WING-BANDED HORNERO

CASACA-DE-COURO-DA-LAMA (AS KNOWN IN BRAZIL)

Furnarius figulus

The Wing-Banded Hornero, also known as Band-Tailed Hornero and Tail-Banded Hornero, measures between 5 and 6,2 inches in length and weighs about 0,9 ounces. It has a reddish-brown head and a white stripe above its eyes.

It feeds on small insects and their larvae, usually collected in low vegetation in wet areas, where it may also capture small fish.

It builds its nest in the shape of a grass cup with plant fibers. It lives in riparian forests, marshes, and wetlands. It ventures into cities where there is water and mud, such as gardens, stream banks, and mud puddles on dirt roads. It enjoys singing alone or in duets. It is quite similar to the Rufous Hornero (or João-de-Deus in Portuguese), it even shares similar habits and adjacent territories, but it's mainly distinguished by its stronger and more tawny coloration.

It is spotted in two distinct areas: along the middle and lower Amazon River and Araguaia River (Amazonia, Pará, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Goiás), and throughout the entire Brazilian Northeast down to the South.