- Southern Beardless Tyrannulet
Taxobox
name = Southern Beardless Tyrannulet
status = LC
status_system = iucn3.1
regnum =Animalia
phylum =Chordata
classis =Aves
subclassis =Neornithes
infraclassis =Neognathae
superordo =Neoaves
ordo =Passeriformes
subordo =Tyranni
infraordo =Tyrannides
familia =Tyrannidae
genus = "Camptostoma "
species = "C. obsoletum"
binomial = "Camptostoma obsoletum"
binomial_authority = (Temminck,1824 )The Southern Beardless Tyrannulet, "Camptostoma obsoletum", is a small
passerine bird in thetyrant flycatcher family. It breeds fromCosta Rica throughSouth America south toParaguay ,Bolivia , andArgentina .Description
The Southern Beardless Tyrannulet is 10.2 cm long, weighs 7.5g and often resembles a tiny
Yellow-bellied Elaenia . The head is dark brown or grey with an erectile crest and pale supercilium. The upperparts are grey-green becoming paler on the rump. The wings are brown with yellow feather-edging and two whitish, yellowish or cinnamon wing bars. The tail, which regularly is held cocked, is brown, the throat grey, the breast yellowish, and the abdomen yellow. The bill is black, but at least the base of the lower mandible is pale.Subspecies from humid regions (e.g. theAmazon basin ) are generally greener with pure yellow bellies, while subspecies of drier regions (e.g. easternBrazil and westernEcuador ) generally are greyer with duller bellies. The subspecies "C. o. venezuelae" occurs only inTrinidad andVenezuela , and is well distinct in plumage tone.The call is a loud whistled "TLEEE-tee-tee-tee". In courtship, the crests are raised, the tail flicked, and an excited mixture of the "TLEE" call and a churring "pee-chrrr-pee-chrrr" is given.
Sexes are similar, and this species always appears brighter, especially with regard to the wing bars, than the closely related
Northern Beardless Tyrannulet ("C. imberbe"), with which it was once consideredconspecific . However, the two forms overlap without interbreeding in central Costa Rica.Ecology
This species is found in light forests, cultivation and gardens with trees. Southern Beardless Tyrannulets are active birds, feeding in a
vireo - orwarbler -like fashion oninsect s,spider s and berries. Animal prey is either picked out of the air or off plants with a dedicated sally flight, or gleaned from vegetation [de A. Gabriel & Pizo (2005)] . Fruit, e.g. from "Alchornea glandulosa ", are typically picked off when perched or during hovering flight [Pascotto (2006)] . This species will readily mob smallpredator s like theFerruginous Pygmy-owl ("Glaucidium brasilianum").The domed nest is made of plant fibre or leaves with a side entrance. The nest is placed by a tree fork, usually near a
wasp nest, which presumably provides some protection from predators. The typical clutch is two white eggs, which are marked with rufous and lilac mostly at the larger end. Incubation by the female is 14-15 days to hatching, with another 17 days to fledging.Footnotes
References
*|year=2004|id=49814|title=Camptostoma obsoletum|downloaded=12 May 2006 Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
* (2005): Foraging behavior of tyrant flycatchers (Aves, Tyrannidae) in Brazil. "Revista Brasileira de Zoologia" 22(4): 1072–1077 [English with Portuguese abstract] . doi|10.1590/S0101-81752005000400036 [http://www.scielo.br/pdf/rbzool/v22n4/a36v22n4.pdf PDF fulltext]
* (1991): "A guide to the birds of Trinidad and Tobago" (2nd edition). Comstock Publishing, Ithaca, N.Y.. ISBN 0-8014-9792-2
* (2003): "Birds of Venezuela". Christopher Helm, London. ISBN 0-7136-6418-5
* (2006): Avifauna dispersora de sementes de "Alchornea glandulosa" (Euphorbiaceae) em uma área de mata ciliar no estado de São Paulo [Seed dispersal of "Alchornea glandulosa" (Euphorbiaceae) by birds in a gallery forest in São Paulo, southeastern Brazil.] . "Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia" 14(3): 291-296 [Portuguese with English abstract] . [http://www.ararajuba.org.br/sbo/ararajuba/artigos/Volume143/ara143not5.pdf PDF fulltext]
* (1989): "A guide to the birds of Costa Rica". Comistock, Ithaca. ISBN 0-8014-9600-4External links
* [http://vireo.acnatsci.org/search.html?Form=Search&SEARCHBY=Scientific&KEYWORDS=camptostoma+obsoletum&showwhat=images&AGE=All&SEX=All&ACT=All&Search=Search&VIEW=All&ORIENTATION=All&RESULTS=24 Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet photo gallery] VIREO [http://vireo.acnatsci.org/species_image.php?species=Camptostoma+obsoletum Photo-High Res]
* [http://www.birds-caatinga.com/species/camptostoma_obsoletum_00.html Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet: photos, vocalizations] The Avifauna of the Interior of Ceará, Brazil.
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