Fact Sheet: TURQUOISE TANAGER - Tangara mexicana

(Original Title: Rainforest Birds - Turquoise Tanager)

Turquoise Tanager - Jurong Bird Park, Singapore (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Bird Name:

Turquoise Tanager

Latin Name:

Tangara Mexicana

Status:

Least Concern

Scientific Classification:

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Passeriformes

Family: Thraupidae

Genus: Tangara

Species: T. Mexicana

General Information:

The Turquoise Tanager is a medium-sized passerine bird that occurs in northern and northeastern South America. It is a resident of the Amazon Basin as well as adjacent rivers. It is a social bird and is often found in small flocks.

Physical Description:

The adult birds are around 5.5 inches long and weigh approximately 20 grams. They have long tails and dark stout bills. When fully grown, these tanagers are dark blue in color with yellow underparts. The Trinidadian form, T. m. vieiloti has a darker blue hue and brighter yellow belly than their mainland counterparts. The east Brazilian subspecies, T. m. brasiliensis is pale, silvery-blue with dark spots on its throat and chest and white on its belly.

Diet:

The Turquoise Tanager feeds primarily on fruit but will also eat insects, flowers, leaves, and seeds.

Habitat:

Its range stretches within the Amazon Basin to Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, Brazil, Bolivia. It is also common on the island of Trinidad, where it is a resident breeder. It inhabits forests, semi-open areas, and cultivated lands. This bird typically builds a bulky cup nest in a tree or shrub. In eastern Brazil, there is a disjunct population living from Bahia to Rio de Janeiro.

Reproduction:

The female Turquoise Tanager lays 2 to 3 brown-blotched, gray-green eggs per clutch. The female incubates the eggs for about 12 - 14 days. Pairs break off from the flock to reproduce. After hatching, pairs rejoin the flock but return to feed the young.

By Tony Mandarich Author Tony Mandarich has written many articles about one of his passions, rainforest birds. Article Source: EzineArticles

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Fact Sheet: BANK MYNA - Acridotheres ginginianus

(Original Title: Rainforest Birds - Bank Myna)

Bank Myna( Acridotheres ginginianus )
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Bird Name:

Bank Myna

Latin Name:

Acridotheres ginginianus

Status:

Least Concern

Scientific Classification:

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Passeriformes

Family: Sturnidae

Genus: Acridotheres

Species: A. ginginianus

General Information:

The Bank Myna is an endemic species of South Asia, where it is known locally by a diverse collection of names, including the Ganga Myna, the Bardi Myna, and the Daryl Myna. This bird is similar in its coloration to the Common Myna, with which it also shares its range, but is smaller. It is a gregarious bird and is often seen in flocks during the breeding season.

Physical Description:

On average it is 8 - 8.5 inches in length. It is a stocky bird, blue-grayish in plumage with darker colored wings. It has a black head with an orange bill and orange eye patches. The sexes are similar in appearance, but the juvenile is paler and browner in color.

Diet:

It feeds on fruits, grains, and insects. Because it feeds on sorghum, it can be destructive to crops. At the same time, the Bank Myna also eats pest insects, making it beneficial to crops as well.

Habitat:

It is often found in riverbank habitats

as well as in open country and near human habitation. Its range covers portions of Pakistan, northern Indian and east to Bangladesh. Individuals have also been spotted as far as Afghanistan. It utilizes a variety of spaces for nesting, including tunnels in riverbanks, earthen wells and sides of disused brick kilns.

Reproduction:

The nesting season for the bird occurs from May to August, principally from April to June. The female generally lays 3 - 5 glossy pale-blue eggs per clutch.

By Tony Mandarich Tony Mandarich is an expert on a wide array of topics. Article Source: EzineArticles

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Fact Sheet: SPOTTED TANAGER - Tangara punctata

(Original Title: Rainforest Birds - Spotted Tanager)

Photo by warriorwoman531

Bird Name:

Spotted Tanager

Latin Name:

Tangara punctata

Status:

Least Concern

Scientific Classification:

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Passeriformes

Family: Thraupidae

Genus: Tangara

Species: T. punctata

General Information:

The Spotted Tanager is endemic to South America. There are 5 subspecies of this tanager. They are seen singly, in pairs, or small family groups. They travel independently or with other canopy tanagers.

Physical Description:

This bird averages 11 to 12 cm in length and weighs approximately 13 to 17 g. It is mainly green in color with a creamy white belly. Almost its entire body is covered in black spots. The sexes are similar in appearance, but the female is slightly washed out with less conspicuous spots compared to the male. Juveniles resemble duller, slightly more brownish versions of the adults.

Diet:

It feeds on fruits, seeds, nectar, and insects, such as beetles. They forage in the crowns of trees, average 15 to 50 m above the ground, but will come down to obtain fruit from smaller trees and shrubs.

