Rufous Cacholote
Pseudoseisura unirufa
Large cinnamon-colored ovenbird with piercing yellow eyes and a long gray crest. Found in gallery forest, near marshes and woodlands; often near human habitations. Mostly forages on the ground, but also in trees; builds a large stick nest. Song is a loud duet: an accelerating series ending with a rattle mixed with “chew” notes.
Identification
The grey-crested cacholote is 20 to 21 cm (7.9 to 8.3 in) long and weighs 42 to 57 g (1.5 to 2.0 oz). It is a large, crested, furnariid. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults are mostly bright reddish-rufous that is somewhat paler on their underparts. Their crest varies from entirely rufous to almost entirely grayish. The center of their throat has an orange tinge. Their flight feathers have fuscous tips and the ends of the tail feathers lack barbs. Their iris is yellow to buff-yellow, their bill blue-gray to gray with a paler mandible, and their legs and feet olive to greenish gray. Juveniles have a shorter crest than adults and less uniformity in their color. The formerly conspecific Caatinga cacholote is similar but larger and has no gray in its crown.
Taxonomy
The grey-crested cacholote is monotypic. It was previously considered a subspecies of the Caatinga cacholote (P. cristata) which was then called the rufous cacholote. The two taxa were split following the data in a paper published in 2000. Confusingly, and contrary to the suggestion of the 2000 paper's authors, the South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society, the Clements taxonomy, and some field guide authors call P. unirufa the rufous cacholote.
- Scientific name
- Pseudoseisura unirufa
- Authority
- (d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1838)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Furnariidae
- Genus
- Pseudoseisura
Range and habitat
The grey-crested cacholote has a disjunct distribution. One population is found in Beni Department and extreme northwestern Santa Cruz Department of north-central Bolivia. The other is found in southeastern Santa Cruz, Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul states in Brazil, and in northern Paraguay. The species inhabits gallery forest, woodlands, and seasonally flooded savanna within the Pantanal, and is often found near human dwellings. In elevation it ranges between 300 and 500 m (1,000 and 1,600 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The gray-crested cacholote is a year-round resident throughout its range.<p>The grey-crested cacholote's diet and feeding behavior are poorly known. It probably feeds mostly on arthropods with some fruit and seeds. It usually forages in pairs and usually on the ground, where it gleans, probes, and digs for its prey.<p>The grey-crested cacholote is thought to be monogamous and to breed in the austral spring and summer. Its nest is a mass of sticks and branches that is typically twice as long as it is wide, with feathers, shells, bones, and other items incorporated, and placed in a tree about 4 or 5 m (10 or 20 ft) above the ground. An entrance tunnel near its bottom leads to an inner chamber lined with pieces of bark and snake skin. The clutch size, incubation period, time to fledging, and details of parental care are not known.<p>The grey-crested cacholote usually sings in duet, "sustained, loud, accelerating, slightly descending 'chew' notes mixed with chattering and rattles, finishing with combined cackling". The species' call is "a single 'chuk' ".
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Brambling
Fringilla montifringilla
Distinctive and handsome orange-breasted finch. Note black head of males (solid in breeding season, patchy in non-breeding) and gray-and-brown head of females. Complex wing patterns and white rump patches create a wondrous show when a flock rises up in flight. Breeds in northern woodlands, especially in and around birches; winters in varied wooded habitats (especially with beech trees), semiopen country, and farmland with hedges; sometimes visits gardens and parks with feeders or fruiting trees. Song is surprising and almost ugly for such a well-marked finch, a strange ringing buzz: “eerRRRRNnnn.” Gives a rising “qweee”, a higher-pitchd “tsi, tsi”, and various twittering and nasal flock calls.
Sooty Thicket-Fantail
Rhipidura threnothorax
A medium-sized, long-tailed bird of lowland forest thickets, often near streams. All over sooty-gray plumage, with a short white eye-brow, white throat and a black chest with white dots. Likes to stay in cover, where it often twitches and fans its tail. Similar to Black and White-bellied Thicket-Fantails but Sooty has a black belly, and lacks the white wing bars and white tips to the tail. More often heard than seen. Most commonly given call is three explosive, downslurred notes “tyu-tyu-tyu!”.
Ecuadorian Rail
Rallus aequatorialis
Medium-sized, brightly colored rail. Overall orange with red bill and legs, gray cheek, and black stripes on back. Found locally in freshwater marshes in the high Andes of Ecuador and southernmost Colombia, as well as a few very rare populations near the coast in Peru. No similar species in range. Shy and not often seen, but sometimes wanders along the edge of reeds. Most easily detected by voice; most common call is a wheezy, descending and accelerating series of grunts.
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