The wing-barred piprites (Piprites chloris) is a species of bird in subfamily Pipritinae of family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in every mainland South American country except Chile and Uruguay.[1]
The wing-barred piprites shares genus Piprites with the grey-headed piprites (P. griseiceps) and the black-capped piprites (P. pileata).[1] The grey-headed and wing-barred piprites form a superspecies.[2]
The wing-barred piprites has these seven subspecies:[1]
The wing-barred piprites is 12.5to long and weighs 15to. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies P. c. chloris have a golden forehead, an olive-green crown, and a slightly gray olive-green nape. They have golden lores and a bold yellow eyering. Their upperparts and tail are olive-green with paler green edges on the tail feathers. Their wings are olive-green with paler green edges on the flight feathers and large creamy to white ends on the wing coverts that show as bars on the closed wing. Their underparts are yellow with an olive cast on the breast.[3] [4] [5]
The other subspecies of the wing-barred piprites differ from the nominate and each other thus:[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
All subspecies have a dark iris, a grayish bill, and light pinkish gray legs and feet.[3]
The wing-barred piprites has a disjunct distribution; the range of P. c. chloris is separate from all the others'. The subspecies are found thus:[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
The wing-barred piprites inhabits humid primary forest and mature secondary woodland, where it favors a dense understory and also vine tangles in the canopy. In the south it occurs in Araucaria forest and in the north cloudforest. In elevation in Brazil it mostly occurs from sea level to 1000m (3,000feet) but locally is found as high as 1700m (5,600feet). In Venezuela it ranges between 350and. It reaches 800m (2,600feet) in Colombia, 1100m (3,600feet) in Ecuador, and 1500m (4,900feet) in Peru.[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
The wing-barred piprites is a year-round resident throughout its range.[3]
The wing-barred piprites' diet has not been detailed but appears to be mostly insects with some small fruits. It gleans prey from foliage while perched and also while briefly hovering after a sally. It usually forages singly and regularly joins mixed-species feeding flocks to forage from the forest's mid level to its canopy.[3] [6] [8]
Some evidence hints that the wing-barred piprites' breeding season includes May and June, at least in the northern part of its range. The one known nest was a cup of moss on the floor of a tree cavity. Nothing else is known about the species' breeding biology.[3]
The wing-barred piprites' song is somewhat variable but in general is "a rhythmic, far-carrying sequence, e.g. 'whip, pip-pip, pidipip, whip' ".[3] It has also been written as "quee, quee quee queedle-le quee, quee?".[6]
The IUCN has assessed the wing-barred piprites as being of Least Concern. It has an extremely large range; its population size is not known and is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified. It is considered uncommon to fairly common in general (though often local) and "rather uncommon" in Colombia. It occurs in several protected areas.[3] [7]