Enlish          -          Great Egret

Portuguese -          Garça-branca-grande

Latin             -          Ardea alba

The elegant Great Egret is a dazzling sight in many wetlands around the world. Slightly smaller than the Great Blue Heron, the Great Egret is still a large birds. Standing up to 1 m tall, and measure 80 to 104 cm in length and have a wingspan of 1.5m. Apart from size, the great egret can be distinguished from other white egrets by its yellow bill and black legs and feet, though the bill may become darker and the lower legs lighter in the breeding season. In breeding plumage, delicate ornamental feathers are borne on the back. Males and females are identical in appearance; juveniles look like non-breeding adults. 

Great Egrets live in freshwater, brackish, and marine wetlands. During the breeding season they live in colonies in trees or shrubs with other waterbirds, The colonies are located on lakes, ponds, marshes, estuaries, impoundments, and islands. Great Egrets use similar habitats for migration stopover sites and wintering grounds. They hunt in marshes, swamps, streams, rivers, ponds, lakes, impoundments, lagoons, tidal flats, canals, ditches, fish-rearing ponds, flooded farm fields, and sometimes upland habitats.

They feed on mainly small fish but also eats amphibians, reptiles, birds, small mammals and invertebrates such as crayfish, prawns, shrimp, polychaete worms, isopods, dragonflies and damselflies, beetles, giant water bugs, and grasshoppers. It hunts in belly-deep or shallower water in marine, brackish, and freshwater wetlands, alone or in groups. It wades as it searches for prey, or simply stands still to wait for prey to approach.

The male choices the nest site and builds a nest out of long sticks and twigs before pairing up with a female, and then both birds may finish building nest together, though the male sometimes finishes it himself. The nest is up to 3 feet across and 1 foot deep. It is lined with pliable plant material that dries to form a cup structure. They don’t typically reuse nests from year to year. The nest itself can be up to 100 feet off the ground, often over water, usually in or near the top of a shrub or tree. They occasionally nest on the ground or on artificial platforms.  The female lays between 1 to 6 Pale blue-green eggs. Eggs are Incubation for 23 to 26 days by both parents until hatched. Both parents feed the young by regurgitation. The Young may clamber out of nest at 3 weeks and are able to fly at 6-7 weeks. 

Great Egrets were hunted nearly to extinction for their plumes in the late nineteenth century, sparking conservation movements and some of the first laws to protect birds. Now, due to some committed conservation efforts the numbers of the Great Egret have increased.

Both photos were taken at - Ilha do Frade, Vitoria - Espirito Santo

Enlish          -          Great Egret

Portuguese -          Garça-branca-grande

Latin             -          Ardea alba

The elegant Great Egret is a dazzling sight in many wetlands around the world. Slightly smaller than the Great Blue Heron, the Great Egret is still a large birds. Standing up to 1 m tall, and measure 80 to 104 cm in length and have a wingspan of 1.5m. Apart from size, the great egret can be distinguished from other white egrets by its yellow bill and black legs and feet, though the bill may become darker and the lower legs lighter in the breeding season. In breeding plumage, delicate ornamental feathers are borne on the back. Males and females are identical in appearance; juveniles look like non-breeding adults. 

Great Egrets live in freshwater, brackish, and marine wetlands. During the breeding season they live in colonies in trees or shrubs with other waterbirds, The colonies are located on lakes, ponds, marshes, estuaries, impoundments, and islands. Great Egrets use similar habitats for migration stopover sites and wintering grounds. They hunt in marshes, swamps, streams, rivers, ponds, lakes, impoundments, lagoons, tidal flats, canals, ditches, fish-rearing ponds, flooded farm fields, and sometimes upland habitats.

They feed on mainly small fish but also eats amphibians, reptiles, birds, small mammals and invertebrates such as crayfish, prawns, shrimp, polychaete worms, isopods, dragonflies and damselflies, whirligig beetles, giant water bugs, and grasshoppers. It hunts in belly-deep or shallower water in marine, brackish, and freshwater wetlands, alone or in groups. It wades as it searches for prey, or simply stands still to wait for prey to approach.

The male choices the nest site and builds a nest out of long sticks and twigs before pairing up with a female, and then both birds may finish building nest together, though the male sometimes finishes it himself. The nest is up to 3 feet across and 1 foot deep. It is lined with pliable plant material that dries to form a cup structure. They don’t typically reuse nests from year to year. The nest itself can be up to 100 feet off the ground, often over water, usually in or near the top of a shrub or tree. They occasionally nest on the ground or on artificial platforms.  The female lays between 1 to 6 Pale blue-green eggs. Eggs are Incubation for 23 to 26 days by both parents until hatched. Both parents feed the young by regurgitation. The Young may clamber out of nest at 3 weeks and are able to fly at 6-7 weeks. 

