Laboratório de Tecnologia Educacional BIBLIOTECA DIGITAL               DE CIÊNCIAS

Infográfico contendo algumas funções ecológicas de algumas aves encontradas em meio urbano.

Podcast de uma entrevista de uma bióloga da Unicamp, falando um pouco sobre as aves da região, algumas características e curiosidades.

Nesta ilustração é possível constatar algumas informações de alguns animais silvestres que podem ser encontrados em regiões urbanas, como Coruja, Sapo, Morcego, Gambá, Cobra, Aranha e Escorpião, explicando dados como Habitat, Alimentação, como é realizado o Manejo destes indivíduos em caso de invasão de uma forma mais simples e uma Curiosidade. Além do grau de periculosidade envolvido ao animal.

O meio rural não é mais um espaço onde são desenvolvidas atividades exclusivamente agrícolas, já que, tem passado por intensas mudanças, que induzem a pluriatividade, fazendo com que o espaço seja tido como um continuum da zona urbana. Estas mudanças que assemelham o rural do urbano trazem, a reboque desta reestruturação, mazelas há muito discutidas e pouco solucionadas, das “cidades”, como uso e ocupação do solo de maneira desregrada, ausência de saneamento básico, entre outras. A respeito do saneamento, o Gerenciamento Integrado de Resíduo Sólido ainda é uma realidade bem distante, para as comunidades rurais, mesmo para aquelas juntas às zonas urbanas. Desta forma, o objetivo deste trabalh...

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 ...

Physical appearance: 35,5 cm. The body is bluish gray, with an iridescent region on the sides of the neck. There is a large white region on the wings. Distribution: From Northeastern Brazil to Argentina. Habitat: Cerrado, caatinga, gallery forests, fields, crops and urban areas. Diet: Feeds on seeds and small fruits. Reproduction: The nest is made of loosely crossed sticks. The white eggs (1 or 2) are incubated by the couple. The hatchlings are fed on “pigeon’s milk”. Natural history: It is one of the largest species of pigeon in Brazil. After breeding it gathers in flocks for migration. It is so common in some places that may turn into a nuisance. Has been successfully conqu...

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...

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 on iso...

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.

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 e...

Just like other seedeaters, it is practically impossible to tell this species apart from the brownish females, virtually identical to the other seedeaters’ females. Nevertheless the males present the chest and the head in black, the upper parts dark brown and the belly is yellow or beige. Its behavior is very similar to other seedeaters and may form mixed groups with other species when not breeding. It is less urban than the Double-collared and the Lined Seedeaters, being more common in grasslands and grain crops. May be raised as a cage bird. In the breeding season the couples split from the groups. The nest is a low bow made of grasses and the female usually lays 2 or 3 eggs.

There is still some debate on this bird’s taxonomic status. The Brazilian Official Bird List considers two species, the Suiriri Flycatcher, with two subspecies, the Chaco Suiriri, and the Campo one, which differs from the previous for having a yellowish rump, instead of grayish, and there is the recently described Chapada Suiriri ( Suiriri islerorum ), similar to the Campo one (possibly hybridizing with it) but with a smaller beak and white in the tip of the tail. Very little is known about this species. It is mostly solitary and uses the same hunting techniques of most other flycatchers, that consist basically of catching flying insects few meters away from its perching site and returni...

16cm. Identification: The male is practically unmistakably recognized for the fully barred body and a black crest in the head. The female is ferruginous and has a crest and is barred in the head. It is currently the only antshrike which lives in really urban and disturbed areas. It is worth reminding that this bird has only recently conquered the urban environment. In the early 80s the first records of this antshrike in large cities were so unexpected that they yielded notes in scientific papers. Like other antshrikes it lives in couples, leaping and flying from branch to branch, usually through the short trees’ canopy in search for the small arthropods it feeds on. In the breeding seas...

21,5 cm. The head and the upper parts are olive brown. The throat is white with brown streaks. The chest and the belly are light brown. The inferior part of the tail is white. There is a pale yellow region below the wings. During the breeding season the male’s beak is yellow and in the rest of the year it is black. Distribution: South of Amazon to Bolivia and Argentina. Habitat: Forest borders, cerrado and urban areas, provided there is plenty of trees. Diet: Feeds on fruits, earthworms and arthropods. Reproduction: In the beginning of the breeding season produces different vocalizations. The nest is deep, with thick walls made of roots and covered by moss. The eggs are bluish g...

35 cm. The eyes and the legs are red. Has a topknot in the head and a spur in each wing. There is a black band in the throat that begins in the forehead and ends in the chest. The belly is white, the back and the wings are grayish brown and there are green and ferruginous spots in the wings. Distribution: From Panama to Tierra del Fuego. Habitat: Grasslands, open fields, lawns and sometimes soccer fields. Diet: Insects that it catches on the ground. Sometimes catches small fish in shallow wetlands. Reproduction: The nest is made of dry leaves (mainly grass) and placed in a small depression on the ground. Each male may have two females laying their eggs in the same nest. The femal...