water. In some seasons, mostly in the dry ones when arthropods are scarce it eats fruits and seeds. Follows cattle and tractors in order to catch insects displaced by their movements. Reproduction: The male dances around the female on the ground. It offers food as a gift for the female but sometimes sw...

41,5 cm. Medium size. The feet are webbed. Has a distinctive white mask. The chest and the belly are streaked with cinnamon. The wings are broad and black. The female is slightly larger than the male. Distribution: Tropical South America and Africa. Habitat: Wetlands, lakes, ponds, mostly in shallow water. Diet: It eats buds, seeds, insect larvae, crustaceans and worms. Food is filtered by its specialized beak Reproduction: Builds a nest on the ground in a hidden place. 8 to 14 eggs are laid and incubated by the couple for 27 to 30 days. Male and female take care of the brood. Natural history: Its vocalization is very typical. It is more active at twilight or at night, resting ...

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...

40cm. Identification: its most typical characteristic is the long forked tail. The only species it can be confused with is the Fork-tailed Flycatcher ( Tyrannus savana ), which has the lower parts in white, the head in black and the long tail feathers are broader. Very little is known about this species although it is distributed throughout central and southern Brazil even in disturbed habitats. It is usually found alone or in pairs, near wetlands. This bird spends most of its time perched. Feeds mainly on flying insects that it hunts in short flights from the perch It seems to be seasonal, but the migration routes are mostly unknown.

18,5 cm. The upper parts are greenish brown, the throat is white and the belly yellow. The tip of the tail is buffy. Male and female are similar. Distribution: From Venezuela to Argentina. Mideastern Brazil. Migrates seasonaly in southern Brazil. Habitat: Open fields, grasslands, grazing lands and parks in urban areas. Diet: Catches insects on the ground and sometimes in trees. Follows cattle to feed on insects displaced by its movement. Reproduction: Builds a nest made of branches about 4m from the ground. May use nests abandoned by the hornero (Furnarius rufus). The white eggs are incubated by the couple. Natural history: When on the ground runs for some meters then stops t...

23 cm. Very similar to the great kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus), but with a larger and broader beak. Distribution: From Mexico to Argentina. Habitat: In the canopy of woods, secondary forests and open areas with tall trees. Diet: Arthropods and other small invertebrates. Sometimes fruits and small fishes. Reproduction: Builds a small nest on uncovered branches of tall trees. Lays two or three eggs. Natural history: Although it is very similar to the great kiskadee it is more dependent on trees. The vocalization is very different from the one of the kiskadee. It migrates seasonally.

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 ...

25 cm. The upper parts are brown, the inferior light brown. There are white wingbars . The supercilium and the edging of the tail are white. Male and female are similar. Distribution: South of Amazon to Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina and Bolivia. Habitat: Open areas with some trees or scrubs, cerrado, caatinga (Brazilian scrubland) and urban areas. Diet: Feeds on insects and spiders caught on the ground. Also eats small fruits and seeds. Sometimes prey on other bird’s eggs. Reproduction: The nest is built about 1,5m from the ground on a small tree or scrub. The external part is made of thick branches and the interior of thin roots and grass. It may have up to four broods a year, e...

18,5 cm. The body is gray, slightly blue with the inferior parts lighter. The tail and the tips of the wings are blue, somewhat green. There is a spot of this color in the shoulders. Male and female are similar. Distribution: Mideast Brazil from Maranhão to Rio Grande do Sul, also in Venezuela, Colombia, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. Habitat: Lives on trees, either in open areas, parks or cities. Diet: Feeds on fruits, leaves, buds, nectar including from eucalyptus trees. Also catches flying insects as butterflies and termites. Reproduction: During the breeding season the male exhibits its shoulders to the female. The nest is built by the couple and is a compact ope...

18,5 cm. The body is gray, slightly blue with the inferior parts lighter. The tail and the tips of the wings are blue, somewhat green. There is a spot of this color in the shoulders. Male and female are similar. Distribution: Mideast Brazil from Maranhão to Rio Grande do Sul, also in Venezuela, Colombia, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. Habitat: Lives on trees, either in open areas, parks or cities. Diet: Feeds on fruits, leaves, buds, nectar including from eucalyptus trees. Also catches flying insects as butterflies and termites. Reproduction: During the breeding season the male exhibits its shoulders to the female. The nest is built by the couple and is a compact open ...

60 cm. The tail is very long. The general color is reddish brown. The tail feathers are pale in their tips and in the inferior side. The head has a lighter coloration. The chest is gray. The young individuals have shorter tails. Distribution: From Mexico to Argentina. Habitat: Lives in the canopy of secondary forests, cerrado and urban areas with plenty of trees. Diet: Feeds on grasshoppers, bugs, caterpillars, spiders, etc. Also feeds on small vertebrates as treefrogs. Reproduction: In the breeding season the male sings restlessly 96 times a minute. Before mating gives the female a caterpillar. The nest looks like a frying pan made of loosely crossed branches and is placed in a tall...

75 cm. Aquatic with narrow beak curved in the tip. The feet are webbed. The body is black and sometimes the throat is yellow. In the breeding season the male has some white feathers in the throat and ear region. The immature is fuliginous. Distribution: From Mexico to Southern South America Habitat: Lives in lakes, swamps and estuaries. Diet: Feeds on fish, even spiny ones. The gastric acids dissolve the spines. Reproduction: The nest is built on tall trees near lakes, sometimes mixing with heron flocks. Natural history: It is an excellent diver. When in flocks may pen fish schools, leading them to shallow water where they catch the fishes in frenzy. When it goes out of the wate...

There are three other very similar species from the same genus in Brazil. The females and imature individuals are nearly impossible to tell apart, as they are light brown with some darker streaks. The Saffron Finch can be distinguished from the other species for the saffron color, mostly in the breeding season. The Orange-fronted Yellow Finch ( S. columbiana) is smaller than the Saffron Finch, the Stripe-tailed Yellow Finch (S. citrina) has greenish patches on the upper parts and the Grassland Yellow Finch (S. luteola) has brownish spots even in the head. One of the countryside’s most famous birds, the Saffron Finch’s song is unique for its beaty and complexity. Unfortunately its song...

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 inse...

11,5cm. Identification: there is no other Brazilian species like this bird, at least not in urban and disturbed areas. Formerly all the house wren populations ranging from Canada to Chile were considered as a single species, but after several studies the populations south to Mexico were renamed as the Tropical House Wren (Troglodytes musculus ). This hyperactive bird hops non-stop on the ground in search for the small invertebrates it feeds on, reminding a mouse (musculus = mouse ). It only perches to rest or to sing. Its song is very complex and melodic, like other well known members of the Troglodytidae family. It is famous for the breeding behavior, as this bird may nest in the mos...