Laboratório de Tecnologia Educacional BIBLIOTECA DIGITAL               DE CIÊNCIAS

Typical penguin of the region of Magellan, found in the patagonia and terra do fogo. Species: Spheniscus magellanicus. Photo geted in peninsula Valdez - Argentina.

Physical appearance: 40 cm. The feet are red and webbed. The chest is brown, as well as the face that is a bit darker. There is a patch of iridescent feathers in the wings. When flying it shows a large white spot at the back of the wing. The male has a red beak and the female’s is blue. The Female also has white spots on the face. Distribution: From Venezuela to Argentina. Habitat: Wetlands, lakes, ponds and rivers even in polluted places. Diet: Feeds on seeds, leaves and small invertebrates. The hatchlings are goot at catching insects. Reproduction: Lays up to 14 bluish or greenish eggs. When the adult realizes the presence of a potential predator it distracts its attenti...

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 ...

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...

62 cm in length, 143 cm of wingspan. The feathers are absent in the head and neck. The body is black, with white spots near the tip of the wings (seen only when flying). Distribution: From central U.S.A to central Argentina. Habitat: Virtually in any kind of landscape, preferably in open areas. Absent in large areas of dense vegetation. Diet: Mainly carrion. Does not hunt, but kills injured or young animals, such as turtle eggs and hatchlings, even newly born big mammals like calves. May eat fruits. The excellent eyesight helps finding carrion at long distances. Reproduction: The courtship consists of movements of the male jumping on the ground with the wings opened and then...

13,5 cm. The male’s top of the head is black with a scarlet topknot. The body is red, with the upper parts brownish red. The female does not have a topknot and the upper parts are brown. Distribution: From the Guyanas to Argentina. Habitat: Secondary forests, cerrado and farms. Diet: Feeds on seeds and insects. Reproduction: When breeding lives in pairs and the male protects the territory. Builds a cup-like nest with leaves, lichens and spider webs. Lays 3 to 5 bluish or white eggs. Both male and female feed the offspring. Natural history: The male’s topknot can only be seen when it is excited. When not breeding lives in groups, sometimes mixing with other species. In ...

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...

35cm Similarly to other Brazilian jays, the Curl-crested jay has white lower parts and blue and black upper parts. It may be confused with the Plush-crested jay (Cyanocorax chrysops), but while the last presents the crest in the back of the head, the yellow iris and a blue patch around the eyes, the Curl-crested jay presents the crest on the forehead, the red iris and the head is entirely black. Whereas the Old World ravens are mostly black, as well as the crows, the Brazilan corvids are colorful and most of them have white lower parts. There are 6 species of jays in Brazil, all of them extremely beautiful. The Curl-crested jay is one of Brazilian’s noisiest jays. To make the nois...

16 cm. The iris and a mask in the face are red. The top of the head and the wings are ferruginous. The sides of the head are gray and the belly brown. In some regions there may be yellow areas in the chest and throat Distribution: From Mexico to Argentina. Habitat: Forest borders, secondary and gallery forests, cerrado, caatinga, parks and gardens, usually in the canopy. Diet: Insects, their larvae and fruits Reproduction: The female builds most of the nest with grass. The nest is a deep open basket covered with moss and attached to the tree with spider webs. Male and female take turns to incubate the eggs and feed the offspring (2 or 3).

48 cm. The face is grey, the chest cinnamon and the belly black. There is a large white spot in the wings, more evident when flying. The beak and feet are red. Males and females are similar. The immature is grayish brown Distribution: From Texas (U.S.A) to Bolivia and Argentina. Habitat: Lives in lakes, rivers, wetlands and even in mangroves. Diet: Feeds on leaves, small seeds and aquatic invertebrates. Reproduction: The nest is built on the ground or hollow trees. The eggs are white, sometimes greenish or bluish. More than one female may lay eggs in the same nest and sometimes may even lay eggs in other species’s nests such as the white faced whistling duck (Dendrocygna viduata...

48cm Identification: the body is mostly cinnamon with dark streaks on the wings. It may be locally the commonest duck, especially in Southern Brazil wetlands, where its hunting is allowed provided the state’s quotas are respected. Regarding its habitat this species tends occur in open wetlands, surrounded by grasslands. Feeds mainly by grazing small grasses on the lake shores or underwater but also eats aquatic plants, aquatic insects and small fish. It may build the nest either in a tree hole or on the aquatic plants. The female lays from 8 to 14 eggs that are sat for about one month. The offspring start to fly within 55 days after hatching.

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 ...

60cm Identification: there are four mostly white species of egrets in Brazil, the snowy egret can be told apart by its smaller size and also for having the tip of the beak black and for having dark legs with yellow feet. Laypeople usually think this species is a young great egret, however it is technically different enough to be place in another genus. It is bit more demanding than the great egret regarding its habitat necessities, as it does not occur in polluted waters and is more strongly associated to aquatic plants such as the water lily. Its reduced size allows this bird to walk over the aquatic plants without sinking. It feeds mainly on small fishes and tadpoles. The nest is ...

16cm Identification: the genus Elaenia is well known among the ornithologists for being one of the most difficult groups when it comes to species identification. Nevertheless Elaenia flavogaster is the easiest species to be identified, first for its yellow belly, second for the crest on the head (not always visible), third for the absence of white patches on the face and crest and last for its conspicuous behavior. It is more easily heard than seen and its song reminds the one of the kiskadee. It inhabits parks, backyards, coffee crops and secondary forest edges. The yellow bellied elaenia spends most of its time in the medium height trees and shrubs. Feeds mainly on insects and be...

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 Variegated Flycatcher is one of 3 widespread flycatchers that are streaked below. The Variegated is larger than the Piratic Flycatcher (Legatus leucophaius), has a longer bill, more rufous on the tail and whiter edging to its wing feathers. On the other hand, it is smaller than the Streaked Flycatcher (Myiodynastes maculatus) with darker upperparts and less well defined streaking below. Distribution: Throughout South America, mainly in the south. Habitat: Lives in forest borders and open areas provided there are tall trees in which it can perch. Diet: Flying insects, insects in the foliage and sometimes small fruits. Reproduction: The couple takes care of each otherâ€...

15cm Identification: it is one of the largest hummingbirds. It is easily identified by the forked tail, reminding a pair of scissors. Unmistakably Brazilian’s best known hummingbird, this magnificent animal is also one of the most belligerent ones. It fiercely defends its territory – usually consisting of a flowering patch – against other birds, especially the bananaquit ( Coereba flaveola ). It sucks sweet water from feeders even if these are place in the interior of the houses, fearlessly entering the rooms. Like other hummingbirds it feeds mostly on nectar but also on insects. The female lays 2 or 3 eggs in a small bow-shaped nest and feeds the nestlings mainly with arthropo...

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...

12,5 cm. The general color is green, but the male has a bright blue area in the wings and lower back. The female does not have this blue area and the belly is somewhat yellow. There may be mutations producing all yellow or blue individuals. The plumage of the immature individuals is not as bright as the adult’s. Distribution: Tropical South America. Habitat: Forest borders, gallery forests, parks, gardens and open areas. Diet: Feeds on fruits, seeds, buds and flowers. Reproduction: It is monogamous. The couple stays together for the rest of their lives. The nest is built inside a hole in a tree that may be an abandoned nest of hornero (Furnarius rufus) or an artificial nest box...

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...