Habitat:

The bird thrives in forests, forest edges, and nearby second growths. It has also been found on shaded plantations and tree-studded clearings. Its range encompasses Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, the Guianas, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. This Tanager inhabits forest edge, second growth forest and forest, particularly the mossy forest of the Andes, the terra firma forest of eastern Amazonia and the Savanna Forest of Suriname. Typical elevation range for this species is sea level to 1700 m.

Reproduction:

The female usually lays two creamy white eggs speckled with brown per clutch. Incubation lasts approximately 14 days and leaving the nest occurs about 14 to 18 days later.

By Tony Mandarich Tony Mandarich has knowledge on a wide array of subjects. Article Source: EzineArticles

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Fact Sheet: RED-BILLED LEIOTHRIX or Pekin Robin - Leiothrix lutea

(Original Title: Rainforest Birds - Red-Billed Leiothrix or Pekin Robin)

Red-billed Leiothrix  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Bird Name:

Red-billed Leiothrix or Pekin Robin

Latin Name:

Leiothrix lutea

Status:

Least Concern

Although added to CITIES Appendix II in 1998.

Scientific Classification:

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Passeriformes

Family: Timaliidae

Genus: Leiothrix

Species: L. lutea

General information:

Common names of the Red-billed Leiothrix include Pekin Robin, Pekin Nightingale, Chinese Nightingale and Japanese (Hill) Robin.

The Red-billed Leiothrix is a brightly coloured babbler. Two subspecies exist, in the western range L. lutea kumaiensis and in the eastern range L. lutea calipyga. The rarer L. l. kumaiensis has the absence of the red edge on the inner primaries. Common in the pet trade, Red-billed Leiothrix is known for its loud melodious songs. It is currently of lest concern on the IUCN red list but was added to CITIES in 1998 because native habitat is being destroyed and the demand of the cage bird market.

Physical Description:

The Red-billed Leiothrix averages 13-15 cm in length and weighs 21-25 gm. Adults are brightly colored and have red bills with a dull yellow ring around their eyes. Their backs are a dull olive green and they have a bright yellow-orange throat with a yellow chin. They have a forked blackish tail. The sexes appear similar although males are brighter in color. Juveniles have black bills and grey coats.

Diet:

Fruits and seeds are the primary diets, although they will eat small invertebrates including larval and adult butterflies, moths, millipedes, and spiders. The Red-billed Leiothrix feeds in groups, except when pairs are breeding. Water is obtained from pools on fallen leaves.

Habitat:

The Red-billed Leiothrix is native to Southern Asia ranging from central Himalayas in India and Nepal eastwards to Burma and Vietnam. It was introduced to the Hawaiian Islands from escaped cage birds. Small populations also escaped in Japan. The Red-billed Leiothrix inhabits underbrush with a dense cover of vegetation near the ground. Cup nest made of leaves and moss lined with fungal substance usually on a low horizontal forked branch. They favor areas with heavy rainfall, at least 40 inches of rain yearly. They are often found traveling in small flocks.

Reproduction:

The Red-billed Leiothrix breeds March to August. They are monogamous and the pairs will mate for life. The clutch consists of 3 or 4 egg, although 5 can occur. Eggs are a pale blue with reddish spots. Due to low nest placement, eggs are highly vulnerable to predators, especially rats. Adults may distract predators away from the nest by running and calling on the ground. Incubation is approximately 14 days. Both parents contribute to the feeding of the young. Most commonly insects and small fruits are the early food source. Nestlings have a bright reddish apricot skin.

By Tony Mandarich Author Tony Mandarich has written many articles about one of his passions, rainforest birds. Article Source: EzineArticles

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Fact Sheet: BAY-HEADED TANAGER - Tangara gyrola

(Original Title: Rainforest Birds - Bay-Headed Tanager)

A Bay-headed Tanager (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Bird Name:

Bay-headed Tanager

Latin Name:

Tangara gyrola

Status:

Least Concern

Scientific Classification:

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Passeriformes

Family: Thraupidae

Genus: Tangara

Species: T. gyrola

General Information:

The Bay-Headed Tanager is a social, medium-sized bird of Central and South America. It is common throughout its extensive range. There are nine subspecies of the Bay-headed Tanager.

Physical Description:

These adult birds measure about 14 cm in length and weigh approximately 19.5 g. There is considerable variation in plumage within the subspecies. T. g. gyrola, the nominate type, is mainly green with a chestnut colored head, blue belly, and a thin golden band around its hind neck. The sexes are alike in appearance and the juveniles are duller in plumage and have green heads with chestnut speckles.

Diet:

The bird feeds primarily on fruit, which is often swallowed whole. They have also been known to pick insects off the underside of branches.

Habitat:

Its range spans from Central America, including Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama, down to the Amazon Basin including Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. It is also present on the island of Trinidad and Tobago. The Bay-headed Tanager occurs in forests and they prefer the wetter areas. The common habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.

Reproduction:

The bird builds a bulky cup nest in a tree. The female will normally lay two creamy white eggs that are speckled with brown. She will incubate them for a period of approximately14 days. The chicks will fledge after another 15 to 16 days.

By Tony Mandarich - Article Source: EzineArticles

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