A Sprinkle of Earth
Fluvicola nengeta nengeta - Masked Water-Tyrant / Lavadeira-Mascarada / Noivinha... (Linnaeus, 1766)
Snorkel
Description: Fluvicola nengeta nengeta is a bird in the class Aves, order Passeriformes, suborder Tyranni, family Tyrannidae and subfamily Tyranninae.
Adults depict a white plumage, a black stripe going just before the eyes towards the beak and circling the head towards the posterior of the other eye. The wings are blackish-brown, the beak is pointy and the legs are dark. The tail is composed of black feathers with a white tip while the dorso of the body is white. The crown, neck and forehead are white. The mantle possesses a slightly lighter, greyish-brown coloring, with the wings being mostly blackish-brown, yet also displaying a darker greyish-brown coloring. The iris of the eyes is black.
The bird's chirp is low yet constant, often given in flight and proceeding to be repeated softly. They prefer to live near water and will usually appear in gardens with water or sprinklers on to take showers. With this need of water taken in account, they are commonly seen in lawns, lowland semi-open shrubby areas in which water is present, marshy areas, fields, etc. Twigs are used to make the nests on the surface of the water and next to trees, a strategic survival technique to protect the offspring against predation. Originally, they were found in the Northwest of Brazil but are now expanding towards the South of Brazil, including the Atlantic Forest and São Paulo to Santa Catarina given all the deforastation conducted to make constructions and anthropogenic environments, including the artificial creation of pastures, weirs and semi-arids, with the important mention of climatic changes and artificial coursing of rivers on the Southwestern region. The Atlantic Forest previously served as a barrier to their spreading but due to its loss of space and replacement for pastures and cultures that are reminiscent of the semi-arid, their wider distribution became a fact.
This is a bird of small stature, measuring around 145-150mm (with claims up to 200mm) in height with no apparent sexual dimorphism.
They are usually mistaken with the similar Xolmis velatus which can be easily differentiated from Fluvicola nengeta through careful observation of physical traits, such as the discontinuation of the facial stripe towards the beak, different wing patterns and coloring, as well as a much different behavior, preferring to live away from the water.
Adults rarely stray from water sources, where they usually hunt for Arthropoda, their main food source, and live around floating vegetation. Primarily, foraging takes place on or near the ground.
This source (g1.globo.com/sp/campinas-regiao/terra-da-gente/fauna/noti...) mentions a very subtle sexual dimorphism in which the males possess a darker back; this definitely requires confirmation.
During the mating display, "...they face each other with the tail spread and raised, bobbing up and down..." (www.hbw.com/species/masked-water-tyrant-fluvicola-nengeta...), also fanning the tail and spreading the wings. When young they are similar to the adults, but they display a slight, pale yellow labial comissure. Incubation takes around 15 days and two to three birds are born. The eggs are white with brown markings. Males and females are usually seen together. The males monitor and defend the nests. The mating season goes from November to March with up to 4 broods.
Two subspecies are present:
Fluvicola nengeta atripennis (P. L. Sclater, 1860) - Southwest of Colombia (Nariño), West of Ecuador (South from Esmeraldas), South to extreme Northwestern Peru (Tumbes). (www.hbw.com/node/1348326)
Fluvicola nengeta nengeta (Linnaeus, 1766) - Eastern and Southern Brazil from Eastern Pará and Tocantins to Eastern Rio Grande do Norte, South to Mato Grosso do Sul and Santa Catarina, recently expanding to Northeastern Argentina (Misiones) and Southeastern Paraguay. (www.hbw.com/node/1347629)
The scientific name translates to "riverside whispering bird". The F. n. nengeta's population is listed in the IUCN 3.1 as "Least Concern".
Sources:
The very good source of information on Aves, also including the sounds the F. nengeta make: www.wikiaves.com.br/lavadeira-mascarada
pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavadeira-mascarada
www.photoaves.com/lavadeira-mascarada
apassarinhologa.com.br/lavadeira-mascarada-fluvicola-neng...
g1.globo.com/sp/campinas-regiao/terra-da-gente/fauna/noti...
www.hbw.com/ibc/species/masked-water-tyrant-fluvicola-nen...
