© monacoeye. All rights reserved. Pantanal, August

Bird name: Great Egret
Latin: Ardea alba
Other: Grande Aigrette (Fr) • Kotuku (NZ) • Great White Egret • Common Egret • Garça-branca-grande (Br)
Family: Ardeidae • Herons, Egrets
Range: Worldwide
Similar: Little Egret, Intermediate Egret, White Stork

The Great Egret is a prominent large heron with all-white plumage, large wingspan, yellow bill, dark feet. Neck retracted in flight. In breeding plumage (see below in Romania), bill can be black, lores green, tibia red.

Seen regularly by rivers, lakes etc. France, Brazil, Africa etc.

The subspecies Ardea alba alba (Europe) (see “more photos”), Ardea alba egretta (Americas), Ardea alba melanorhynchos (Africa) and Ardea alba modesta (Asia & Australasia) were split by the IOC and then relumped.

Great Egret standing on tree, Pantanal, August


Great Egret in flight showing streamers, Mostardas, RS, Brazil, November


Great Egret in breeding plumage, green lores, black bill, red tibia. Danube Delta, May.
More photos...

© monacoeye • Lagoa do Peixe, Brasil • All rights reserved

Bird name: Neotropic Cormorant
Latin: Phalacrocorax brasilianus
Other: Olivaceous Cormorant • Biguá (Br) • Cormorán Neotropical (Es)
Family: Phalacrocoracidae • Cormorants
Range: Southern USA to southern South America
Similar:

The Neotropic Cormorant is widespread in the American tropics and sub-tropics. The photo above was taken in Lagoa do Peixe in southern Brazil, Phalacrocorax brasilianus brasilianus.

Directly below, birds on the Pacific coast of Panama, near Panama City, where there are large colonies.

Further below, the darker birds, seen in Brazil, may be immatures.


Panama City, Panama, May 2010
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Photo copyright: monacoeye • Do not copy • Images: Ubatuba Florianopolis Brazil

Bird name: Magnificent Frigatebird
Latin: Fregata magnificens
Other: Tesourão (Br) • Fragata magnífica (Es)
Family: Fregatidae • Frigatebirds

The Magnificent Frigatebirds I saw often seemed to accompany other birds - stealing fish from Brown Boobies in Santa Catarina, or soaring on thermals with Black Vultures in Ubatuba.

Many seen on the coast in Panama CityMore photos...

Copyright: monacoeye • Santa Catarina • May 2007 • Do not copy

Bird name: American Black Vulture
Latin: Coragyps atratus
Other: Black Vulture • South American Black Vulture • Urubu (Br) • Zopilote Común (Es)
Family: Cathartidae • New World Vultures
Range:
Similar: Turkey Vulture, Comparison

The American Black Vulture’s range extends from the southern US to the southernmost tip of Brazil. The Brazilian subspecies, Coragyps atratus brasiliensis, is known as the South American Black Vulture.

These photos were taken in Brazil, where the Urubu, as the bird is known locally, is a familiar sight and always to be found on beaches where fisherman operate, as well as rubbish dumps, and just “around town” generally.

American Black Vultures are large birds, with one-metre-fifty wingspans - they are elegant gliders and have a slow and lazy wingbeat. Underside of wings are lightish (but usually look black against the sky) with dark coverts and white wing tips. The uppersides are black with light wingtips (see below in “more photos”).

Not to be confused with the Eurasian Black Vulture.

Photo copyright: monacoeye • Ubatuba • October 2009 • Do not copy

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Photo copyright: monacoeye • Do not copy • Images: Lagoa do Peixe November 2009

Bird name: Cattle Tyrant
Latin: Machetornis rixosa
Other: Suiriri-cavaleiro (Br) • Matadura (Es), Picabuey
Family: Tyrannidae • Tyrant Flycatchers

The Cattle Tyrant, found at low altitudes, often picking insects off large mammals or walking on the ground. Below a picture of a Cattle Tyrant scouring the beach for food in Santa Catarina. Its range extends from Argentina to Venezuela.

Note light tip to tail and red line visible on crown of head in one picture below. Often has reddish eyes. Yellower neck often than Tropical Kingbird. For more differences with Tropical Kingbird see latter.More photos...

Photo copyright: monacoeye • Do not copy • Images: Florianopolis Brazil

Bird name: Brown Booby
Latin: Sula leucogaster
Other: Atobá-pardo (Br) • Alcatraz pardo (Es)
Family: Sulidae • Boobies

A few shots of Brown Boobies near the beach in Floraniopolis. They flew in from the ocean in the evening and started diving into the water in the bay pulling out fish. Soon Magnificent Frigatebirds appeared. The latter put an end to their fun, stealing the fish from their beaks and harassing them so that the Brown Boobies left.More photos...

Photo copyright: monacoeye • Do not copy • Images: Brazil • November 2009

Bird name: Great Kiskadee
Latin: Pitangus sulphuratus
Other: Bem-te-vi (Br) • Benteveo (Es)
Family: Tyrannidae • Tyrant Flycatchers

The Great Kiskadee is a common bird in Latin America and throughout Brazil, where it’s known as Bem-te-vi (good to see you) - one of a complex of similar-looking birds.

Two other birds in Brazil with yellow belly, brown upperside, white chest and neck, black eye-stripe, white superciliary stripe are the Social Flycatcher and Boat-billed Flycatcher, though there are about ten other such doppelgangers in Brazil alone.

The Great Kiskadee is a bit larger than the Social Flycatcher, with heavier and straighter bill. Easy to recognise by its omnipresent and song: “kiskadee” or “bem-ti-vi”. It has a yellow crest.

Below (“more photos” link) is an odd, presumed Great Kiskadee with dark streaking on underparts, seen in Lagoa do Peixe. In Rio Grande do Sul, Great Kiskadees were seen mobbing birds of prey on several occasions. In Ubatuba, they were seen flying over the ocean waves. Great Kiskadees are one of the few passerines which sometimes fish.

Spanish names: cristofué, benteveo, bicho feo, bienteveo común, pecho amarillo, cierto guïs and pitogüéMore photos...

Bird name: South American Tern
Latin: Sterna hirundinacea
Other:
Family: Laridae • Terns
Range:
Similar:

A blurry photo of a South American Tern from a few years ago…More photos...