English            -            Swallow-tailed Cotinga

Portuguese    -            Tesourinha-da-mata

Latin                -            Phibalura flavirostris

You know you are onto a good thing when even the guides you are with get excited about finding a certain bird and that’s what happened when we came across the Swallow-tailed Cotinga on the way to a place called Macaé de Cima, 68 kms from REGUA. (Reserva Ecológica de Guapiaçu) Macaé de Cima is an excursion I did when I was staying a month at REGUA. We were travelling up a road in a REGUA van when we stopped on the roadside to see what birdlife was around. After seeing a few species and photographing them, we were about to take off, when one of the guides noticed the Swallow-tailed Cotinga on the other side of the road, sitting in a tree. That’s when the excitement started. The Swallow-tailed Cotinga was not a common species to see in this area. 

* The Swallow-tailed Cotinga has a length of about 24 cm and weighs about 59 gr.

* Generally silent bird. but can let off a high guttural whistle.

* It is found in the Atlantic forest in south-eastern Brazil, eastern Paraguay and Argentina.

* Its habitat includes Forest borders, partially wooded areas, open areas and gardens with trees.

* Its diet includes mainly fruits, especially various mistletoe species and insects. 

* Not much info regarding breeding. The female lays two white-blue eggs with vinaceous spots. Both parents are responsible for incubating and caring for the nestlings.

* The Swallow-tailed Cotinga is currently considered ”Near Threatened” on the IUCN red list. It is treated as Vulnerable in Argentina and in the Brazilian states of Espírito Santo and São Paulo. This species has a moderately small population which is suspected to be declining owing to habitat loss.

English             -               Black-collared hawk

Portuguese     -               Gavião Belo

Latin                -                Busarellus Nigricollis

Always enjoy photographing birds of prey and the Black-Collared Hawk was no exception when I visited the Pantanal in Mato Grosso do Sul.  I saw this bird on numerous occasions and found it a really easy bird to photograph. A species that doesn’t seem too concerned with close human contact and I was able to get relatively close to a few of them and take some close up photos. I saw the majority of them when travelling on a dirt road called MS184. The above photos of the Black-Collared Hawk were taken at different locations in the Pantanal on different days. The first 2 photos are of adult Black-Collared Hawk and the third photo is of a juvenile.

* The female Black-Collared Hawk is larger than the male.

* It has a length of 58 cm, weighs around 829 gr. and has a wingspan of up to 143 cm. 

* The Black-Collared Hawk is considered to be quiet, except when breeding when it lets out a pig-like squeal. 

* It has a large range which spreads from central Mexico, all the way south to Uruguay.

* Its preferred habitat is dense, wooded, humid, vegetated area with an immense amount of water, such as forests, swamps, mangroves, and rice fields.  Preferred water sources are rivers, ponds, and lakes with floating vegetation and easily accessible perches.

* Black-Collared Hawks hunt out of the water, and thus eat a variety of water-going animals.  Their diet mostly consists of fish, but will regularly feed on frogs, snakes, snails, turtles, and small water-savvy mammals.

* The nesting behaviour of the Black-Collared Hawks is poorly known but it builds a nest in tall trees or in mangroves. The nest is a bulky platform made with sticks. The interior is lined with green leaves. It is usually situated near water, at about 12-15 metres above the ground. The female lays 3 - 5 greyish-white egg spotted brown and dark grey.

* The Black-collared Hawk is common in suitable habitat in most parts of its wide range. Some declines have accord occur, due to drainage of wetlands in parts of its range, however, this species is not threatened at this moment. Therefore it is classified as a species “of least concern” on the IUCN red list.

English              -               Squirrel Cuckoo

Portuguese        -              Alma-de-Gato

Latin                   -               Piaya Cayana

I think the Squirrel Cuckoo is a cool looking bird and one bird that took me a while to photograph when I was staying at REGUA. (Reserva Ecológica de Guapiaçu) I saw it quite a few times before I managed to photograph it as it tended to stick quite high in the canopy but I started to get lucky photographing it as the above photos were taken on different days. I mainly saw and photograph the Squirrel Cuckoo in the wetlands (Yellow trail) at REGUA. I was able to observe it for quite a while on most occasion but it will quickly move on with any disturbance.

* The Squirrel Cuckoo has its name because resembles a red squirrel when moving along branches with its rufous plumage and its long tail.  

* Medium size bird with a length of around 50 cm and weighs around 110 g.

* The Squirrel Cuckoo utters explosive “chik” followed by gruff “whrrr” type sounds.

* It ranges from Mexico and Central America, down through South America from Peru to North Argentina and Uruguay.

* The Squirrel Cuckoo inhabits a variety of forested habitats across its range, including humid to semi-humid forest, deciduous forest, forest edge, second growth, plantations, and even scattered trees in open country.

* The Squirrel Cuckoo is primarily insectivorous but will also take small lizards and some small fruit.

* The female typically lays 2 eggs which are incubation for 18-19 days. The young begin to leave the nest eight days after hatching. 

* The Squirrel Cuckoo can produce several broods per year.

* The Squirrel Cuckoo population is not globally threatened. They have a very large range and are described as common to very common in most parts of its wide range, therefore the Squirrel Cuckoo is classified as a species ”of least concern”.