Laboratório de Tecnologia Educacional BIBLIOTECA DIGITAL               DE CIÊNCIAS

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 cm. The body of the male is dark gray in the upper parts, with the face and anterior part of the throat black. The posterior part of the throat and the belly are white, as well as the spots on the sides of the head. The female is brown with the belly lighter. It is thinner than the female of the double collar seedeater Sporophila caerulescens, the tail is longer, the beak smaller with the inferior part buffy. The young individuals are also brown. Distribution: From Guianas to Argentina and Paraguay. In Brazil from the north to São Paulo, Mato Grosso and Goiás. Habitat: Grasslands, open fields, crops and secondary forest borders. Diet: Grains. Reproduction: The couple lives ...

14 cm. The legs, beak and the neck are short. The throat is red, contrasting with the fuliginous sides of the head, the back and the chest that is lighter. The belly is pale yellow. The last feather of the male’s wing is rough. Distribution: From Panama to Argentina. Migrates in the south. Habitat: Open landscapes and cities, generally near the water. Diet: Feeds on insects it catches when flying. Reproduction: Builds a nest digging holes in slopes, sometimes in colonies. Lays three to six white eggs. The couple sleeps together in the nest, but only the female incubates. The couple takes turns to feed the brood. When the offspring leave the nest they remain nearby for som...

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 retur...

15 cm. The male is dark grey with the top of the head black. There are white spots in the tip of the tail’s feathers and in the wings, in a pattern that is similar to other antshrikes. The female is brown. Distribution: From Peru and Bolivia to Uruguay. Absent in most of the Amazon. Habitat: Mostly in Forest borders, gallery and secondary forests. Diet: Arthropods. Beats the wings to shake the foliage, catching the insects that are scared. Reproduction: The male offers the female some food before mating. The couple builds a nest with stems and moss. The female lays three white eggs with red dots. Generally the male incubates during the day and the female in the night. The par...

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...

23cm. The beak is dark, the wings ferruginous and the throat from white to light brown with faint streaks. The inferior parts are pale, sometimes white. Distribution: From Venezuela to Argentina and Paraguay. Mideast and South of Brazil. Habitat: Secondary forests, woods, gallery forests and cities, provided there are enough trees. Diet: Feeds on fruits, seeds, arthropods and earthworms. Reproduction: The female builds the nest with sticks and mud. It is usually placed in a palm tree or on walls. The male helps feeding the brood (generally three). Natural history: The name “sabiá� in Portuguese comes from Tupi (an indian language) and means “the one who prays� and i...

The male is 38 to 40 cm in length and the female 28 to 30 cm, 29cm of the male’s length and 19 of the female’s are the long forked tail. The upper parts are bluish grey and the ventral part white. The top of the head is black. The young individuals have smaller tails. Distribution: East of U.S.A to Argentina. Habitat: Fields with sparse trees, open areas and even in cities. Diet: Mainly flying insects but also fruits. Reproduction: It is territorial during the breeding season. The male may visit other territories while the female stays in the nest. The nest is made of sparse sticks and is often blown with the wind. It is built 1 to 10m from the ground. Lays 3 to 5 buffy eggs ...

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...

11 cm. The beak is grey. During the breeding season the male has bluish black feathers with white spots under the wings. When not breeding the feathers are black with white tips. The female is light brown. The subadult males are similar to the non-breeding adult but with the tip of the feather brown. Distribution: From Mexico to tropical South America. Habitat: Grasslands and open areas, sometimes inside cities. Diet: Feeds on seeds and insects. Reproduction: The male has a very typical breeding display. Perched in a branch it flies some 50cm upwards and comes back to the branch in a loop-like movement. During this display it shows its white feathers below the wings. When it fi...

25 cm. The body is brownish grey, with the upper parts darker . The tip of the tail is white. There are two horizontal black bands in the sides of the head and on the wings. The male is bluish on the top of the head. Distribution: South America. Habitat: Open fields, cerrado, caatinga, crops, parks, lawns, urban areas. It is benefitted by deforestation Diet: Mainly grains, but also small fruits. When breeding also consumes snails and millipedes. Reproduction: During courtship the male produces a low sound different from its usual one. The male exhibits its strength to the female and the couple caresses each other in the head. The nest is a platform made of sparse sticks built on t...

15 cm. It is a small sparrow with the head striated in black and white. There is a topknot and a rufous collar around the neck that is more evident in the male. The back and the wings are brown. The immature does not have bands in the head. Cinnamon and albine mutations are not uncommon. Distribution: From Mexico to Tierra del Fuego. Absent in dense forests. Habitat: Fields, crops, woods, gardens and parks in cities. Diet: Insects, seeds and occasionally human leftovers. Licks the sweet liquid produced by aphids. Reproduction: The couple establishes a territory that is fiercely protected by the male. The nest is built in short bushes or even on the ground among tall grass. The n...

91cm. The neck and the legs are thin and long. All white, but with iris, beak and legs yellow. Distribution: Throughout the world. Habitat: Lakes, rivers, ponds, reservoirs, swamps, mangroves, estuaries and even polluted rivers. Diet: Eats fishes, amphibians, insects. The author witnessed an egret catching and eating a mouse in a riverbank in Campinas-SP. Reproduction: Breeding takes place generally in the end of the dry season, when the food supply is more abundant for this species. During this period the adults have the egrets that are long feathers used in the courtship. The breeding couples gather in nesting sites that may have hundreds of individuals, sometimes mixing with o...