English            -            Snowy Egret

 Portuguese    -            Garça-branca-pequena

 Latin                -            Egretta thula

A beautiful, graceful and elegant small egret, very active in its feeding behaviour in shallow waters. Known by its contrasting yellow feet. 

Adults are typically 61 cm long and weigh 375 g. They have a slim black bill and long black legs with yellow feet. The area of the upper bill, in front of the eyes, is yellow but turns red during the breeding season, when the adults also gain recurved plumes on their backs, making for a “shaggy” effect. The juveniles looks similar to the adults, but the base of their bills are paler, and a green or yellow line runs down the back of the legs. 

Snowy egrets are permanent residents in most of South and Central America. Widespread in many types of aquatic habitats, including fresh and salt water. In coastal areas they may seek sheltered bays. Inland they favours extensive marshes and other large wetlands. 

Often forages actively, walking or running in shallow water, also stands still and waits for prey to approach. May stir bottom sediments with feet to startle prey into motion. Sometimes hovers and then drops to water. Also may feed in open fields, sometimes following cattle to catch insects flushed by the animals. Their diet Includes fish, crabs, crayfish, frogs, snakes, insects, snails, worms, lizards, and rodents. 

They nest and breed in colonies, often mixed with other species of wading birds. Male selects nest site, usually in trees, shrubs and mangroves, sometimes near or on the ground and displays at the nest site to ward off rivals and to attract a mate. Displays can include pointing bill straight up, raising all plumes, and pumping head up and down while calling. Also flies in circles around nest site; flies high and then tumbles down. The nest is built by both sexes and is a platform of sticks. The male collects the materials and the female does the constructing. The female lays three to five eggs and both parents share incubation duties. The eggs hatch in about three weeks. Both parents care for the chicks and feed them regurgitated food. The chicks fledge when they are about a month old. 

Just like the Great Egret, the Snowy Egret was once highly sought after for its delicate, curved back plumes, which were used in the hat-making trade. Plundering of this species for its plumes began around 1880 and populations declined as a result of this exploitation. Public outrage over the neglect of snowy egret populations led to this species obtaining protection in the US in 1910, and its population subsequently mounted a remarkable recovery. Today the snowy egret population is continuing to increase in both number and range. Therefore this species is now classed as a species “of least concern”.

Photo # 1 was taken at Praia da Costa - Vila Velha - Espirito Santo 

Photo # 2 was taken a Ilha do Frade - Vitoria - Espirito Santo

English           -          Cliff Flycatcher

Portugueses  -          Gibão-de-couro

Latin               -           Hirundinea ferruginea.

I would have loved to source more detailed information about the Cliff Flycatcher but couldn’t find too much information about this bird.

The Cliff Flycatcher is a smallish passerine bird of the Tyrannidae family. The bird is found in Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela south along the Andes to northern Argentina, and also is found on the east cost of Brazil. It prefers cliffs, rocky outcrops, canyon walls and steep banks. It has adapted well to human altered environments. In São Paulo these birds nest on apartment blocks and high-rise buildings. 

The Cliff Flycatcher has blackish-brown upper-parts, mottled white cheeks and a cinnamon coloured throat and underparts. Reminiscent of a swallow in both its shape and manner of flight. It’s around 18cm in length and weighs around 21g. It frequently gives a high-pitched call or single or repeated notes described as “wheeeyp”.

The Cliff flycatcher builds a nest out of roots and straw held together with a salivary mucous adhesive. The eggs are white with rust coloured spots on them. The female lays 2-3 eggs. Southern breeding birds migrate north during the austral winter.

The Cliff Flycatcher feeds on insects and catches them by making long powerful aerial sortie from a perch on rocky outcrops, cliff face or overhanging branch. 

The Cliff Flycatcher has a large population with some reports of a growing population. It also has a large range, therefore it is regarded as a species “of least concern”.

Photo # 1 was taken at Pedra Azul - Espirito Santo

Photo # 2 is of a juvenile Cliff Flycatcher and was taken at Marechal Floriano  - Espirito Santo

English          -          Violaceous Euphonia

Portuguese   -          Gaturamo-verdadeiro

Latin              -           Euphonia violacea 

The Violaceous euphonia is a small passerine bird in the true finch family. It lives up to its name in beauty and sound, possessing both colourful plumage and a melodious song. The male of the species has a striking glossy violet to bluish black upper-parts and deep golden yellow underparts and forehead, while females and juveniles are duller, mostly olivaceous above and olive yellow below. They are around 11 cm in length and weigh around 14 g.

It is a widely distributed resident across northeastern and eastern South America, from Venezuela and Trinidad south to Paraguay, northeastern Argentina, and southeastern Brazil. They occupy humid forest and forest edges, as well as parks and gardens, cocoa plantations, and citrus fruit orchards. 

Violaceous Euphonia usually forages in pairs or small groups, but also join mixed flocks at fruiting trees. They mainly eat fruit but also eat nectar and insects when seasonally available. In Brazil, they are known to seeks out small terrestrial snails.

Breeding season for  the Violaceous Euphonia depend on it’s location. The nest is spherical, and is composed of a mass of dead leaves and rootlets. The same nest is sometimes used for other brood. The eggs are white to pinkish white marked with reddish spots, mostly at the larger end. The clutch is three to five eggs. Only the female incubates the eggs for 10-12 days. The chicks are fed by both parents which begin to fledge at three weeks.

The Violaceous Euphonia is evaluated as “of Least Concern”, at the moment based upon its wide range and current estimated population size. In some parts of it’s range though it is a prized cage bird, making it vulnerable to trapping. There is also a threat to its natural habitat due to deforestation but for this species, the affects are not as dramatic as it can tolerate secondary forests.

Photo # 1 is of a male calling, taken at Morro do Moreno (Moreno Hill) - Vila Velha Espirito Santo.

Photo # 2 is of a female - taken at Morro do Moreno (Moreno Hill) - Vila Velha Espirito Santo.