English             Smooth Billed Ani

Portuguese      Anu-preto

Latin                  Crotophaga ani

Without being too offensive, I think this is one of the ugliest birds that I have photographed so far. 

The adult is mainly flat black, with a long tail, deep ridged black bill and a brown iris. The flight is weak and wobbly, but the bird runs well. This is a very social bird, always found in noisy groups. The calls include a whining ooo-leeek. The smooth-billed ani is a mid-sized species. It measures 30–36 cm in length and weighs 71–133 grams.

The Smooth-billed Ani is a widespread resident of scrub and forest clearings from the Caribbean, all the way down to northern Argentina. They have greatly benefited from deforestation. They normally feed on the ground, feeding on termites, large insects and even lizards and frogs. They have been seen hovering around small grass fires, catching animals flushed out by the disturbance and occasionally remove ticks and other parasites from grazing animals.

The nest is built communally by several pairs. It is a deep cup lined structure built with leaves, usually placed 2 to 6 metres above the ground. A number of females lay chalky blue eggs in the nest and then share incubation and feeding. Each female is capable of laying up to seven eggs, some nests have been found containing up to 29 eggs. It is rare though for more than ten eggs to hatch. Incubation is 13–15 days, with another 10 days to fledging. Up to three broods may be raised in a season, with the young of earlier broods helping to feed more recent chicks. 

These photos were taken near the top of Morro do Moreno (Moreno Hill), Vila Velha, ES, Brazil while going for a walk. The first photo is off an Adult, the second photo is of a juvenile as the bill has not properly formed.

English name:         Guira Cuckoo

Portuguese name:  Anu-branco

Latin Name:             Guira guira         

I think this is my favourite bird so far. I call it the Rod Stewart Bird. (Don’t kow why, but for some reason, that was the first thing that popped into my head when I first saw it - maybe it’s the hair) The Guira Cuckoo is a social bird, found in flocks of up to 18 and are most common in open and semi-open habitats of eastern and southern Brazil as well as other South American countries. The main features of this bird are that it has a whitish-buff underparts and rump; dark brownish upperparts; a broadly white-tipped dark tail that is relatively long; an orange-rufous crest; bare yellow ocular-skin; and a relatively heavy, orange-yellow bill. It is generally rather shaggy-looking and gives off a strong pungent odour. It has a total length of approximately 34cm.

The Guira Cuckoo is an opportunistic predator and feeds on frogs, lizards, mice as well as raiding nests of other smaller birds and feeding on eggs and chicks. It’s not an accomplished flier, in fact it’s quite clumbsy, mostly gliding or hopping from one perch to another as well as spending a lot of time on the ground. 

These photos were taken at Praia da Costa (Costa Beach) Vila Velha, in the state of Espirito Santo.

Hi all, Finally getting around to do my “blog”. (such an ugly word) Didn’t know what to do with it. As the main theme for this website is wildlife I though that everyday I would put up a photo of an animal that I have photographed and give some information about it. I hope you enjoy this blog as I share with you the amazing wildlife Brazil has to offer. 

English Name:         Ariel Toucan

Portuguese Name:  Tucano-de-bico-preto

 Latin Name:             Ramphastos Vitellinus

I thought I would kick off with one of the iconic Brazilian birds: the Toucan.  The most famous species is the “Toco Toucan”, that’s the one you see on cereal boxes, cartoons, etc.  But there are many species, sub species of this iconic bird. The one in question today in the “Ariel Tucan” which is a sub species of the “Channel-billed Toucan”. The main feaures of the Ariel Toucan are the huge black bill (9-14 cm) in which the base is yellow; the skin around the pale blue eye is red; the entire throat and chest are orange. The average lengh is 48 cm. The mating ritual involves food fights, as they tend to throw fruit at each other. Their main food source is fruit, but will opportunistically  take prey such as insects, frogs and small lizards. They are also known to plunder nests of smaller birds, taking eggs and nestlings. Their calls are frog-like, croaking series of  “creeop, creeop, creeop…” They enjoy habitats such as forested lowlands and foothills, often near water, forest edge, and forest patches in savannas. They are found in pockets south of the Amazon and in parts of the east coast of Brazil. 

These photos were taken in the State of  Espirito Santo on the Brazilian east coast.