Stresemann's Bristlefront
Merulaxis stresemanni
Teetering on the brink of extinction. Fairly large tapaculo with a long tail and a crested forehead. Males are uniform slaty-black and females are dark brown above and rusty below. The song is a descending series that starts slowly and accelerates towards the end. Occurs in a few disparate patches of humid forest and forest edge, where it forages on the ground. The similar Slaty Bristlefront has brown on the rear of the body, and females have darker underparts; the song of Slaty is lower in pitch.
Identification
Stresemann's bristlefront is a medium-sized, long-tailed bird with distinctive forehead bristles. It measures 20 cm (7.9 in) long. The male is all slaty gray with a dark rufous-chestnut rump, uppertail-coverts, and vent. The namesake features are long, pointed bristles on the forehead. The female is cinnamon-brown above, with a duskier tail, and is bright cinnamon below.
Taxonomy
Stresemann's bristlefront and the slaty bristlefront (Merulaxis ater) form a superspecies, and the two might actually be one species. It has no subspecies. It is known only from three specimens and a few photographs, audio recordings, and sight records.
- Scientific name
- Merulaxis stresemanni
- Authority
- Sick, 1960
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Formicariidae
- Genus
- Merulaxis
Range and habitat
Stresemann's bristlefront's natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest. It is threatened by habitat loss, and the Mata do Passarinho Reserve is the last known area to house Stresemann's bristlefront. The Atlantic forest reserve is in the states of Minas Gerais and Bahia and contains primary forest as well as secondary forest, and is an island of forest surrounded by farmland.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
A Stresemann's bristlefront was observered "foraging on the ground and on fallen tree trunks in an area of drier forest between two humid valleys". It has been seen to feed on insects.<p>The first known Stresemann's bristlefront nest site was a tunnel estimated to be 6 ft (1.8 m) long. The nest itself was not described.<p>The Stresemann's bristlefront song starts with clicks followed by a trill. It is similar to that of the closely related slaty bristlefront but lower pitched. It readily responds to playback.<p>The Stresemann's bristlefront is one of the rarest birds on earth. The IUCN has assessed it as Critically Endangered. An extensive search was performed in 2019, and the species was last seen in a tiny forest remnant, now set aside as the Mata do Passarinho Reserve. The IUCN believes that fewer than 50 mature individuals survive. "The species' known range is tiny (35 km2 (14 sq mi))...and the little remaining forest is disappearing rapidly; although this species is legally protected, there seems little hope for its survival."
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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