English             -              Brazilian Teal

Portuguese      -              Pé-vermelho

Latin                 -               Amazonetta brasiliensis

The Brazilian Teal was quite a common sight when I was staying at REGUA. (Reserva Ecológica de Guapiaçu) Normally I would see them in a body of water while I was walking a connecting track from the Wetlands trail (yellow trail) to the Forest trail. (brown trail) Quite a hard species to get close to. They seemed very wary an would swim away once they sensed you were there.

* The Brazilian Teal is also called the Brazilian Duck.

* The Brazilian Teal is a small duck of around 40 cm in length and with a weight of 350–556 g (nominate), 565–623 g.

* The male has strong, piercing “whee-whee-whee” whistle, or double-noted “whe-wheeew”.

* They are found throughout eastern South America, from Uruguay, to northern and eastern Argentina, Paraguay, central Venezuela, Brazil, northeastern Peru, Suriname, Guyana, French Guiana, eastern Bolivia, and eastern Colombia.

* Their preferred habitat is wetlands, freshwater lakes, lagoons, pools, and marshes away from the coast with dense vegetation nearby. 

* The Brazilian Teal diet includes seeds, fruits, roots and insects. Duckling only eat insects.

* The females lays 6-8 eggs which are incubated for about 25 days. Nestlings will stay with the mother until they reach the capacity to fly.

*The Brazilian Teal is not globally threatened. It has a huge distributed and large numbers therefore it is classified as a species ”of least concern” on the IUCN red list.

English             -              Chaco Chachalaca

Portuguese     -               Aracuã-do-pantanal

Latin                -                Ortalis Canicollis

The Chaco Chachalaca was one of the morning alarm clock when we were staying at Passo do Lontra Parque Hotel, in the Pantanal. (2,246 km from Vila Velha) From about 6.30am, this is one of the chorus of birds you heard in the morning. The Chaco Chachalaca was a common sight at the hotel as well as around the areas of the pantanal we visited especially along the road side of MS184. Within the grounds of the hotel the Chaco Chachalaca was quite approachable and could get reasonable close to them to take photos. Outside the grounds, they seemed to be a lot more nervous and would flee to safety when you came across them. All the above photos were taken inside the grounds of Passo do Lontra Parque Hotel.

* The Chaco Chachalaca is a big chicken size bird with a length of around 56 cm and weighs around 600 gr.

* The Chaco Chachalaca is highly vocal. It utters loud cries, often in duet with its mate.

* It is probably sedentary in its range, from E Bolivia, W Paraguay and N Argentina, and SW Mato Grosso, Brazil.

* The Chaco Chachalaca frequents swampy lowland forests and close scrubs, borders of trails and groves’ edges with close vegetation for cover.  

* They are mainly vegetarian, feeding on fruits, seeds and flowers but will consumes some invertebrates and caterpillars.

* The Chaco Chachalaca is a good disperser of seeds because the fruit seeds they eat are defecated intact. 

* The female lays 3-4 eggs which are Incubated only by the female, Incubation lasts about 24 days. The chicks are highly precocial and are able to leave the nest very soon after hatching. 

* The Chaco Chachalaca is common in its range, or locally abundant. However its habitat has been degraded by overgrazing, deforestation and fires. They also are persecuted by hunters for food and sport. However, this species has a fairly stable population, and it is not threatened at the moment. Therefore it is classified as a species ”of least concern”

English              -             House Sparrow

Portuguese      -             Pardal 

Portuguese      -             Passer domesticus

Thought I would champion a “not very popular bird” for this blog. Only because worldwide numbers of the House Sparrow are decreasing. So, you can say that in some places they are a pest blah, blah, blah but in the places they have become a pest they have been introduced by man and in places with no natural predators. They didn’t choose to be a pest, they were introduced to a place and they just kept doing what they do. (eat and reproduce). Anyway enough of me on my soap box. The above photos of the House Sparrow were taken when we went to a place called Cabo Frio in the state of Rio de Janeiro. It was a bright sunny day and the House Sparrows were just feeding on grass seed from a grassy bank. 

* One of the most widespread and abundant songbirds in the world today.

* The House Sparrow is a compact small bird with a length of 16 cm and weighs around 40 gr.  

* It’s call is a cheep or chirrup, mainly given by males, who repeats it incessantly to announce that they possess a nest.

* Has a world wide distribution.

* Habitat includes Cities, towns, farms. General surroundings vary, essentially always found around manmade structures, Almost never in unaltered natural habitats.

* Diet include weed and grass seeds or waste grain. Also eats some insects, especially in summer. 

* The female lays 3-6 eggs. Incubation is by both parents for 10-14 days. Young fledge 2 weeks after hatching. 

* The House Sparrow can have 2-3 broods per year.

* The House Sparrow has an extremely large range and population, and is not seriously threatened by human activities.  However, populations have been declining in many parts of the world. Declines were first noticed in North America, where they were initially attributed to the spread of the house finch but have been most severe in Western Europe. Declines have not been universal, but declines have even occurred in Australia, where the house sparrow has been introduced recently. The house sparrow is classified as a species “of least concern”.