Bird Studies

July 4, 2026 - White-browed Scrubwren (Sericornis frontalis) Found in parts of eastern and southern Australia, these scrubwrens live in forests, shrublands, and urban areas. They eat invertebrates, along with seeds and fruit, foraging in trees, dense vegetation, and on the ground in pairs or small flocks, often with other species. Breeding in all months, though particularly from August to January, they raise several broods per season, nesting in pairs or cooperative groups. They build domed nests with side entrances from loose grass, twigs, fine roots, leaves, feathers, hair, and other materials on or near the ground in cavities, vegetation, or artificial sites like flower pots and baskets. Females incubate clutches of two or three eggs and usually brood the chicks. Both parents and any helpers feed the chicks.

July 3, 2026 - Rufous-tailed Lark or Rufous-tailed Finch-lark (Ammomanes phoenicura) Found in much of India and northeastern Pakistan, these larks live in open rocky and scrubby habitats, including savannas and cultivated areas. They eat seeds and invertebrates, foraging on the ground alone, in pairs, or in flocks. Breeding from February to May, pairs build small cup-shaped nests lined with soft grass, and occasionally surrounded by twigs, pebbles, and other debris, on the ground in natural depressions, sometimes under bushes, rocks, or clumps of mud. Females lay clutches of two to four eggs. Both parents feed the chicks. They are classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN as their population is declining moderately rapidly, though the reasons for this need further study.

July 2, 2026 - White-tailed Ant Thrush or White-tailed Rufous Thrush (Neocossyphus poensis) Found across parts of western and central Africa, these thrushes live in and around forests, often near water. They mostly eat small insects and their larvae, along with other invertebrates, and rarely small frogs and berries, foraging on or near the ground. Usually following army ant swarms, they join mixed-species flocks and often act aggressively toward other birds following the ants. While little is known about their nesting behavior, adults in breeding condition and young birds have been found between April and November depending on the area of their range.

July 1, 2026 - Waller's Starling (Onychognathus walleri) Found in a spotty range in parts of central and eastern Africa, these starlings live in and around mountain and lowland forests. They eat a variety of fruits along with chameleons, spiders, and insects, foraging in pairs and flocks, mostly in the canopy. Pairs build cup-shaped nests from moss, bark, dead leaves, thin twigs, and liana fibers in cavities in trees. Females incubate the eggs alone but both parents feed the chicks.

June 30, 2026 - Buff-browed Foliage-gleaner (Syndactyla rufosuperciliata) Found in the Andes from Ecuador south to northern Argentina and in a separate range in southeastern Brazil, southern Paraguay, Uruguay, and northeastern Argentina, these birds in the ovenbird family live in mountain and lowland forests. Foraging alone or in pairs and joining mixed-species flocks, they eat arthropods, usually picking prey from branches, dead leaf clusters, and other surfaces primarily in the undergrowth. Though little is known about their breeding behavior, they nest in cavities, probably building shallow cups from twigs where females lay clutches of two to four eggs.

June 29, 2026 - Pale-tailed Canastero or Huancavelica Canastero (Asthenes huancavelicae) Found in several separate ranges in the Andes of Peru, these birds in the ovenbird family live in dry scrubby habitats with scattered cacti, trees, and shrubs. Often foraging in pairs on the ground or in bushes and trees they are thought to eat mostly insects, though the details of their diet are unknown. While little is known about their breeding behavior, one subspecies builds semi-spherical stick nests with side entrances, usually in cacti.

June 28, 2026 - Sunda Coucal (Centropus nigrorufus) Found only on the island of Java in Indonesia, these cuckoos live in marshes, mangroves, swamps, estuaries, and nearby scrubby and grassy areas. Foraging on the ground, they eat insects and their eggs, frogs, snails, slugs, geckos, snakes, small mammals, and sometimes green rice seeds. Breeding from January to March and June, they build messy nests from ferns and grass leaves in clearings near rivers or in mangroves. They are classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN due to habitat loss and degradation as well as some trapping for the pet trade.

June 27, 2026 - Wetar Ground Dove (Pampusana hoedtii) These doves are found in lowland and hill forests, usually near water on the islands of Timor and Wetar. Flocks of up to 40 forage on the ground in some areas, feeding on fallen figs and fruits available from the ground. They may forage mostly in trees in other parts of their range. Though little is known about their breeding behavior, a male was observed carrying nesting material into the forest canopy above a stream in early May. They are classified as Endangered by the IUCN due to rapid declines to their population caused by habitat loss and trapping.

