The Schalow's turaco (Tauraco schalowi)

The Schalow's turaco (Tauraco schalowi) is a frugivorous bird in the Musophagidae family. The bird is named after Herman Schalow, actually a mature birds have, on average, the longest crests of any turaco species. The attractive colors that pattern the plumage of Schalow’s turaco are derived from two unique copper pigments within its feathers, unidentified in any other bird family. This bird's common name and Latin binomial commemorate the German banker and amateur ornithologist Hermann Schalow. The Schalow’s turaco is found in the forested uplands and wooded inland plateaus of south central Africa. The bird is replaced in the eastern lowlands by Livingstone's turaco, which is similar in appearance and behavior. Like other turacos, it is a medium-sized bird, with short, rounded wings, a long tail, and a stout, curved bill.

An extremely prominent, white-tipped crest adorns the head, while a ring of bare red skin surrounds the eye, delicately bordered with fine, black and white stripes. The upperparts are largely green, but noticeably darker over the mantle and wings. Moreover the bird size is 41-44 cm, an average weight of 208 – 267 g. In spite of being poor fliers, the forest turacos seldom descend to the ground. Instead, these shy but gregarious birds utilize their extraordinary climbing skills to navigate the tree canopy, skipping nimbly from branch to branch. When unassailable gaps do eventually necessitate flight, they take to the air with a few earnest flaps to the next tree, before clambering back up into the leafy crown.

It is mainly distributed in Zambia, central Angola, the southern DRC, and the uplands of southern Kenya, northern and western Tanzania and western Malawi. The bird occurs very locally in Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe, where it frequents riparian habitats of the Zambezi and Cuando Rivers.  Moreover during flight its feathers are crimson, and the tail is deep, bluish black to violet. In common with all turacos, the feet have a distinct joint that lets the outer toe to move either forward or backward, an attribute that enables this bird to move dextrously through vegetation. Schalow’s turaco was formerly believed to be a subspecies of Tauraco persa, along with T. livingstonii and T. corythaix.

Furthermore, just like other turacos species, it feed mainly on fruit, though the young are perhaps fed a protein rich diet of invertebrates. Nevertheless turacos generally forage in groups; breeding is a solitary affair, with monogamous pairs fiercely defending their territories. The bird courtship includes much calling, chasing and general exhibition, with spreading their wings to display the striking crimson patches. The bird nest is mostly flimsy is a shallow platform of loose twigs, positioned 3-10 metres above the ground in thick foliage. Moreover, a clutch size of two is typical, and the downy chicks hatch after an incubation period of 20 to 22 days, devotedly taken care by both sexes. The precocious chicks do not linger long in the nest, and within 2 to 3 weeks, are clambering through the branches of the nest tree, a full week or two before they learn to fly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Red-naped Trogon (Harpactes kasumba)

The Red-naped Trogon (Harpactes kasumba) is a species of bird belongs to Trogonidae family. The bird is mostly found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. Currently, tt is threatened by habitat loss. The male red-naped trogon is actually defined by a black head and upper breast, blue bill and eye ring with a bright blue colored face. The bird has yellow-brown upperparts and upper tail with black outlines, a white breast-line, bright red underparts and the under-tail is black and white. The most defining physical characteristic of the red-naped trogon is a band of bright red feathers around the back of the head, which gives the species its name. The red-naped trogon is a sturdily sexually dimorphic species, with the females usually being duller than the males. Both male and female have a life span of approximately 7.3 years. The females are blander in color than the males, containing of a grey-brown head and upper breast with yellow underparts.

Both the male and female grow in height up to 32 centimeters, or 12.5 inches. However, their legs and feet are short and feeble which makes them inept to walk; in its place they are limited to the occasional shuffle along a branch. The ratio of leg muscle to body weight in all Trogonidae species is only 3%, the lowest known ratio of any bird. Moreover, the arrangement of the toes on Trogonidae species feet is very rare among birds and is arranged with the third and fourth toes projecting forward and the first and second toes projecting backwards, an arrangement recognized as heterodactylous. Because of this arrangement, the red-naped trogon is unable to turn around on a branch if its wings are not aiding the movement.

Both sexes have compact bodies, short wings and a long tail. However the wings are short, they’re quite strong, with the wing muscle ratio being approximately 22% of the body weight. In spite of their strength of flight, red-naped trogons do not fly great distances, generally flying no more than a few hundred metres at a time. The red-naped trogon's song voice is very sluggish, sad-sounding 5 to 8 note “pau pau pau pau pau.” Each short note slightly down slurred (1.5-1.2 kHz) and delivered at a rate of c.1 note/s. Moreover, to the territorial and breeding calls given by males and females during the breeding seasons, though, red-naped trogons have also been recorded as having aggression and alarm calls.

