birdstudies

[birdstudies]

June 8, 2025 - Philippine Cockatoo, Red-vented Cockatoo, or Katala (Cacatua haematuropygia) Found on several islands in the Philippines, these parrots live in and around forests, often near water, and in cultivated areas. They feed on seeds, including corn and rice crops, fruit, buds, and nectar, foraging in noisy flocks. Probably breeding between January and July, they nest in tree cavities where females lay clutches of two or three eggs. They are classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN due to rapid population declines caused primarily by habitat loss and trapping for the cage-bird trade.

[birdstudies]

June 7, 2025 - Brassy-breasted Tanager (Tangara desmaresti) Found in southeastern Brazil, these tanagers live in mountain forests. They eat small fruit and some insects, picking food items from leaves and branches while perched and foraging in groups of 2 to 12. Females probably build the deep cup-shaped nests while males gather materials. They incubate the eggs alone though the males sometimes bring them food.

[birdstudies]

June 6, 2025 - Rufous-breasted Accentor (Prunella strophiata) Found from eastern Afghanistan and northern Pakistan through the Himalayas to central China and northern Myanmar, these accentors live in mountain forests and shrublands. They eat invertebrates, small seeds, and fruit, foraging on the ground in vegetation. Breeding between May and August, they raise two broods a year, building deep cup-shaped nests from moss, dry stems, lichen, grass, hair, and feathers, usually low in thickets or small conifers. Females lay clutches of three to five eggs and both parents probably care for the chicks.

[birdstudies]

June 5, 2025 - Masked Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus perspicillatus) Found from much of eastern China into Vietnam, these laughingthrushes live in scrub, woodland, and cultivated areas. They eat invertebrates, seeds, and fruit, foraging in groups of 6-12 mostly on the ground, usually in dense vegetation. Breeding from March to August, they build large cup-shaped nests from sticks, the stems of weeds, grasses, and creepers, shreds of paper, feathers, tendrils, rootlets, and pine needles in shrubs, bamboo, tall grass, reeds, or trees. Females lay clutches of two to five eggs. They raise multiple broods per season and may breed cooperatively.

[birdstudies]

June 4, 2025 - Canebrake Groundcreeper (Clibanornis dendrocolaptoides) These birds in the ovenbird family live in mountain forests, often near streams, in parts of Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. They forage in pairs in the undergrowth, probably picking arthropods from surfaces on or near the ground, though the details of their diet are unknown. Their breeding behavior has not been recorded.

[birdstudies]

June 3, 2025 - Red-bellied Fruit-Dove (Ptilinopus greyi) Found in New Caledonia, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu, these fruit doves live in forests and other wooded habitats. They eat a variety of fruits, usually foraging in pairs and gathering in large flocks at fruiting trees. Breeding between August and February, depending on the area of their range, they build platform nests from twigs where females lay a single egg. Both parents care for the chick.

[birdstudies]

June 2, 2025 - Tawny-rumped Tyrannulet (Tyranniscus uropygialis) Found in the Andes in parts of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina, these tyrant flycatchers live in and around forests. They eat insects and probably small fruits, picking prey from surfaces while perched or during short upward hovers and often joining mixed-species flocks. Almost nothing is known about their breeding behavior, though a fledgling was seen in December in Bolivia.

[birdstudies]

June 1, 2025 - Southern Citril (Crithagra hyposticta) Found in eastern Africa in parts of Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Zambia, these finches live in savannas, shrublands, grasslands, and cultivated areas. They usually forage in small flocks. While the details of their diet are not known, it is probably mostly made up of seeds. Little is known about their breeding behavior, though they have been reported nesting among bananas in Kenya and in pine plantations in Malawi. Females likely lay clutches of two eggs.

[birdstudies]

May 31, 2025 - Pacific Antwren or Pacific Streaked Antwren (Myrmotherula pacifica) Found in parts of Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador, these antbirds live around the edges of forests and in shrubby areas, often near water. They eat insects and spiders, foraging alone or in pairs in trees and shrubs and sometimes briefly joining mixed-species flocks. Breeding from January to July in Panama, they build cup-shaped nests from green vines, thin plant filaments or grasses, and occasionally leaves or moss. Females lay clutches of two eggs.