F. n. atripennis at the bottom of the page: antpitta.com/images/photos/tyrants/gallery_tyrants5.htm
eol.org/pages/1053131/overview
PROJECT NOAH (Português): www.projectnoah.org/spottings/1819248628
iNaturalist (Português): www.inaturalist.org/observations/16974062
Fluvicola nengeta nengeta - Masked Water-Tyrant / Lavadeira-Mascarada / Noivinha... (Linnaeus, 1766)
Snorkel
Description: Fluvicola nengeta nengeta is a bird in the class Aves, order Passeriformes, suborder Tyranni, family Tyrannidae and subfamily Tyranninae.
Adults depict a white plumage, a black stripe going just before the eyes towards the beak and circling the head towards the posterior of the other eye. The wings are blackish-brown, the beak is pointy and the legs are dark. The tail is composed of black feathers with a white tip while the dorso of the body is white. The crown, neck and forehead are white. The mantle possesses a slightly lighter, greyish-brown coloring, with the wings being mostly blackish-brown, yet also displaying a darker greyish-brown coloring. The iris of the eyes is black.
The bird's chirp is low yet constant, often given in flight and proceeding to be repeated softly. They prefer to live near water and will usually appear in gardens with water or sprinklers on to take showers. With this need of water taken in account, they are commonly seen in lawns, lowland semi-open shrubby areas in which water is present, marshy areas, fields, etc. Twigs are used to make the nests on the surface of the water and next to trees, a strategic survival technique to protect the offspring against predation. Originally, they were found in the Northwest of Brazil but are now expanding towards the South of Brazil, including the Atlantic Forest and São Paulo to Santa Catarina given all the deforastation conducted to make constructions and anthropogenic environments, including the artificial creation of pastures, weirs and semi-arids, with the important mention of climatic changes and artificial coursing of rivers on the Southwestern region. The Atlantic Forest previously served as a barrier to their spreading but due to its loss of space and replacement for pastures and cultures that are reminiscent of the semi-arid, their wider distribution became a fact.
This is a bird of small stature, measuring around 145-150mm (with claims up to 200mm) in height with no apparent sexual dimorphism.
They are usually mistaken with the similar Xolmis velatus which can be easily differentiated from Fluvicola nengeta through careful observation of physical traits, such as the discontinuation of the facial stripe towards the beak, different wing patterns and coloring, as well as a much different behavior, preferring to live away from the water.
Adults rarely stray from water sources, where they usually hunt for Arthropoda, their main food source, and live around floating vegetation. Primarily, foraging takes place on or near the ground.
This source (g1.globo.com/sp/campinas-regiao/terra-da-gente/fauna/noti...) mentions a very subtle sexual dimorphism in which the males possess a darker back; this definitely requires confirmation.
During the mating display, "...they face each other with the tail spread and raised, bobbing up and down..." (www.hbw.com/species/masked-water-tyrant-fluvicola-nengeta...), also fanning the tail and spreading the wings. When young they are similar to the adults, but they display a slight, pale yellow labial comissure. Incubation takes around 15 days and two to three birds are born. The eggs are white with brown markings. Males and females are usually seen together. The males monitor and defend the nests. The mating season goes from November to March with up to 4 broods.
Two subspecies are present:
Fluvicola nengeta atripennis (P. L. Sclater, 1860) - Southwest of Colombia (Nariño), West of Ecuador (South from Esmeraldas), South to extreme Northwestern Peru (Tumbes). (www.hbw.com/node/1348326)
Fluvicola nengeta nengeta (Linnaeus, 1766) - Eastern and Southern Brazil from Eastern Pará and Tocantins to Eastern Rio Grande do Norte, South to Mato Grosso do Sul and Santa Catarina, recently expanding to Northeastern Argentina (Misiones) and Southeastern Paraguay. (www.hbw.com/node/1347629)
The scientific name translates to "riverside whispering bird". The F. n. nengeta's population is listed in the IUCN 3.1 as "Least Concern".
Sources:
The very good source of information on Aves, also including the sounds the F. nengeta make: www.wikiaves.com.br/lavadeira-mascarada
pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavadeira-mascarada
www.photoaves.com/lavadeira-mascarada
apassarinhologa.com.br/lavadeira-mascarada-fluvicola-neng...
g1.globo.com/sp/campinas-regiao/terra-da-gente/fauna/noti...
www.hbw.com/ibc/species/masked-water-tyrant-fluvicola-nen...
F. n. atripennis at the bottom of the page: antpitta.com/images/photos/tyrants/gallery_tyrants5.htm
eol.org/pages/1053131/overview
PROJECT NOAH (Português): www.projectnoah.org/spottings/1819248628
iNaturalist (Português): www.inaturalist.org/observations/16974062