Laboratório de Tecnologia Educacional BIBLIOTECA DIGITAL               DE CIÊNCIAS

A ilustração mostra uma comparação de tamanho, em centímetros, dos animais invertebrados vetores de algumas zoonoses conhecidas no Brasil como: Leishmaniose, Malária, Dengue, Febre Maculosa e Doença de Chagas.

O infográfico tem como assunto a formação da pérola, explicando a origem animais e processos envolvidos, além de curiosidades. As imagens estão livres de direitos autorais obtidas em plataformas digitais com esse fim.

Physical appearance: 36 cm. The legs are short and yellow. The body is predominantly grey, darker in the back. The top of the head is black. The immature is striated and brownish. Distribution: American Continent, Africa, Asia, Australia and islands in the Pacific. Habitat: Rivers, lakes and mangroves of different sizes. Diet: Aquatic insects, mollusks, amphibians, reptiles and fish. Reproduction: The nest is a platform on the top of tall trees. Lays three eggs. Natural history: Solitary and migratory. There are saw-like structures inside the beak to help holding slippery food. May be eaten by carnivorous fish such as the trahiras (Hoplias sp.) when walking on flooded land....

Physical appearance: 11 cm. The upper parts are dark and the inferior parts yellow. There is a white bar in the supercilium. The females are smaller than the males. The immature individuals have grey belly and do not have the bar above the eye. Distribution: From Mexico to Chile. Habitat: Inhabits various environments provided there is plenty of trees and flowers. Diet: Feeds mainly on nectar. Also eats insects. Visits hummingbird feeders. Reproduction: Builds two kinds of nest. A breeding one that is compact with thick walls and a resting nest made of leaves, grass and spider webs. Lays two or three white eggs. Only the female incubates. The male helps feeding the brood with i...

Physical appearance: 35,5 cm. The body is bluish gray, with an iridescent region on the sides of the neck. There is a large white region on the wings. Distribution: From Northeastern Brazil to Argentina. Habitat: Cerrado, caatinga, gallery forests, fields, crops and urban areas. Diet: Feeds on seeds and small fruits. Reproduction: The nest is made of loosely crossed sticks. The white eggs (1 or 2) are incubated by the couple. The hatchlings are fed on “pigeon’s milk”. Natural history: It is one of the largest species of pigeon in Brazil. After breeding it gathers in flocks for migration. It is so common in some places that may turn into a nuisance. Has been successfully conqu...

18,5 cm. The body is brown, darker in the upper parts, wings and tail. The tip of the wings are cinnamon. The male’s head is light grey. The immature has buffy spots in the wings. Distribution: Throughout Brazil. From Mexico to Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina. Habitat: Lives in any open landscape. Adapts to life in big cities. Diet: Feeds on grains and fruits. Swallows the whole seeds, thus it may be poisoned by seeds with pesticides. Searchs for food on the ground. Reproduction: Breeds throughout the year, and may have three or four broods. When mating the male raises one of the wings. They caress each other in the head and give food as gifts. It is a monogamous species. The n...

62 cm in length, 143 cm of wingspan. The feathers are absent in the head and neck. The body is black, with white spots near the tip of the wings (seen only when flying). Distribution: From central U.S.A to central Argentina. Habitat: Virtually in any kind of landscape, preferably in open areas. Absent in large areas of dense vegetation. Diet: Mainly carrion. Does not hunt, but kills injured or young animals, such as turtle eggs and hatchlings, even newly born big mammals like calves. May eat fruits. The excellent eyesight helps finding carrion at long distances. Reproduction: The courtship consists of movements of the male jumping on the ground with the wings opened and then...

13,5 cm. The male’s top of the head is black with a scarlet topknot. The body is red, with the upper parts brownish red. The female does not have a topknot and the upper parts are brown. Distribution: From the Guyanas to Argentina. Habitat: Secondary forests, cerrado and farms. Diet: Feeds on seeds and insects. Reproduction: When breeding lives in pairs and the male protects the territory. Builds a cup-like nest with leaves, lichens and spider webs. Lays 3 to 5 bluish or white eggs. Both male and female feed the offspring. Natural history: The male’s topknot can only be seen when it is excited. When not breeding lives in groups, sometimes mixing with other species. In dry ...

33 cm. The tail is very long. It is all black. The bill is thick and strong. The skin is also black. Male and female are similar. Distribution: From Florida (U.S.A) to Argentina. Habitat: Inhabits open landscapes with grass. Prefers moist places. Diet: Consumes arthropods, mainly grasshoppers, and small vertebrates as lizards, mice and frogs. Also eats hatchlings. Fishes in shallow water. In some seasons, mostly in the dry ones when arthropods are scarce it eats fruits and seeds. Follows cattle and tractors in order to catch insects displaced by their movements. Reproduction: The male dances around the female on the ground. It offers food as a gift for the female but sometimes sw...

35cm Similarly to other Brazilian jays, the Curl-crested jay has white lower parts and blue and black upper parts. It may be confused with the Plush-crested jay (Cyanocorax chrysops), but while the last presents the crest in the back of the head, the yellow iris and a blue patch around the eyes, the Curl-crested jay presents the crest on the forehead, the red iris and the head is entirely black. Whereas the Old World ravens are mostly black, as well as the crows, the Brazilan corvids are colorful and most of them have white lower parts. There are 6 species of jays in Brazil, all of them extremely beautiful. The Curl-crested jay is one of Brazilian’s noisiest jays. To make the noise ...