June 26, 2026 - Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida) Found in Japan, as well as Sakhalin, and the Kuril Islands, these accentors live in forests, thickets, scrub, and parks. They eat invertebrates and seeds, foraging mostly on the ground under vegetation and sometimes in trees and bushes. Breeding from May to August, they raise two broods a year. Females breed with multiple males and two males sometimes help females with one brood. They build cup-shaped nests lined with hair, fur, and feathers in low bushes or small pines where females lay clutches of three or four eggs.

June 25, 2026 - Dickinson's Kestrel (Falco dickinsoni) These kestrels are found in open savannas in parts of central, eastern, and southern Africa. Usually hunting from a perch, they eat small birds, lizards, insects and other invertebrates, small snakes, rodents, frogs, and bats. They are attracted to bushfires, hunting small birds and insects as they flee. Laying their eggs from July to December, they nest in scrapes in cavities in large trees, palm stumps, or old Hamerkop nests. Females lay clutches of two or three eggs and do most of the incubation while males bring them food. Though males initially bring food for the chicks, both parents later hunt.

June 24, 2026 - Margaret's Batis or Boulton's Batis (Batis margaritae) Found in parts of Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zambia, these batises live in forests, sometimes near water, and thickets. They eat insects, foraging in trees in pairs and sometimes joining flocks. One of their nests, found in mid-July in Angola, was constructed from fine grass, mosses, spiderwebs, and lichen pieces in the fork of a sapling, it contained two eggs.

June 23, 2026 - Crocker Jungle Flycatcher (Cyornis ruficrissa) Found in the mountains of Borneo, these flycatchers live in forests. Foraging alone, they are thought to eat small insects, though the details of their diet are unknown. While nothing is known about their breeding behavior some related species build cup-shaped nests.

June 22, 2026 - Plain Flowerpecker (Dicaeum minullum) Found from Nepal east through southern China and Taiwan and south to parts of western Indonesia, these flowerpeckers live in forests and cultivated areas. They eat insects, spiders, fruits, including those of figs and mistletoes, and nectar, foraging alone, in pairs, and in small groups. Pairs build hanging purse-shaped nests from fibers and vegetable down in trees, tall bushes, or sometimes in nettles and briars. Both parents incubate the clutches of two or three eggs and care for the chicks.

June 21, 2026 - Tamaulipas Crow (Corvus imparatus) Found in northeastern Mexico and extreme southern Texas in the United States, these crows live in open woodlands and cultivated and urban areas. They are omnivorous and though the details of their diet are not fully known, they have been recorded eating seeds, berries, the eggs and nestlings of doves, food scraps from garbage dumps, insects, and carrion. Pairs build stick nests lined with plant fibers where females incubate clutches of four or five eggs alone.

June 20, 2026 - Reiser's Tyrannulet (Phyllomyias reiseri) Found in parts of eastern central Brazil and eastern central Paraguay, these tyrant flycatchers live in forests, sometimes near water. Their diet is not known but they likely forage in the canopy and along the edges of the forest and often join mixed-species flocks. While nothing is known about their breeding behavior, a closely related species builds purse-shaped nests.

June 19, 2026 - Spot-crowned Antvireo (Dysithamnus puncticeps) Found from southeastern Costa Rica through Panama and western Colombia into northwestern Ecuador, these antbirds live in lowland and foothill forests. They eat arthropods, usually foraging in pairs or family groups, often in mixed-species flocks, picking prey from leaves while perched, hovering, or in short upward flights. Breeding from April to July in Panama and probably later in other parts of their range, they build cup-shaped nests hung from the rim in forked branches. Both parents probably incubate the eggs.

June 18, 2026 - Red-crowned Parakeet, Red-fronted Parakeet, Kaka-wairiki, Kawariki, Porete, or Powhaitere (Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae) Found mostly on offshore and outlying islands of Aotearoa (New Zealand), these parrots live in forests, grasslands, and shrublands. Often foraging on or near the ground, they eat mostly seeds, buds, blossoms, and fruit, along with some invertebrates in the spring. They nest in cavities in trees, cliff banks, rocks, the ground, or under dense vegetation. Females incubate clutches of four to nine eggs and brood and feed the chicks for the first week or two after they hatch while males bring them food. Both parents then feed the chicks.