Double-banded Graytail
Xenerpestes minlosi
Rare but distinctive if seen well. Small bird that is dingy gray above and off-white below with bold white wingbars and a white eyebrow. Actively forages by hitching along branches, often hanging upside-down. Most often seen singly or in pairs in mixed-species flocks, typically in the canopy. Listen for a strange rapid insect-like trill. Occurs in humid lowland forests and edges from eastern Panama to northwest Ecuador.
Identification
The double-banded greytail is 11 to 12 cm (4.3 to 4.7 in) long. It is a tiny furnariid that resembles a warbler. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies have olive-buff lores, a creamy white supercilium, and a dark gray line behind the eye on an otherwise grayish face. Their crown is blackish and their back, rump, and tail are dark gray. Their wings are dark gray with yellowish at the bend and two white bars on the coverts. Their throat and underparts are creamy whitish with some grayish flecks on the breast and olive-buff undertail coverts. Their iris is light brown, their maxilla dark brown, their mandible grayish white, and their legs and feet grayish brown. Juveniles have a less distinct supercilium than adults, with grayer underparts and no wingbars. Subspecies X. m. umbraticus has darker upperparts, wings, and tail than the nominate.
Taxonomy
The double-banded greytail has two subspecies, the nominate X. m. minlosi (Berlepsch, 1886) and X. m. umbraticus (Wetmore, 1951). It shares genus Xenerpestes with the equatorial greytail (X. singularis) and together they are sister species to the orange-fronted plushcrown (Metopothrix aurantiaca).
- Scientific name
- Xenerpestes minlosi
- Authority
- Berlepsch, 1886
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Furnariidae
- Genus
- Xenerpestes
Range and habitat
The nominate subspecies of the double-banded greytail is found in Colombia from near the Caribbean coast into the Magdalena River Valley as far south as Boyacá and Santander departments. Subspecies X. m. umbraticus is found in eastern Panama's Darién Province and south through western Colombia into northwestern Ecuador's Esmeraldas and Pichincha provinces. It is rare and local in Ecuador. The species inhabits lowland and foothill evergreen forest, both primary and mature secondary. In elevation it ranges from near sea level to 900 m (3,000 ft) though it reaches only about 500 m (1,600 ft) in Ecuador.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Red-eyed Puffback
Dryoscopus senegalensis
A shrike-like bird of thickets in secondary forest and forest edge, often seen high above the ground. Has a bicolored appearance, being wholly white below and almost entirely iridescent black above except for a white rump, a red eye, and the female’s white lores. Similar to several bicolored shrikelike birds in the region, but note Red-eyed Puffback’s behavior as it perches laterally like a bushshrike, as well as its red eye, hoarse voice, and relatively small bill. Shy but vocal, giving sharp, well spaced “kyew! kyew! kyew!” calls, repeated “reuw, reuw, reuw” calls, and rising trilled calls preceded by quick chatters.
Hylocitrea
Hylocitrea bonensis
A dull-colored, whistler-like songbird confined to Sulawesi. Mostly dull green with red eyes, a grayish underside, yellowish flanks, and a rusty base to the undertail. Females show throat streaking that is absent in males; the streaks are white in the southwest and yellowish in the north. Juveniles have an olive-brown head and buff-striped olive underparts. Singles and pairs occupy the subcanopy of montane forest. Separated from female Maroon-backed Whistler by yellow flanks, red eye, slim pointed bill, and tendency to sit high in the trees. Calls include a high-pitched thrush-like “tsip” and a nasal “jheeze.” Song comprises very high-pitched, twittering whistles.
Eastern Red-rumped Swallow
Cecropis daurica
Brightly-colored swallow with a deeply forked tail, pale orangish rump, black squared-off undertail coverts, and an incomplete orange collar. The underparts are always streaked, though there is geographical variation, with streaks ranging from fine and sparse to thick and heavy. Juveniles average paler and lack extensive orangish tones; may resemble house-martins but note deeply forked tail. Builds mud nests on mountains, cliffs, and on human structures. Forages over open areas. Frequently gives a short, sparrow-like “twi’wit.” Usually separated from European Red-rumped Swallow by range, but in case of any overlap, should be separated by evenly cinnamon rump (vs. bicolored), dark lores, dark stripe on nape, and bolder streaking on underparts.
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