E-Bulletin Nr. 6 - Backyard Birding

Observing birds is an activity that brings joy to many people all around the globe. Although very gratifying, birding can be a difficult task in some places, especially in Brazil. Not only do birds move fast and keep their distance from humans but also many species like to stay high in the forest canopies. Access to some of the areas can also be difficult due to the dense vegetation. The best alternative to birding out in the field is doing it in your own backyard. To attract birds all you need to do is to place feeders and nest boxes around the house, like a good number of people do in the Northern hemisphere. Although this is not a very common practice here in Brazil there are a few people, like us, who place fruits, seeds and water to attract the birds. This "help" is especially important during the winter season, when there are very few plants that bear fruit. Since the winters are mild, most birds do not migrate, so the competition for the few resources available is fierce. Anything that is placed outside, from rice, seeds to fruits, is welcomed by most birds. There is nothing more pleasurable than to watch these little guys come visit our feeders everyday. No better way to observe these birds from the comfort of your home!

Brazilian Backyard Visitors

The main food that we give to the birds is fruit: bananas, oranges, papayas, apples and mangoes, since a great number of birds in Brazil are fruit eaters. Amazingly enough, bananas will attract even birds who are thought to be strict insectivores like the barred antshrike. You would not believe our amazement when we saw a female and male trying the banana for the first time. We think that maybe they were trying to catch an insect on the banana and had a taste of it by accident. Once they had a taste, they were hooked! Since then, they started coming for bananas almost everyday, even during the times of the year when insects are abundant. Our other frequent visitors are the Sayaca Tanager, Palm Tanager, Epaulet Oriole, Orange-headed Tanager, Ruby-crowned Tanager, Bananaquit, Burnished-buff Tanager, Silver-beaked Tanager, Creamy-bellied Thrush, Pale-breasted Thrush, Chalk-browed Mockingbird, House Sparrow (we are not too happy with these visitors), and occasionally we will see Blue Dacnis, Great Kiskadee among others.

Featured Bird - Barred Antshrike

Our featured bird of this volume is the Barred Antshrike, Thamnophilus doliatus. If you were to see the female and the male of this species separately and for the first time, you would probably think that they are two completey different species. While the male is barred with black and white stripes, the female is mainly two different shades of rufus. Only when together can you compare their features and also when they sing together can you really tell that what seems to be two different species is really a pair. According to the literature available these little birds are insectivores, but we observed them on various occasions feasting on bananas. This is an amazingly beautiful species.