English name - Burrowing Owl
Portuguese name - Coruja-buraqueira
Ltin Name - Athene cunicularia
I love photographing these birds. They live wild on the beach near us and are very accustomed to human presence, so it’s quite easy to get reasonably close to them to photograph . They always seem to have a look on their face, as if to say, “what the hell are you looking at?”
Burrowing Owls are small, sandy colored owls with bright-yellow eyes. They live underground in burrows they’ve dug themselves or taken over from other animals. They make a chuckling or chattering call. They also bob their heads to express excitement or distress.
They live in open, treeless areas with low, sparse vegetation. The owls can be found in grasslands, deserts, and near sandy beaches, on golf courses, pastures, agricultural fields, airport medians, road embankments, in cemeteries and urban vacant lots.
Burrowing Owls hunt at all hours of the day and night. Usually staying close to the ground, they fly, hover, walk, or run, seizing prey in their talons. They eat invertebrates and small vertebrates. They commonly hunt grasshoppers, crickets, moths, beetles, mice, voles, and shrews. They also prey on dragonflies, giant water bugs, earwigs, caterpillars, scorpions, earthworms, frogs, toads, small snakes, lizards, turtles, bats, small weasels, songbirds and small waterbirds. Burrowing Owls often store extra food to ensure an adequate supply during incubation and brooding. When food is plentiful, there underground larders can reach an impressive sizes. One cache observed contained more than 200 rodents.
The nest burrow can be several yards long and is usually less than 3 feet deep, but size depends on the mammal that originally excavated it. Burrows tend to make numerous twists and turns, with a mound of dirt at the entrance and an opening. The owls often line their burrow with livestock manure (if available) or with feathers, grass, or other materials. When owls dig their own burrows, the process may take several days, but it takes them less time to prepare the burrow for nesting when they use an existing burrow. The mating season is in early spring. The gestation period is 28 days and the clutch size can be between 3-12 eggs.
The young owls begin appearing at the burrow’s entrance two weeks after hatching and leave the nest to hunt for insects on their own after around 45 days. The chicks can fly pretty well after 6 weeks. When the young get alarmed they let off a hissing sound, which sounds like a rattle snake.
The photos of the burrowing owls were taken at Praia da Costa, (Costa beach) Vila Velha, Espirito Santo.
Burrowing owls are considered endangered in Canada and threatened in Mexico. They are also considered endangered, threatened or of special concern in nine U.S. states.
Engish Name - White-headed Marmoset
Portuguese Name - Sagui-de-cara-branca
Latin Name - Callithrix geoffroyi
I would like to introduce my first primates to the blog.
Also known as the Geoffroy’s tufted-ear marmoset, Geoffrey’s marmoset or the white-fronted marmoset. This small primate is found only in the jungles and forests of southeast Brazil, specifically in the states of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo. They like to live in trees and are active during the day and sleep at night in tree holes or other shelters. Their body fur is dark, with long black plumage on their ears, while the forehead, cheeks and bottom of the face are all white. The tail is ringed. They live in small family groups of up to 8 individuals. Family groups mainly consist of the dominant female, her mate and their offspring, with breeding usually restricted to the dominant pair. The family size depends on the availability and distribution of food. The territory is defended by the group by displays of aggression and marking the area with odours when faced with the presence of their fellow marmosets.
They feed on fruits, the nectar of flowers, resins, insects, snails and small vertebrates. Like almost all marmosets, their numbers are declining rapidly due to the fast rate of deforestation in Brazil, capture for the pet trade and for exportation to zoos:(
Both photos of the White-headed marmoset were taken at the top of Morro do Mereno, (Mereno Hill) which is about a 15 - 20 walk from where we are living. The first photo is of an Adult, the second photo is of a juvenile. For 2 months I had climbed Morro do Mereno without seeing any monkeys / marmosets then suddenly the last 3 times I’ve been to the top of the hill, they have been there:)
English - Masked Water-Tyrant
Portuguese - Lavadeira-mascarada
Latin - Fluvicola nengeta
Quite a cool looking wee bird, It’s mainly white with a contrasting black eyestripe, black wings and tail. The Masked Water-Tyrant is found in eastern and south-eastern Brazil, These birds are 15-16 cm long (about the size of a common sparrow) and weigh around 21 g. They are typically found near rivers and lagoons, in swamps or near the sea, moist scrublands, woodlands, degraded tropical forests and mangroves . They can also be found inside urban areas. The Masked water-tyrant diet mainly consists of insects like butterflies, dragonflies, grasshoppers and larvae. They breed in July-November. They build a cup-shaped nest made of twigs and other plant material and lined with feathers, hairs and sometimes plastic. The nest is placed on a small tree or bush, up to 2 m above the ground, generally near water. The female lays 3 white eggs with brown spots, which she seems to incubate alone for 15 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 10-12 days after hatching, but only become fully independent about 1 week later. The masked water-tyrant has a very large breeding range and is described as fairly common. This species can easily adapt to human-changed habitats and in Brazil it seems to be spreading south as a result of deforestation.
Photo No 1 was taken at Meaipe, Espirito Santo on rocks exposed by low tide.
Photo No 2 was taken at Santa Teresa, Espirito Santo at an Irrigation pond.