[birdstudies]

May 30, 2025 - Streak-breasted Treehunter (Thripadectes rufobrunneus) Found in parts of Costa Rica and Panama, these birds in the ovenbird family live in mountain forests, especially near streams. They eat arthropods and small vertebrates, including frogs, lizards, and salamanders, foraging alone or occasionally in pairs and mixed-species flocks. Breeding from February to August, they nest in dirt banks, weaving pads of leaf stems or rootlets in chambers at the ends of curved tunnels. Females lay clutches of two eggs which males, or possibly both parents, incubate. Both feed the chicks.

[birdstudies]

May 29, 2025 - Baglafecht Weaver (Ploceus baglafecht) Found in parts of eastern and central Africa, these weavers live in forests, scrub, grasslands, wetlands, gardens, and cultivated areas. They eat mostly insects, along with some fruit, seeds, and nectar, foraging alone, in pairs, or in small flocks, sometimes with other species. Males weave oval nests with side entrances from green grass stems or strips of grass blades in trees. Females help line the nests with plant down, feathers, and grass seedheads and incubate clutches of one to three eggs alone. Both parents feed the chicks.

[birdstudies]

May 28, 2025 - Eastern Rock Nuthatch (Sitta tephronota) These nuthatches are found in rocky mountain habitats in parts of western Asia. Foraging alone, in pairs, or in small groups on rock faces, boulders, or the ground, they feed on insects, snails, and seeds. Pairs build flask-shaped nests with side entrances over cavities in rocks, trees, riverbanks, or buildings, from mud, feathers, hair, and other materials held together with saliva. Females incubate the eggs while the males bring them food. Both parents care for the chicks.

[birdstudies]

May 27, 2025 - Helmeted Friarbird (Philemon buceroides) Found in parts of northern Australia, Indonesia, Timor-Leste, and Papua New Guinea, these honeyeaters live in forests, woodlands, and shrublands, often near water. Foraging alone, in twos, and in small flocks, sometimes with other species, they eat nectar, fruit, seeds, invertebrates, and rarely lizards and the eggs of other birds. They build deep, open cup-shaped nests from bark or sticks, leaves, vine tendrils, sometimes grass, leaves, wool, spiderwebs and other materials in trees, shrubs, or mangroves often near or over water. Females lay two to four eggs and both parents probably feed the chicks.

[birdstudies]

May 26, 2025 - Joyful Greenbul (Chlorocichla laetissima) Found in parts of Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia, these bulbuls live in forests. Foraging in flocks, sometimes with other species, they eat berries and seeds and may feed insects to their chicks. Little is known about their breeding behavior, though they have been observed nesting in March and July and a captive pair built an open cup-shaped nest where both parents fed the chick.

[birdstudies]

May 25, 2025 - Necklaced Woodpecker (Dryobates pernyii) Found in parts of Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and China, these small woodpeckers live in mountain forests. They eat insects and their larvae, as well as nectar, foraging on trees and sometimes in bushes alone or in pairs, occasionally with other species. Probably breeding between February and May, they excavate cavities, usually in dead trees, where females lay clutches of two to four eggs.

[birdstudies]

May 24, 2025 - Somali Wheatear (Oenanthe phillipsi) These wheatears are found in parts of northern and central Somalia and southeastern Ethiopia in stony and grassy areas, including shrublands, deserts, and grasslands. They eat grasshoppers, beetles, ants, and other insects, hunting from perches to capture prey on the ground. Breeding from April to June, they build nests on the ground under bushes, rocks, or branches from grass and hair where females lay clutches of three or four eggs.

[birdstudies]

May 23, 2025 - Arafura Shrikethrush (Colluricincla megarhyncha) Found in parts of Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea, these shrikethrushes live in forests, often near water. They eat invertebrates, including insects, snails, and small crabs, some seeds and fruit, and rarely, small birds. Pairs build deep cup-shaped nests from dry leaves, twigs, bark strips, plant fibers, stems, and other materials. Females lay clutches of one to three eggs. Both parents care for the chicks.