Red-naped trogons are usually inactive outside of their consistent feeding patterns. Because of this, birdwatchers and biologists have observed that apart from their overall attractiveness, they’re infamous for their lack of other immediately engaging qualities. Their lack of activity has been considered a defence against predation. Moreover, high rates of deforestation in the Sundaic lowlands have been very fast, owing to the escalation of illegal logging and land conversion that targets all remaining stands of valuable timber. Furthermore, another impact has also been forest fires that have had a serious damaging effect. Because of these threats, the red-naped trogon has been ranked by Birdlife as a near threatened species (NT). As with other Trogonidae species, red-naped trogons have been reported to shift along branches to retain their dull colored backs turned towards observers, while their heads, which can rotate at 180 degrees similar to owls, are turned to keep watch on any possible predators. They’re preyed upon by hawks and predatory mammals.

European Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)

The European Goldfinch is a small passerine bird in the finch family that is native to Europe, North Africa and western Asia and has been introduced to other areas including Australia, New Zealand and Uruguay. This beautiful small bird is found in open, partially wooded lowlands and is a resident in the milder west of its range, but migrates from colder regions. The goldfinch will also make local movements, even in the west, to escape bad weather. The bird is breeds in mixed woodland, orchards, parks, commons, gardens and pine plantations where there are thistles and other plants that produce seeds. The goldfinch size is about 12 to 13 cm long with a wingspan is 21 to 25 cm and a weight of 14 to 19 gram.

The both sexes are broadly akin, however the goldfinch has a red face and a black-and-white head and back and flanks are buff or chestnut brown. Moreover the black wings have a broad yellow bar. The tail is black and the rump is white. Therefore, the female bird is very alike to the male but has a slightly smaller red area on the face. Goldfinches will display to each other during spring by singing and swaying their wings from side to side. The song is an enjoyable silvery twittering, however the call is a melodious tickeLLIT, and the song is a pleasant tinkling medley of trills and twitters, but always including the trisyllabic call phrase or a teLLLIT-teLLIT-teLLLIT. The Male goldfinches are the only birds that can extract seeds from teasel heads by clinging to the stem and probing with their long, pointed bill. Thus, females have shorter beaks and so they are unable to exploit teasel heads.

In the autumn, when seed heads are common, goldfinches have a broad diet, feeding on groundsels, ragworts and dandelions as well as the favorite teasels and knapweeds. Therefore, outside of the breeding season, goldfinches travel in flocks in search of food during the day. The goldfinch is habitually depicted in Italian renaissance paintings of the Madonna and Child. Antonio Vivaldi composed a Concerto in D major for Flute "Il Gardellino" where the singing of the goldfinch is imitated by a flute. The goldfish is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List and included in the Birds of Conservation Concern Amber List (medium conservation concern).

Chamaeza Ruficauda Vocal (Tovaca-de-rabo-vermelho)

Long considered to be conspecific with the Schwartz’s Antthrush of northern South America, whilst simultaneously confused with the locally sympatric Such’s Antthrush (Chamaeza meruloides), which shares much of the same geographic range as the present species, but is usually found at marginally lower elevations. The Rufous-tailed Antthrush ranges from southeast Brazil to northeasternmost Argentina, where it is confined to the province of Misiones, and is generally found above 1000 m altitude. The species is most easily detected by its distinctive voice, which is a short, hollow-sounding trill, in complete contrast to the gradually quickening and prolonged song of the Such’s Antthrush, with which it was so long confused. Its plumage is broadly similar to those of congenerics; brown above, becoming only slightly more rufous over the rump and tail, with scallop-patterned underparts, and white throat, malar line, and supercilium.

The Atlantic Royal Flycatcher

The Atlantic Royal Flycatcher (Onychorhynchus coronatus swainsoni) is a bird belongs to family Tyrannidae, and it is often considered a subspecies of Onychorhynchus coronatus. This bird is endemic to Atlantic forest in south-eastern Brazil, confined to the dwindling forests of south-east Brazil, in the states of Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Paraná. It is threatened by habitat loss, classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List 2007. However its range is remain small and harshly fragmented, though latest discoveries from at least seven new sites in Paraná and four new sites in São Paulo provide fresh hope for the species. This stunning Brazilian endemic inhabits the understory of lowland and lower montane Atlantic forest, up to 800 metres above sea level. At Intervales State Park, it is found most regularly in the proximity of small watercourses. The Atlantic Royal Flycatcher is measuring 6.3 to 6.5 in and this large-billed flycatcher has a remarkable, but rarely seen, crest.