60cm Identification: there are four mostly white species of egrets in Brazil, the snowy egret can be told apart by its smaller size and also for having the tip of the beak black and for having dark legs with yellow feet. Laypeople usually think this species is a young great egret, however it is technically different enough to be place in another genus. It is bit more demanding than the great egret regarding its habitat necessities, as it does not occur in polluted waters and is more strongly associated to aquatic plants such as the water lily. Its reduced size allows this bird to walk over the aquatic plants without sinking. It feeds mainly on small fishes and tadpoles. The nest is ...

19 cm. The Variegated Flycatcher is one of 3 widespread flycatchers that are streaked below. The Variegated is larger than the Piratic Flycatcher (Legatus leucophaius), has a longer bill, more rufous on the tail and whiter edging to its wing feathers. On the other hand, it is smaller than the Streaked Flycatcher (Myiodynastes maculatus) with darker upperparts and less well defined streaking below. Distribution: Throughout South America, mainly in the south. Habitat: Lives in forest borders and open areas provided there are tall trees in which it can perch. Diet: Flying insects, insects in the foliage and sometimes small fruits. Reproduction: The couple takes care of each other’s...

10,5 cm. The beak and a mask around the eye are bright red. The body is light brown, finely streaked. There may be a red region in the belly. As in other species of cage birds there is great color variation. Distribution: Originally in Africa but currently found in many places around the world. In Brazil it may be found in most of the country except from the Amazon region (where it may be found in the suburbs of big cities). Habitat: Open landscapes, fields, crops, gardens and parks. Diet: Seeds and occasionally insects. Reproduction: The nest is built by the couple in shrubs. Its walls are thick and made of grass, feathers and cotton. The entrance is hidden. Sometimes a false n...

15cm Identification: it is one of the largest hummingbirds. It is easily identified by the forked tail, reminding a pair of scissors. Unmistakably Brazilian’s best known hummingbird, this magnificent animal is also one of the most belligerent ones. It fiercely defends its territory – usually consisting of a flowering patch – against other birds, especially the bananaquit ( Coereba flaveola ). It sucks sweet water from feeders even if these are place in the interior of the houses, fearlessly entering the rooms. Like other hummingbirds it feeds mostly on nectar but also on insects. The female lays 2 or 3 eggs in a small bow-shaped nest and feeds the nestlings mainly with arthropods.

12,5 cm. The general color is green, but the male has a bright blue area in the wings and lower back. The female does not have this blue area and the belly is somewhat yellow. There may be mutations producing all yellow or blue individuals. The plumage of the immature individuals is not as bright as the adult’s. Distribution: Tropical South America. Habitat: Forest borders, gallery forests, parks, gardens and open areas. Diet: Feeds on fruits, seeds, buds and flowers. Reproduction: It is monogamous. The couple stays together for the rest of their lives. The nest is built inside a hole in a tree that may be an abandoned nest of hornero (Furnarius rufus) or an artificial nest box. ...

19 cm. The body is brown, darker in the back and ferruginous in the tail. The ventral part is light brown. Distribution: Northeast, Mideast to South of Brazil, also in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia. Has been spreading its distribution along with deforestation. Habitat: Open landscapes, fields, cerrado, lawns and gardens. Diet: Mainly arthropods, sometimes seeds. Reproduction: The couple builds the nest with mud, manure and straw that they carry with their beaks and model with their feet. The nest is usually built on tall trees. Each year a new nest is built, sometimes over the previous ones (up to 11 nests one above the other). The nest has two divisions and the eggs...

35 cm. The legs and the toes are long and green. Has a red shield-like structure in the forehead that is larger in the male. The neck and inferior parts are blue. The back is brown and there is a white band in the wing. The immature individuals are brown. Distribution: All over the world, except from Australia and New Zealand. Habitat: Lives in lakes, ponds and swamps, provided there is plenty of aquatic vegetation. May be found even in very polluted places and brackish water. Diet: Feeds on vegetables and aquatic insects. Usually dives to catch the food. When it does not dive it waters the food before swallowing. Reproduction: The nest is built among the aquatic vegetation. Th...

40cm. Identification: its most typical characteristic is the long forked tail. The only species it can be confused with is the Fork-tailed Flycatcher ( Tyrannus savana ), which has the lower parts in white, the head in black and the long tail feathers are broader. Very little is known about this species although it is distributed throughout central and southern Brazil even in disturbed habitats. It is usually found alone or in pairs, near wetlands. This bird spends most of its time perched. Feeds mainly on flying insects that it hunts in short flights from the perch It seems to be seasonal, but the migration routes are mostly unknown.

44 cm. The tail is long and there is a topknot. The ventral region is white. The wings are dark brown with black and white streaks. Distribution: From the state of Amapá to Uruguay. Habitat: Open fields, cerrado and caating, also in landscapes modified by man. Diet: Feeds on arthropods and small vertebrates. Reproduction: The nest may be individual or collective. It is built about 5m from the ground. The female lays up to 7 eggs, but there may be more than 20 eggs in collective nests. In the collective nests there is great competition for food among the hatchlings and few them survive. Natural history: When perched it waves its tail, swinging the body in a way that some peop...

23cm, Identification: the adult individuals present a dark body, red wings, a blue area around the eyes and a red waxy shield on the forehead. The feet are unusually large. The immature birds present white lower parts and brown above. The jacana has one of the largest ratios of toe length upon the body length in the animal kingdom. These extremely large toes help the bird walking over the aquatic plants without sinking. Its small wings and long legs do not make it the best of the fliers. Lives in wetlands and other sorts of water bodies. Feeds on insects, small fish and tadpoles.