Nicaraguan Grackle
Quiscalus nicaraguensis
Long-tailed blackbird, very similar to Great-tailed Grackle but smaller. Male is darker black with less obvious glossiness (but still some, usually greenish); female is very similar to female Great-tailed but paler below. Extremely limited range in the vicinity of Lake Nicaragua and Lake Managua, where small flocks can be found in open grasslands and wetlands.
识别特征
It is a medium-sized bird with a long, graduated tail and fairly long bill and legs. The bill and legs are black and the eye is pale yellow. The male is about 31 cm long while the female is 25 cm. The adult male's plumage is entirely black with an iridescent gloss. The gloss is violet on the belly and tail, violet-green on the head, back, and breast, and blue-green on most of the wings. The tail of the male is V-shaped, rising from the centre to the outer feathers. Immature males are duller and less glossy than the adults, with a brown belly and thighs. The female is brown above with a pale supercilium (the stripe over the eye), made more obvious by the dark lores and ear coverts. The thighs, flanks, and undertail coverts are dark brown, while the rest of the underparts are buff, darkest on the upper breast, and paler on the throat and belly.<p>The similar great-tailed grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus) overlaps with it in range, but is larger, with a longer tail and larger bill. The male has a less green gloss than the Nicaraguan grackle, while the female is darker below and has a less obvious supercilium.<p>The Nicaraguan grackle has a variety of calls, including a frequent nasal call, various whistling notes, and a sharp, rising whine. The song is a series of whistles, which increase in speed and frequency.
分类信息
Genus: Quiscalus; Family: Icteridae; Order: Passeriformes.
- 学名
- Quiscalus nicaraguensis
- 命名信息
- Salvin & Godman, 1891
- 目
- Passeriformes
- 科
- Icteridae
- 属
- Quiscalus
分布与栖息地
It is restricted to western Nicaragua and northern Costa Rica. It mainly occurs in the vicinity of Lake Nicaragua and Lake Managua, but its range has expanded a little due to the clearance of forest and creation of pastures by man. It may be a fairly recent arrival in Costa Rica, where it is found in the Caño Negro area along the Río Frio. It is not migratory, but makes some local movements in response to seasons and changes in water level.<p>It nests only in marshland, but forages in scrubland, wet pastures, and along lake shores and riverbanks.
- 迁徙
- Resident species
行为
Migration pattern: Resident species.
保护状况
Population trend: declining.
- 种群趋势
- declining
照片
分布
鸟叫声
其他鸟类
Bay Coucal
Centropus celebensis
A reddish-brown cuckoo with a long, often shaggy-looking tail. Juvenile shows a pale eye and a paler breast and throat than adults. The species favors vine tangles within forest and forest edge in lowlands and foothills, where it is usually encountered singly or in pairs. The entirely brown body, lacking black, separates this species from Lesser Coucal. Song is a series of “hoot” notes that often encourages other nearby coucals to respond. Alarm call is a harsh, short rasping “burr.”
Northern Screamer
Chauna chavaria
Huge, ungainly bird with thick red legs, red face, and a wispy crest. Body mostly gray with black neck and whitish cheeks. In flight shows white underwings. Sexes similar. Uncommon and sedentary in wetlands with some trees, often alone or in pairs, perching top of trees or next to the water. Eats aquatic plants. Unmistakable in range.
Mount Kupe Bushshrike
Chlorophoneus kupeensis
A grayish bushshrike with green wings and tail and a unique head pattern: the black mask curls down to form a narrow black breast band surrounding the white throat. Some morphs have a purple dot at the base of the throat. Juvenile has less distinct face pattern than adult. A rare resident, restricted to a handful of sites in the Cameroon-Nigeria highlands, where it is found singly and in pairs in the canopy of primary hill forest between 930 and 1550 meters of elevation. Calls include an electric grating “cha-cha-cha-chggrrt-chggrrt-chggrrt” like a laser-gun sound effect in a computer game, as well as harsh croaking, whistles, and ticks. May snap wings when agitated.
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