Day: January 29, 2014

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Woodchat Shrike (Lanius senator)

by birdinfo • January 29, 2014 • 0 Comments

The Woodchat Shrike (Lanius senator) is a member of the shrike family Laniidae. The Woodchat breeds in southern Europe, the Middle East and northwest Africa, and winters in tropical Africa. It breeds in open cultivated country, preferably with orchard trees and some bare or sandy ground. The male is a striking bird with black and white plumage and a chestnut crown. The race L. s. badius of the western Mediterranean lacks the large white wing patches. In the female and young birds the upperparts are brown and vermiculated. Underparts are buff and also vermiculated.

This migratory medium-sized passerine eats large insects, small birds and amphibians. Like other shrikes it hunts from prominent perches, and impales corpses on thorns or barbed wire as a “larder”. This species often overshoots its breeding range on spring migration, and is a rare, but annual, visitor to Great Britain. The Balearic race badius has occurred in Britain around four times as a vagrant, and has also been recorded once in Ireland.

Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta)

by birdinfo • January 29, 2014 • 0 Comments

The Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) is a medium-sized icterid bird, about 8.5 in (22 cm) long. It nests on the ground in open country in western and central North America grassland. It feeds mostly on insects, but also seeds and berries. It has distinctive calls described as watery or flute-like, which distinguish it from the closely related Eastern Meadowlark. Adults have yellow underparts, with a black “V” on the breast, and white flanks which are streaked with black. Their upper parts are mostly brown, but also have black streaks. These birds have long pointed bills and their heads are striped with light brown and black.

Their breeding habitats are grasslands, prairies, pastures, and abandoned fields, all of which may be found from across western and central North America to northern Mexico. Where their range overlaps with the eastern species, these birds prefer thinner, drier vegetation; the two types of birds generally do not interbreed but do defend territory against one another. Their nests are situated on the ground, and are covered with a roof woven from grass. There may be more than one nesting female in a male’s territory. Their nests are sometimes destroyed by mowing operations with eggs and young in them. Western Meadowlarks are permanent residents throughout much of their range. Northern birds may migrate to the southern parts of their range; some birds also move east in the southern United States.

Red-necked Falcon or Red-headed Merlin (Falco chicquera)

by birdinfo • January 29, 2014 • 0 Comments

The Red-necked Falcon or Red-headed Merlin (Falco chicquera) is a bird of prey in the falcon family. This bird is a widespread resident in India and adjacent regions as well as sub-Saharan Africa. It is sometimes called Turumti locally.

The Red-necked Falcon is a medium-sized, long-winged species with a bright rufous crown and nape. It is on average 30–36 cm in length with a wingspan of 85 cm. The sexes are similar except in size: males are smaller than females as is usual in falcons. Young birds are buff below with less extensive barring and duller upper plumage.

The adult of the African subspecies Falco chicquera ruficollis has a white face apart from black moustachial stripes. The upperparts are pale grey, with black primary wing feathers and tail tip. The underparts are white with dark barring on the underwings, lower breast, belly and undertail. There is a buff foreneck band. The legs and eyering are yellow. The voice of this species is a shrill kek-kek-kek.

Steller’s Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus)

by birdinfo • January 29, 2014 • 0 Comments

The Steller’s Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) [2] is a large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It is an eagle that lives in coastal northeastern Asia and mainly preys on fish and water birds. On average, it is the heaviest eagle in the world, at about 5 to 9 kilograms (11 to 20 lb; 0.79 to 1.42 st), but may lag behind the Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja) and Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) in some standard measurements.[3] This bird is named after the German naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller.

Steller’s Sea-eagle is the biggest bird in the genus Haliaeetus and is one of the largest raptors overall. Females typically weigh from 6.8 to 9 kilograms (15 to 20 lb; 1.07 to 1.42 st), with an average of 7.6 kilograms (17 lb; 1.20 st) while males are rather lighter with a weight range from 4.9 to 6 kilograms (11 to 13 lb; 0.77 to 0.94 st).[3][6] At its average weight, the Steller’s outweighs both the average Harpy and the average Philippine Eagles by over 0.5 kilograms (1.1 lb; 0.079 st).[3] The Steller’s Sea Eagle’s can range in total length from 85 to 105 cm (33 to 41 in). The wingspan is from 1.95 to 2.5 m (6.4 to 8.2 ft) and the wing chord measurement is 57–68 cm (22–27 in).[3][5][7] The Steller’s sea eagle has the second largest median wingspan of any eagle.[3] Both the wing chord and wingspan, at an average of 2.13 m (7.0 ft), are similar or slightly smaller than to those of the Steller’s close relative, the White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), which is nonetheless rather smaller in both weight and total length.[3] As in mostHaliaeetus eagles, the tarsus and the tail in this species are relatively short compared to other very large eagles at 9.5–10 cm (3.7–3.9 in) and 32–39 cm (13–15 in) in length, respectively.[3][8] The bill is very large. In fact, the skull (at around 14.6 cm (5.7 in)) and the culmen (at around 7 cm (2.8 in)) of the Steller’s Sea Eagle are the largest of any eagle and are comparable in size to those of the largest accipitrids, the Old World vultures.

White-fronted Bee-eater (Merops bullockoides)

by birdinfo • January 29, 2014 • 0 Comments

The White-fronted Bee-eater (Merops bullockoides) is a species of bee-eater widely distributed in sub-equatorial Africa.

They have a distinctive white forehead, a square tail and a bright red patch on their throat. They nest in small colonies, digging holes in cliffs or earthen banks but can usually be seen in low trees waiting for passing insects from which they hunt either by making quick hawking flights or gliding down before hovering briefly to catch insects.

Brown Snake Eagle (Circaetus cinereus) & Lilac-breasted Roller (Coracias caudatus)

by birdinfo • January 29, 2014 • 0 Comments

The Brown Snake Eagle (Circaetus cinereus) is a species of bird of prey in the Accipitridae family. It is found throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

The Lilac-breasted Roller (Coracias caudatus) is a member of the roller family of birds. It is widely distributed in sub-Saharan Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula, preferring open woodland and savanna; it is largely absent from treeless places. Usually found alone or in pairs, it perches conspicuously at the tops of trees, poles or other high vantage points from where it can spot insects, lizards, scorpions, snails, small birds and rodents moving about at ground level.[2] Nesting takes place in a natural hole in a tree where a clutch of 2–4 eggs is laid, and incubated by both parents, who are extremely aggressive in defence of their nest, taking on raptors and other birds. During the breeding season the male will rise to great heights, descending in swoops and dives, while uttering harsh, discordant cries. The sexes are alike in coloration. Juveniles do not have the long tail feathers that adults do. This species is the national bird of Botswana and Kenya.