Finsch's Rufous Thrush

Finsch's Rufous Thrush
Finsch's Rufous Thrush
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Turdidae
Genus: Neocossyphus
Species: N. finschi
Binomial name
Neocossyphus finschi
(Sharpe, 1870)
Synonyms
  • Stizorhina finschi

Finsch's Rufous Thrush (Neocossyphus finschi), also known as Finsch's Flycatcher-thrush, Finsch's Rusty Flycatcher, Finsch's Ant Thrush or Finsch's Rufous Ant Thrush, is a little-known flycatcher-like thrush of West African forests. It is often considered a subspecies of Fraser's Rufous Thrush.

Contents

Range and habitat

This species lives at low levels in the thickest parts of forests, often near stream or damp areas or in wooded swamps, from sea level to 1500 meters (about 5,000 ft), in the southern parts of Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana, Benin, and Nigeria. (A record from southern Togo may represent a small population there.) It is sedentary.[1]

It is rare in many areas, but common in some.[1]

Description

Finsch's Flycatcher-thrushes are 18 to 20 cm (7¼ to 8 inches) long. Adults are brown above and orangish below, more gray or olive on the nape and breast and more rufous at the rear of the body. The tail is dark brown with white corners. The cheeks and throat are pale with gray and orange tints.[1][2] Immatures are undescribed.[1]

The voice is similar to that of the Rufous Flycatcher-thrush. In Liberia it sings from May to October.[1] The song is four melodious whistles, "hooee, hooee hooee-huEE, slower and lower-pitched than song of Rufous Flycatcher Thrush".[2] One call is four rapidly repeated notes, "tswe-tswe-tswe-tswe" with the variant "tsw-tsee… tsweeeee"; another is "a long, plaintive whistle wee… weeeee-eee." In alarm caused by predators it gives a "buzzing word-word-word." Unlike the Rufous Flycatcher-thrush, this species responds to recordings of its call.[1]

Behavior

Finsch's Flycatcher-thrush usually occurs alone or in pairs. During the breeding season it is highly territorial, but at other times it may join mixed-species flocks at ant swarms. However, it relies much less on ant swarms than two of its fellow members of the genus Neocossyphus, the White-tailed and Red-tailed Ant-thrushes. Instead it catches insects in its beak like a flycatcher, hawking from perches or taking them from under leaves while it hovers. Favored insects include termites, grasshoppers, ants, beetles, flies, and various small species. It may sit for a long time without moving on a horizontal perch.[1] It often flicks its outer rectrices to the side "in scissor-like fashion".[2]

In Nigeria, a bird was seen in March collecting nesting material at the base of an epiphyte. In Liberia, birds have been observed in breeding condition from June to December and independent young in September. Little else is known about this species' reproduction.[1]

Taxonomy

Some authorities lump this species with Fraser's Rufous Thrush,[3] partly because of observations of birds in southern Nigeria with plumage and songs between those of the two species.[4] Here it is treated as a separate species following the Handbook of the Birds of the World[5] and other authorities.[1][6][7]

The specific epithet honors the explorer Otto Finsch. It is often spelled finschii, but the spelling with one i is correct.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Clement, Peter (2000), Thrushes, Princeton University Press, pp. 180–181, Plate 1, ISBN 978-0-691-08852-5 
  2. ^ a b c Demey, Ron (2002), A Guide to the Birds of Western Africa, Princeton University Press, pp. 605, Plate 92, ISBN 0-691-09520-5 
  3. ^ BirdLife International 2004. Stizorhina fraseri. In: IUCN 2007. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved on 18 October 2007. Citing Dowsett, R. J.; Forbes-Watson, A. D. (1993), Checklist of Birds of the Afrotropical and Malagasy Regions. Volume 1: Species limits and distribution, Tauraco Press 
  4. ^ Dowsett, R. J.; Dowsett-Lemaire, F. (1993), A Contribution to the Distribution and Taxonomy of Afrotropical and Malagasy Birds, Tauraco Press , cited by Demey (2002)
  5. ^ del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J. (2005), Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 10: Cuckoo-shrikes to Thrushes, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, ISBN 978-84-87334-72-6 
  6. ^ Clements, James F. (2007), The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World (Sixth ed.), Cornell University Press, ISBN 978-0-8014-4501-9 , according to Lepage, Denis (2003–2007), Avibase - the world bird database, http://www.bsc-eoc.org/avibase/species.jsp?lang=EN&id=727D8F63C3708A0C&ts=1192682409718&sec=summary, retrieved 2007-10-18 
  7. ^ Lack, Peter (2006) (doc), ABC African Checklist (nonpasserines), African Bird Club, http://www.africanbirdclub.org/resources/nonpasserines_2006.doc, retrieved 2007-10-18 
  8. ^ del Hoyo et al. (2005), according to Lack (2006)

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Finsch's Flycatcher-thrush — Taxobox name = Rufous Flycatcher thrush status = regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Aves ordo = Passeriformes familia = Turdidae genus = Neocossyphus species = N. finschi binomial = Neocossyphus finschi binomial authority = (Sharpe,… …   Wikipedia

  • Fraser’s Rufous Thrush — Conservation status Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) Scientific classification …   Wikipedia

  • Rufous Flycatcher-thrush — Taxobox name = Rufous Flycatcher thrush status = LC | status system = IUCN3.1 regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Aves ordo = Passeriformes familia = Turdidae genus = Neocossyphus species = N. fraseri binomial = Neocossyphus fraseri… …   Wikipedia

  • Flycatcher-thrush — Ant thrush redirects here. For the birds of the Formicariidae family, see Antthrush. Flycatcher thrushes Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Cl …   Wikipedia

  • List of African birds — This list of African birds is a listing of all the bird species known from the continent of Africa. TOCrightNotesThere are over 45 billion different species of birds in Africa.The taxonomy of this list adheres to James Clitorus Birds of the World …   Wikipedia

  • Sibley-Monroe checklist 14 — The Sibley Monroe checklist was a landmark document in the study of birds. It drew on extensive DNA DNA hybridisation studies to reassess the relationships between modern birds. Passeriformes (continued)Callaeatidae* Callaeas cinerea Kokako *… …   Wikipedia

  • List of birds of Nigeria — This is a list of the bird species recorded in Nigeria. The avifauna of Nigeria includes a total of 940 species, of which 4 are endemic and 5 are rare or accidental.This list s taxonomic treatment (designation and sequence of orders, families,… …   Wikipedia

  • List of birds of Guinea — This is a list of the bird species recorded in Guinea. The avifauna of Guinea includes a total of 705 species, of which 2 are rare or accidental.This list s taxonomic treatment (designation and sequence of orders, families, and species) and… …   Wikipedia

  • List of birds of Liberia — This is a list of the bird species recorded in Liberia. The avifauna of Liberia includes a total of 695 species, of which 1 is endemic, 3 have been introduced by humans, and 3 are rare or accidental. 12 species are globally threatened.This list s …   Wikipedia

  • List of birds of Ghana — This is a list of the bird species recorded in Ghana. The avifauna of Ghana includes a total of 754 species, of which 6 are rare or accidental.This list s taxonomic treatment (designation and sequence of orders, families, and species) and… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”