Smooth-billed Ani
Crotophaga ani
Anis are bizarre, coal-black cuckoos with long floppy tails and unique, curiously tall, flattened bills. Smooth-billed occurs in a variety of open and semi-open habitats in tropical lowlands and foothills, typically staying low in shrubs and grasses. Gregarious and not particularly graceful; usually seen crashing around awkwardly in small groups. Flies with choppy wingbeats and long glides. Widespread and common throughout much of South America and the Caribbean, extending as far west as the Pacific slope of Costa Rica and north to Florida. Compare with the very similar Groove-billed Ani, which overlaps in some areas of Central and South America. Note especially the bill shape: Smooth-billed often (but not always) has a taller ridge on the top of the bill, and a sharper angle on the lower edge of the bill. The sides are typically smooth, rarely with weak grooves. Voice is also important: listen for a rising, hawklike whistle with an inflection at the end. Dark eye, size, and habitat help separate from Greater Ani in South America and Panama.
识别特征
The smooth-billed ani is a mid-sized species, larger on average than the groove-billed ani but smaller than the greater ani. It measures approximately 35 cm (14 in) in overall length. Males weigh around 115 g (4.1 oz) while females are lighter and with a weight of around 95 g (3.4 oz). The adult is mainly glossy black, with a long tail, deep ridged black bill and a brown iris. The flight is weak and wobbly, but the bird runs well and usually feeds on the ground. This species is called "el pijul" in Venezuelan folklore.[citation needed] The calls include a whining ooo-leeek.
分类信息
The smooth-billed ani was described and illustrated in 1648 by the German naturalist Georg Marcgrave in his Historia Naturalis Brasiliae. He used the name "Ani" but did not explain the origin of the word. It probably comes from the word Anim in the Tupi language which means "social bird". In 1756 the Irish physician Patrick Browne used the name Crotophaga for the species in his The Civil and Natural History of Jamaica. Browne's name combines the Ancient Greek krotōn meaning "tick" with -phagos meaning "-eating". Browne wrote that the smooth-billed anis "live chiefly upon ticks and other small vermin; and may be frequently seen jumping about all cows and oxen in the fields". When the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the tenth edition in 1758 he included the smooth-billed ani. He placed it in its own genus Crotophaga and coined the binomial name Crotophaga ani. The type locality is Jamaica. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
- 学名
- Crotophaga ani
- 命名信息
- Linnaeus, 1758
- 目
- Cuculiformes
- 科
- Cuculidae
- 属
- Crotophaga
分布与栖息地
This ani is found in open and semi-open country and areas under cultivation. This common and conspicuous species has greatly benefited from deforestation.
- 迁徙
- Resident species
行为
This is a very gregarious species, always found in noisy groups. <p>The nest, built communally by several pairs, is a deep cup lined with leaves and placed usually 2–6 m (6.6–19.7 ft) high in a tree. A number of females lay their chalky blue eggs in the nest and then share incubation and feeding. Each female is capable of laying up to seven eggs, and nests have been found containing up to 29 eggs, but it is rare for more than ten to hatch. Incubation is 13–15 days, with another 10 days to fledging. Up to three broods may be raised in a season, with the young of earlier broods helping to feed more recent chicks.<p>The smooth-billed ani feeds on termites, large insects, other invertebrates and even lizards, frogs, eggs and hatchlings of other birds, and fruit. They will occasionally remove ticks and other parasites from grazing animals.
保护状况
The smooth-billed ani is considered Least Concern according to the IUCN Red List. Declines in the South Florida population were recorded as the state delayed its protection decision for the species.
- 种群趋势
- stable
照片
分布
鸟叫声
其他鸟类
Bengal Bushlark
Plocealauda assamica
Small, stocky brown terrestrial bird with a relatively short tail. Note stout bill with slightly downcurved upper edge; also streaky back, speckled chest, buffy-pale underparts, and rufous panel in the wing. May be confused with other bushlarks with which it overlaps in range; averages darker, with less contrast between upperparts and underparts. Inhabits open plains and fields, sometimes with scattered shrubs and bushes. Gives buzzy repetitive song in flight, on the ground, or from a perch.
Olive Flycatcher
Mitrephanes olivaceus
A perky, pewee-like flycatcher found in humid forest along the east slope of the Andes. The combination of its small size, buffy-olive plumage, and obvious crest is unique within its range. Often perches in a conspicuous location, looking around excitedly for insects to chase, and readily joins mixed-species flocks. Typical vocalization is a series of soft tick notes which is often followed by a high pitched “seep.”
Long-winged Antwren
Myrmotherula longipennis
Small antwren of understory and midstory of lowland rainforest. Males are dark gray with white wing bars and an extensive black throat patch; females are more geographically variable, but are generally reddish brown above and pale tan below north of the Amazon River, and grayish brown above, light buffy tan below south of the Amazon. Males similar to Ihering’s Antwren, which has a more extensive black throat patch and different voice, and Gray Antwren, which has a smaller black throat patch, or no black on throat at all. Females particularly similar to Gray Antwren south of the Amazon, but usually more evenly-colored; distinguished from female Ihering’s Antwren by lack of wing bars. One of the most common members of mixed species flocks, where can be easily detected by nasal “ee-eww” whines.
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