Elegant Crescentchest
Melanopareia elegans
A striking little bird, shaped like a robust gnatcatcher. Note the bold black-and-buff head pattern, black chest fading to rufous flanks, and bright rufous on the wings. Tail is long and narrow. Unmistakable if seen well, but compare with Marañon Crescentchest, which has silvery wing edges and more richly-colored underparts. Secretive; singles or pairs skulk in dense thickets and understory of dry woodland and second growth, up to 2,300 m. More often detected by song; listen for a series of loud, popping chip notes.
Identification
The elegant crescentchest is 14.5 cm (5.7 in) long. Males weigh 16.0 to 20.2 g (0.56 to 0.71 oz) and females 15.5 to 19.0 g (0.55 to 0.67 oz) Males of both subspecies have a black crown, nape, and mask and a creamy supercilium. The back and rump are olive-brown. Its throat is white or pale buff that is darker around the margins and a black "bib" is below it. The upper chest is dark chestnut fading to tawny on the flanks and belly. The nominate female is similar, but the crown is sooty and there is no dark chestnut on the chest. The female M. e. paucalensis is like the nominate except that its crown is the same olive-brown as the back.
Taxonomy
The crescentchests (genus Melanopareia) were previously included in family Rhinocryptidae, the tapaculos. A 2010 publication confirmed earlier work and created their present genus. The elegant crescentchest and the Marañón crescentchest (Melanopareia maranonica) might form a superspecies. Two subspecies of elegant crescentchest are recognized, the nominate Melanopareia elegans elegans and M. e. paucalensis.
- Scientific name
- Melanopareia elegans
- Authority
- (Lesson, RP, 1844)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Melanopareiidae
- Genus
- Melanopareia
Range and habitat
The elegant crescentchest is found discontinuously along the coast of Ecuador from Manabí Province south into Peru as far south as the Department of La Libertad. The nominate is in Ecuador and M. e. paucalensis is in Peru, and birds in far southern Ecuador might be intergrades between the two subspecies. Its principal habitat is scrub and undergrowth in semi-arid woodland; it can also be found in more humid disturbed areas. In Ecuador it ranges from near sea level usually to 2,000 m (6,600 ft) and locally to 2,400 m (7,900 ft). It Peru it reaches only as high as 1,700 m (5,600 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The elegant crescentchest's diet has not been reported. It forages alone by hopping through dense cover on and near the ground.<p>Almost nothing is known about the elegant crescentchest's breeding phenology. Three nests have been described. They were constructed of dry strips of cactus and weeds, were enclosed with a side entrance, and hidden on the ground.<p>The elegant crescentchest's song is "a series of..."chuck" notes" [1]. Its scold call is "a dry penetrating churr" [2].
Conservation
- Population trend
- rising
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Ortalis erythroptera
Large chickenlike bird with a long tail. No similar species in limited range; much smaller than Crested Guan and warmer brown than Sickle-winged Guan. Note contrasting reddish-brown head; wings and tail also rufous but more easily visible in flight. Nearly endemic to Ecuador, but occurs in extreme southwestern Colombia and northwestern Peru. Look for pairs or small groups in the mid-levels of forest and edge, up to around 1,800 m. Like other chachalacas, has a very raucous and exceptionally annoying voice.
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Small cuckooshrike with a restricted range, found only on the South Moluccan islands. Males are grayish. More distinctive female is grayish on the back, and buff below, with fine barring. Found in wooded habitats. Vocalizations apparently unknown. Female easily distinguished from much grayer Pale Cuckooshrike, which also has unbarred underparts.
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