Orange-breasted Thornbird
Phacellodomus ferrugineigula
Medium-sized, long-tailed thornbird with a brown body and a rufous forehead and throat. The tail is rufous with a brown center. Resembles Orange-eyed Thornbird, but has dark eyes. An inhabitant of wet marshy areas with scattered trees, where unlike others thornbirds it builds large woven nests of grass, leaves, and stems. Song is a series of loud ringing notes, usually delivered as a duet.
Identification
The orange-breasted thornbird is about 17 to 18 cm (6.7 to 7.1 in) long and weighs about 24 to 25 g (0.85 to 0.88 oz). It is a medium-sized thornbird. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have an indistinct rufous-brown supercilium, darker brown lores, and a darker brown stripe behind the eye on an otherwise rufescent-brownish face. Their forehead and crown are bright rufous. Their back and rump are dark brownish olive and their uppertail coverts a chestnut-tinged brownish olive. Their wings are mostly warm brown that is brighter at the base of the flight feathers and duller at their ends. Their tail is brownish olive with rufous outer feathers. Their throat and breast are orange-rufous, their belly whitish, and their flanks and undertail coverts warm brown with some rufous. Their iris is red, their maxilla black, their mandible gray, and their legs and feet greenish gray to gray.
Taxonomy
The orange-breated thornbird is monotypic. However, was previously treated as a subspecies of what is now the orange-eyed thornbird (P. erythrophthalmus) under the common name red-eyed thornbird. In addition to differences in eye and plumage color, the two taxa have different voices and are locally sympatric in São Paulo state without evidence of interbreeding. For a while after the two were split, some taxonomic systems continued to use "red-eyed" for P. erythrophthalmus and others used it for P. ferrugineigula. The current "orange-eyed" and "orange-breasted" English names were adopted to avoid confusion with the former "red-eyed".<p>To further complicate matters, for a time in the early twentieth century some authors placed the former two-subspecies red-eyed thornbird alone in the genus Drioctistes. But some later authors merged that genus into Phacellodomus, and modern molecular phylogenetic analyses placed the two species firmly in Phacellodomus.
- Scientific name
- Phacellodomus ferrugineigula
- Authority
- (Pelzeln, 1858)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Furnariidae
- Genus
- Phacellodomus
Range and habitat
The orange-breasted thornbird is found in southeastern Brazil from Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo south to Rio Grande do Sul. It was discovered in Uruguay in 2001, including signs of breeding (a nest), in Rivera Department near the Brazilian border, and has been found regularly in other sites ever since. Undocumented sight records in Argentina lead the South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society to classify it as hypothetical in that country.It inhabits thickets in freshwater marshes or along watercourses, gallery forest, swampy woodlands, and dense secondary forest. In elevation it mostly ranges from sea level to about 750 m (2,500 ft) but reaches 1,250 m (4,100 ft) in Minas Gerais and 1,100 m (3,600 ft) in Espírito Santo.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The orange-breasted thornbird is a year-round resident throughout its range.<p>The orange-breasted thornbird's diet has not been studied but is believed to be mostly arthropods. It typically forages singly or in pairs, gleaning prey from vegetation in the forest's thick undergrowth.<p>The orange-breasted thornbird's breeding season has not been defined but includes December to February. It is thought to be monogamous. It builds a nest that differs from those of other thornbirds; it weaves leaves and stems of grasses into a tight structure about 40 cm (1 ft) wide and high with a tube entrance. It typically hangs it from the tip of a branch up to about 1.6 m (5 ft) above either the ground or water. The clutch size is at least two eggs. The incubation period, time to fledging, and details of parental care are not known.<p>The orange-breasted thornbird's song is "a series of loud ringing notes introduced by 1–2 softer notes, 'ku, keeé-keeé-keeé-keeé-keeé-kuh' ", and it is often sung in duet by a pair.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Western Meadowlark
Sturnella neglecta
Streaked brown above and yellow below with distinctive black "V" on breast. In flight, short wings and spiky tail with white outer feathers are apparent. Breeds in fields and grasslands throughout much of western North America, regularly as far east as Michigan. Winters in a wider range of open habitats, even agricultural fields and roadsides. Extremely similar to Eastern Meadowlark and best distinguished by voice: listen for musical gurgling song and "chuk" calls. In winter, plumage looks paler and more washed-out than Eastern Meadowlark, with a less contrasting head pattern. Western is also more likely to be in flocks and areas with shorter grass (less pristine, extensive grasslands).
Bendire's Thrasher
Toxostoma bendirei
Dusty-brown bird with long tail, found in shrubby deserts and grasslands. Tail dark with small white corners; undertail coverts warmer orangey. Eye yellow. Very similar to Curve-billed Thrasher. Subtle differences include smaller, more triangular-shaped markings on breast, and shorter, straighter bill. Shy; often hard to spot on the ground but sometimes perches conspicuously when singing. Ages and sexes similar; juveniles show faint buffy wingbars. Listen for jumbled, rambling song.
Little Cuckoo
Coccycua minuta
Like a miniature version of the more common Squirrel Cuckoo, it is mostly rufous with a yellow bill, red eye, and gray belly. Much smaller and relatively shorter-tailed than Squirrel Cuckoo. Uncommon but widespread in lowlands and foothills, preferring thick understory at forest edges, often near water. Usually skulky and difficult to see. Listen for a nasal “enk!” and ascending rattle.
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