Audio with the information on the sign in English
Audio Everything changes: What are birds like today?
Their main characteristics are a horny beak without teeth, feathers, hollow bones and the ability to regulate their body temperature (warm blood). They reproduce by laying eggs and stand on their hind legs, while the front ones are transformed into wings.
More than half of the current bird species are classified within the Passeriformes Order. The perching birds have prehensile legs to hold on to the branches and most have a syrinx in the trachea, which allows them to emit varied songs (trill).
Almost half of the species migrate to use the best places to breed in summer and feed in winter. In Villa El Chocón, there is an area where around 80 species are observed throughout the year, as it is a central node in migration routes from southern Patagonia to central Argentina (steppe-mountain) or vice versa, according to the season.
The parts of a bird shown on the chart are extremely important for both description and identification in the field. These sectors differ mainly by their shape and color. On the head, below the forehead, they have the lore and lower down the culmen, just above the jaw. Towards the sides, below the eyes they have the cheeks, also called ear patches, lower down the throat and then the chest, below which is the pectoral collar and then the belly. On the sides of this they present the flanks and above the wings. These are made up by the shoulders, the primary remiges, which are the longest feathers, and the secondaries, closer to the body and shorter. From the head to the tail, the back appears first, then the lower back and then the undertail. The tail or rump has feathers called rectrices, which help direct the flight. Lastly, both legs have tarsi and toes.
This sign is located at 39° 16′ 15.19″ South latitude and 68° 49′ 21.67″ West longitude.
Birdwatching
In winter, they often visit this place:
Black-Faced Ibis (Theristicus melanops), Upland Goose (Choephaga picta), Ashy-Headed Goose (Choephaga poliocephala), Dark-Faced Ground Tyrant (Theristicus melanops) and Two-Banded Plover (Charadrius falklandicus)
Black-Faced Ibis: measures 57 centimeters. It is often on ground, trusting and walks in groups. It inhabits wetlands and feeds on worms, tadpoles, crickets and larvae.
Scarlet flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus): it measures 13 centimeters. It migrates from the Northern hemisphere. It is observed alone or in pairs. They are trusting, but the female hides more than the male, especially when she is incubating. It nests in the trees of our area. They feed on insects, which they catch in flight.
Dark-Faced Ground Tyrant: it measures 15 centimeters. It goes in small groups or alone, usually on the ground. It feeds on larvae, eggs and insects that hunts in short runs
And in summer:
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura), Chilean Flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis), White-Faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi), White-Rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis), Blue-and-White Swallow (Pygochelidon cyanoleuca), Southern Martin (Progne modesta), South American Stilt (Himantopus melanurus), Spectacled Tyrant (Hymenops perspicillatus)
Scarlet Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubins) and Tropical Kingbird (Tyrannus melancholicus).
White-Faced Ibis: it measures 40 centimeters. It lives in water and rural environments; it flies forming a «V» shape. It has an iridescent color in spring, during the breeding season.
Villa El Chocón birds check list
Next, you will hear the names, colloquial and scientific, of the 85 species that have been recorded in the Villa and then their song, so you can identify them.