Fulvous-chinned Nunlet
Nonnula sclateri
Chocolate-brown nunlet of mature rainforest. Usually fairly rare within its range; seems to occur mostly in upland ‘terra firme’ rainforest, where it occurs singly or in pairs in the undergrowth. Even-brown plumage and dull-orange patch at base of bill distinguish it from Rufous-capped Nunlet, which has a bright red-orange crown and orange throat and breast. Its song is a slow series of rising whistled “weep” notes, given at a rate of about one note per second.
Identification
The fulvous-chinned nunlet is 14 to 15.5 cm (5.5 to 6.1 in) long. Two males weighed 15.4 and 17 g (0.54 and 0.60 oz) and two females 19 and 19.9 g (0.67 and 0.70 oz). Its upperparts, wings, and tail are dull brown. Its lores are reddish brown and the cheeks dark gray. The chin is pale rufous ("fulvous") that blends to reddish brown on the throat and breast. The center of the belly is whitish and the flanks dull fulvous. The eye is brown with a narrow coral red or reddish purple ring around it. The maxilla is black, the mandible dark gray to greenish gray, and the feet gray to olive gray.
Taxonomy
The fulvous-chinned nunlet is monotypic. Its relationship to others of its genus has not been detailed but it is believed to be most closely related to the rusty-breasted nunlet (N. rubecula) and brown nunlet (N. brunnea). It has sometimes been considered conspecific with the latter.
- Scientific name
- Nonnula sclateri
- Authority
- Hellmayr, 1907
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Bucconidae
- Genus
- Nonnula
Range and habitat
The fulvous-chinned nunlet is found in southwestern Amazonia south of the Amazon River, from eastern Peru and northern Bolivia east in southwestern Brazil as far as the Madeira River. It is entirely a bird of humid lowland forest, seldom being found above 300 m (980 ft) of elevation. It primarily inhabits the understory of upland terra firme forest but has also been reported at the edges of seasonally flooded várzea forest.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The fulvous-chinned nunlet's feeding behavior has not been documented. It is known to hunt from a perch up to about 6 m (20 ft) above the ground, and is assumed to sally out to capture prey. Its diet is also not known, "but almost surely this species primarily consumes large arthropods, perhaps supplemented by very small vertebrates."<p>Little is known about the fulvous-chinned nunlet's breeding phenology. It is assumed to nest in a burrow in the ground. However, its close relative the rusty-breasted nunlet nests in a shallow scrape on sloping ground that it roofs with twigs and leaves. That species' clutch size is usually four eggs.<p>The fulvous-chinned nunlet's song is a "weak series of thin, mewing whistles: wee weep weep weep weep weep".
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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