Great Egrets were hunted nearly to extinction for their plumes in the late nineteenth century, sparking conservation movements and some of the first laws to protect birds. Now, due to some committed conservation efforts the numbers of the Great Egret have increased at this point in time and the population has increased.

Both photos were taken at - Ilha do Frade, Vitoria - Espirito Santo

English          -          Amazon Lava Lizard

Portuguese  -           Calango

Latin             -           Tropidurus torquatus

This photogenic lizard, also known as the Collared Lizard or the Neotropical Lizard is a native of south America and can be found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, and Suriname. It is one of the most widely distributed species of genus Tropidurus.

This lizard lives mainly in open habitat types, especially in the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests of South America. It may also be found in residential areas, where it is adept at climbing the walls of houses. It is mostly ground-dwelling though, living in termite nests, under rocks and logs. 

Males and females are marked differently. The male is usually much larger than the female, and its body is more brightly coloured and distinctly patterned. The average size of Tropidurus lizards varies greatly from habitat to habitat as does the pattern of body markings. Markings vary considerably, even among individuals of the same species. Like many lizards, they show changes of colour with mood and temperature.

The Amazon lava lizard will eat invertebrates and plant material though It favours ants. On plants it prefers the fruits and flowers. 

The male of the species is territorial. The male performs signalling behaviours such as head-bobbing and tail-whipping and exhibits aggressive behaviours such as chasing and fighting with other males. Larger, faster males tend to dominate higher-quality territories, such as those with many hiding places and abundant sunlight. Females prefer higher-quality territories and accept the males guarding them; a male may have access to a harem of several females in a good habitat. In reproduction the female may lay several eggs at a time, but a clutch of two is common, particularly in coastal areas. Clutch sizes may be larger in other geographical ranges.

Another notable behaviour is that it can run relatively quickly on its hind feet for a limited distance. It carries its body in an oblique position, lifting its hind-limbs high. It swings its forelimbs in phase with its hind-limbs, i.e. swinging its right forelimb as its right hindlimb comes up, and its left with its left.

The Amazon Lava Lizard has large numbers throughout its range so it is classifieds a “least concerned” species.

All photos of the Amazon lava lizard were taken on the way up Morro do Moreno. (Moreno Hill)

English               -           Brown howler 

 Portuguese       -           Bugio marrom 

 Latin                  -           Alouatta guariba

Brown howlers, like other howler monkeys, are best known for their impressive howls, which can be heard more than 1.6 km away. They are found  on the eastern coast of south America, inhabiting highly seasonal subtropical and temperate forests in the Brazilian states of Bahia and Espirito Santo through to Rio Grande do Sul and the Misiones in Argentina.

Brown howlers have relatively large, stocky frames with fur that varies in colour from brown to dark red or black. The hair is lighter coloured and less coarse on the belly, and the face and ears are dark and hairless. Brown howler males weighing around 2.5 kg more than females on average. Many males have a dark-red venter, with yellowish red dorsal pelage and darker arms, legs, and tails. Adult females are covered in dark brown or reddish brown hair.  Males tend to be more red in the south and less red in the north, whereas females range from lighter brown in the south to darker brown in the north. They have prehensile-tails, with a naked patch of skin on the ventral surface of the tip of the tail..

Brown howlers are one of the largest leaf-eating primates in the South American forests but will also eat flowers, and fruit; however, their diet varies according to the season and location. Leaves make up close to a third of their diet and when available they prefer young leaves. The flowers and leaves of various types of lianas (i.e., any type of woody vine) are commonly ingested by brown howlers in south-eastern Brazil and make up approximately 27% of their diet. When available, they preferentially select fleshy fruits. Brown howlers spend more time foraging during autumn and winter as their food source is harder to find.

Brown howlers form multi-male, multi-female groups; single-male, multi-female groups; and single-male, single-female groups. The most common group composition is single-male, multi-female with up to 10 individuals. Brown howlers are year-round breeders. The female has an average of one offspring which she carries for around 6 months before giving birth and will feed the infant for around 12 months until the infant is able to feed itself. Females reach adulthood at approximately 3.6 years and males at approximately 5 years. 

Although this species as a whole is classified as “Near Threatened” overall, one of two subspecies, the northern brown howling monkey (Alouatta guariba guariba), is classified as “Critically Endangered”. The species’ populations are extremely fragmented and reduced due to habitat destruction and development in the coastal forests of south-eastern Brazil and north-eastern Argentina. Habitat destruction and development in South America does not seem to be slowing down and it is feared that this primate and many others will suffer even more in due course.

The 2 photos of the Brown howler were taken at Marechal Floriano Espirito Santo.

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