Trilling gnatwren explained

The trilling gnatwren (Ramphocaenus melanurus), formerly long-billed gnatwren, is a very small bird in the gnatcatcher family. It found from southeast Mexico south to Ecuador and Amazonia.

Taxonomy

The trilling gnatwren was described by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1819 from a specimen collected in Brazil. He coined the binomial name Ramphocaenus melanurus.[1] The genus name Ramphocaenus means "unusual beak", from the Ancient Greek (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ῥάµϕος, "beak") and (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:καινός|καινός]], "strange").[2] The specific epithet combines the Ancient Greek melas "black" and oura "tail".[3] A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2018 found that two subspecies of Ramphocaenus melanurus formed a separate clade.[4] The subspecies were split off to become the chattering gnatwren and the English name of this species was changed from "long-billed gnatwren" to "trilling gnatwren".[5]

Thirteen subspecies are recognised:[5]

Description

Adult trilling gnatwrens are in length and weigh .[6] They have a long, thin bill and a short cocked tail. The upperparts are grey-brown, with rufous on the sides of the head. The throat is white, shading to buff on the rest of the underparts. The tail is black with white tips to all but the central feathers, and is frequently wagged. R. m. trinitatis, of eastern Colombia, Venezuela and Trinidad has paler underparts, and buff flanks and head sides.The call is a trilled drdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdr.

Habitat

It is found in the undergrowth and vines of dry forest and secondary woodland from Mexico south to Peru and Brazil, and on Trinidad.

Behaviour

Breeding

Trilling gnatwrens build a deep cup nest very low in a small plant or sapling. The two white eggs are incubated by both parents for 16–17 days to hatching, with a further 11–12 days to fledging.

Feeding

Trilling gnatwrens forage actively in vegetation, eating mainly insects, insect eggs and spiders. They usually occur in pairs or family groups.

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Vieillot, Louis Pierre . Louis Pierre Vieillot . 1819 . Nouveau dictionnaire d'histoire naturelle, appliquée aux arts, à l'agriculture, à l'économie rurale et domestique, à la médecine, etc. . 29 . Paris . Deterville . 188 . fr .
  2. Book: Jobling, James A.. Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. 2010. A & C Black. 978-1-4081-2878-7. 330. Gr. rhamphos bill; kainos novel, strange..
  3. Web site: Jobling . J.A. . 2019 . Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology . del Hoyo . J. . Elliott . A. . Sargatal . J. . Christie . D.A. . de Juana . E. . Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive . Lynx Edicions . 26 January 2019 .
  4. Smith . B.T. . Bryson . R.W. Jr . Mauck . W.M. . Chaves . J. . Robbins . M.B. . Aleixo . A. . Klicka . J. . 2018 . Species delimitation and biogeography of the gnatcatchers and gnatwrens (Aves: Polioptilidae) . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution . 126 . 45–57 . 10.1016/j.ympev.2018.03.012 . 29551521. 3975237 . free .
  5. Web site: Gill . Frank . Frank Gill (ornithologist) . Donsker . David . 2019 . Dapple-throats, sugarbirds, fairy-bluebirds, kinglets, hyliotas, wrens, gnatcatchers . World Bird List Version 9.1 . International Ornithologists' Union . 26 January 2019 .
  6. Web site: Atwood . J. . Lerman . S. . 2019 . Long-billed Gnatwren (Ramphocaenus melanurus) . del Hoyo . J. . Elliott . A. . Sargatal . J. . Christie . D.A. . de Juana . E. . Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive . Lynx Edicions . 27 January 2019 . subscription .

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