Moreover, this flycatcher has mainly uniform dull brown upperparts with pale, bright cinnamon rump and tail, a whitish throat, unmarked ochraceous buff underparts. Although, the beautiful crest is habitually left flat, giving a hammerhead shape to head. Moreover when raised, the crest displays a extraordinary combination of scarlet, black and blue and yellow replaces red in the female, and ornately decorated with splashes of black and steel-blue tips. The flycatcher has vivid color of the crest stands out against the uniformly brown plumage of the upperparts and dull-yellow underparts. Thus, by contrast, the rump and tail are a bright cinnamon color, and a small, whitish patch marks the throat.

The Atlantic royal flycatcher is believed to feed on insects, predominantly flying insects such as dragonflies. This crest bird sometimes joins mixed-species flocks, and has been logged connecting with foliage-gleaners and fire-eyes. Moreover a juvenile has been observed in Rio de Janeiro Brazil, signifying that breeding happens in the spring (Sep to Oct in the Southern Hemisphere). Notwithstanding its highly fragmented and diminishing status, the Atlantic forest still maintains a rich array of biodiversity, including several endemic species, and as such, remains one of the highest priorities for conservation action around the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Club-winged manakin

The club-winged manakin (Machaeropterus deliciosus) is a small passerine bird which is a resident breeding species in the cloud forest on the western slopes of the Andes Mountains of Colombia and northwestern Ecuador. The manakins are a family (Pipridae) of small bird species of subtropical and tropical Central and South America. Like several other manakins, the club-winged manakin produces a mechanical sound with its extremely modified secondary remiges, an effect known as sonation.

Asian Paradise Flycatcher

The Prothonotary Warbler

The prothonotary warbler (Protonotaria citrea) is a small songbird of the New World warbler family. It is the only member of the genusProtonotaria.The nature most beautiful bird prothonotary warbler is 13 cm long and weighs 12.5 g. It has an olive back with blue-grey wings and tail, yellow underparts, a relatively long pointed bill and black legs. The adult male has a bright orange-yellow head. Females and immature birds are duller and have a yellow head. In flight from below, the short, wide tail has a distinctive two-toned pattern, white at the base and dark at the tip.

Long-tailed Broadbill or Psarisomus Dalhousiae

The long-tailed broadbill (Psarisomus dalhousiae) is a species of broadbill that is found in the Himalayas, extending east through Northeastern India to Southeast Asia. It is the only bird in the genus Psarisomus. The long-tailed broadbill is about 25 cm (10 inches) in length and weighs between 50 and 60 grams. It can be identified by its shrill call.The long-tailed broadbill is a forest bird that lives on insects. It is very sociable and normally travels in large, noisy parties except during the mating season. It builds a pear-shaped nest in a tree. The female usually lays between 5 and 6 eggs that are incubated by both sexes; both sexes also help to feed the young.

The pin-tailed whydah (Vidua macroura)

The pin-tailed whydah (Vidua macroura) is a small songbird with a conspicuous pennant-like tail in breeding males. It is a resident breeding bird in most of Africa south of the Sahara Desert.

Nicobar Pigeon The Coolest Pigeon in the World

Nicobar pigeon is the closest living relative to the extinct Dodo Bird with stunning colorful iridescent feathers. It’s absolutely stunning even they’re relatives, looks nothing like the Dodo. Nicobar’s luminous colors is the only difference, has reddish legs, a while tail and well covered in blue, copper, and green feathers. The Nicobar Pigeon is located at coastal regions from the Nicobar Islands. The bird’s vibrant colorful characteristics aren’t many natural predators that the pigeons would need to conceal themselves from. 

The Nicobar Pigeon is considered “near threatened” in the IUCN list. The dodo bird has been long extinct, but Nicobar pigeon is the closest living connection the famous flightless bird. The stunning colorful Nicobar pigeon resides in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, from the Indian Nicobar Islands eastward to places like Thailand and Papua New Guinea. The precise population is not confirmed, however its numbers are declining due to deforestation and release of non-native predators.  The Nicobar species nests in dense forest on offshore islets, habitually in large colonies. It builds a loose stick nest in a tree. It lays one elliptical faintly blue-tinged white egg. 

This species roams in flocks from island to island, habitually sleeping on offshore islets where no predators take place and spends the day in areas with healthier food availability, even not shying away from areas inhabited by humans. The Nicobar food consists of seeds, fruit and buds, and it is attracted to areas where grain is available. Nicobar is a large pigeon, measuring 40 cm in length and it is a very vocal species, giving a low-pitched repetitive call.