English            -             White-barred Piculet

Portuguese    -             Pica-pau-anão-barrado

Latin               -             Picumnus cirratus

This is one cool wee bird and the first member of the woodpecker family that I photographed. Both photos were taken on different days but in the same location. They were photographed at Reserva Ecológica de Guapiaçu (REGUA) as I was walking around the Wetlands Trail (yellow trail) This trail has an amazing diversity of wildlife. Most times I went around it, I would see / photograph something new. Anyway, back to the White-barred Piculet. In both occasions I heard them before I saw them. All I heard was a tap tap tap tap tap and creeping up to where the tapping was from, was able to photograph them. Soon realised though that they are not as nervous as their bigger cousins and I could get reasonably close to them without them flying away. On both occasions I was lucky with the lighting and managed to get quite good photos of them amongst the branches in the trees. Photo No 1 is of a male. The male is obvious by it’s red crown as the female (photo No 2) lacks the red crown.

* This is a small bird of only 10cm long and weighs 12 grams.

* It is found in parts of Brazil with adjoining Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia.

* It inhabits gallery forest and tall bushes in savannah as well as woodland and forest edges.

* Song of the White-barred Piculet.

* They feed on small insects, their larvae and eggs and on the sap from branches and twigs.

* The White-barred Piculet drills holes in branches to obtain its food.

* The female lays 2 - 4 small white eggs.

* This White-barred Piculet has a very large range and is described as being common. The population is believed to be in slow decline, because of ongoing destruction of the rainforest, but this is not happening at such a rate as to make the species vulnerable, therefore the White-barred Piculet is classified as a species ”of least concern”.

English            -             Greater Rhea

Portuguese    -              Ema

Latin               -              Rhea americana    

Before travelling somewhere I always research what types of animals I can photograph. When I was researching what i can find in the Pantanal, I came across the Greater Rhea. As these birds have a classification of  “near threatened”, I thought to myself  they would be difficult to see, let alone to photograph. Anyway……….. We flew into Campo Grande from Vitoria. We picked up our rental car from Campo Grande Airport and we were on our way, driving towards Bonito on Highway BR 060. We’d been driving for about 1 - 1 1/2 hours when suddenly to my left, in a field a saw a flock of about 7-8 Greater Rheas. Of course, me being me became quite excited, stopped the car and went to take photos but by the time i got out of the car, crossed the road, they had fled and were quite along way away. Still took some photos though,  The next opportunity I got to see them was when we were travelling to Recanto Ecológico Rio da Prata near the town of Jardim in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. We had just turned right, off Highway BR 267 onto a dirt road and as we were travelling towards Recanto Ecologico Rio da Prata, which was about 3 kms away, on my left I saw another flock of about 7-8 Greater Rheas in another field. These ones seemed a bit more used to Humans as they didn’t flee like the first group I saw, so managed to get some close photos of them. The day was quite overcast so the photos are a bit flat but still happy.

* The Greater Rhea can reach 1.7 meters in height, and weigh up to 40 kilograms). 

* The wings are large for a flightless bird and are spread while running, to act like sails and for balance.

* The Greater Rhea is the largest bird in South America.

* They live in southeastern South America, including Brazil, Bolivia, Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina.

* Greater Rheas are omnivorous. They eat broad-leafed plants, a variety of seeds, roots, fruits, insects and small vertebrates, such as lizards, frogs, small birds and snakes.

* They can run up to 64 km/h

* Only Males incubate the eggs.  He also takes care of the chicks after hatching, keeping both female rheas and predators away.

* The Greater Rhea is classified as “near threatened” on the IUCN red list. The Greater Rhea has undergone a marked decline as a result of hunting for meat, eggs and skins, and for its feathers, which are used to make feather dusters. In recent years, these threats have been compounded by habitat loss as vast areas of grassland are converted for agriculture and cattle ranching. Farmers and ranchers often accuse rheas of eating crops and competing with cattle for food, and chase the birds off their land. although there is evidence that the Greater Rhea actually feeds on important weed and pest species.

English            -             Six-banded Armadillo

Portuguese    -              Tatu-Peba

Latin               -              Euphractus Sexcinctus

It’s always cool, seeing something that you never expected to see. In a way it’s a bit of a funny thing to say because with wildlife photography, you never know what you will find. But I always think it’s a bit of a bonus if I photograph something other than birds. (not that I’m complaining, adding a new bird species to my list is always good) Unfortunately, my first sightings of the Six-banded Armadillo were only “road kill” Six-banded Armadillos. These wee animals aren’t that fast and with poor eyesight and a bad habit of crossing roads,……….it’s a recipe for disaster. In fact, one just did that. (photo No 1) We were driving along highway BR262, travelling northwest from the town of Miranda to our Pousada in the Pantanal and a Six-banded Armadillo ran from the other side of the road, in front of us, to our side of the road. Luckily there was no other vehicles around at the time and I had time to stop and let it past. Also had time to pull over and snap some photos. Then I had to try and stop it from crossing back over the road as by this time there was a bit more traffic around. Photos 2 & 3 were taken on a walking track as we were coming back from Buraco das Araras. First of all, we heard rustling in the tall grass, (I thought it was a lizard at first) then one just popped out in front of us had a look and went back in the grass, then 2 more appeared. They seemed very used to people as one walked straight past us back down the track the way we came. Normally they are quite solitary, so seeing 3 together was cool.

* Six-banded Armadillos are related to anteaters and sloths, looking strange clearly runs in the family.

* Like human fingerprints, every head plate is unique to each armadillo.

* They are found in Surinam, east of the Andes, Amazon basin in Brazil, central Argentina, Uruguay.

* They can get to 75 cm in length (head to tail) and weigh around 6.5 kgs.

* They live in dry savannah, or drier parts of wet savannah.

* Unlike most armadillo species, Six-banded Armadillos remain active even under bright daylight.

* Armadillos are the only other species on the planet (along with humans) that can catch leprosy.

* They are omnivores and feed on a variety of plant matter, insects, small vertebrates and also carrion. 

* The female gives birth to 1 - 3 young and can give birth anytime of the year.

* Although the Six-banded Armadillo is classified as a species “of least concern”, it is important to note that they are often trapped and killed by farmers because of the armadillo’s love for sprouting corn shoots. They are also hunted and killed for their meat in northeastern Brazil. They are also killed for their tails, which are used by Argentinian Indians for carrying their fire making tools.