- Rufous-bellied Thrush
Taxobox
image_width = 240px
status = LC
status_system = IUCN3.1
regnum =Animal ia
phylum =Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo =Passeriformes
familia =Turdidae
genus = "Turdus "
species = "T. rufiventris"
binomial = "Turdus rufiventris"
binomial_authority = Vieillot, 1818The Rufous-bellied Thrush ("Turdus rufiventris") is a
songbird of thethrush family (Turdidae ). It occurs in most of east and southeastBrazil fromMaranhão south toRio Grande do Sul states,Bolivia ,Paraguay ,Uruguay and northern regions ofArgentina . It is one of the most common birds across much of southeastern Brazil, and is well-known there under its local name "sabiá-laranjeira".The Rufous-bellied Thrush has been the state bird of São Paulo since 1966. It was proposed as the national bird of Brazil [Sick "et al." (1997): p.702] , and was officially chosen in 2002.
This
species is named after its distinctive reddish-orange underparts. Rufous-bellied Thrushes can reach a length of 25 cm and weigh up to 68 g (male) or 78 g (female) [Sick "et al." (1997): p.705] , though weights of about 59 g for males and 64 g for females are more usual. Contrary to what one might expect from the rather marked weight difference, the females are not larger, only plumper; their tarsus is actually a bit shorter than that of males on average.Found in forests and urban wooded areas, it is an
omnivorous bird. Its food consists mainly of fruits andarthropod s [Sick "et al." (1997): p.701] , and it can sometimes be seen attendingmixed-species feeding flock s [Olson & Alvarenga (2006)] .It builds an open-cup
nest , sometimes right on the forest floor, sometimes more than 20 meters high in a tree, but usually 4-5 meters above ground. In theyungas of NW Argentina, nesting occurred in the wet season from October to March, with most birds breeding in November-December. The three, sometimes two eggs measure about 27-28 by 20 mm, and weigh c.5.7-5.9 grams each. They are incubated for about 12-13 days, and young take about that long again untlil theyfledge . Incubation is solely by the female, which spends considerable time on the nest. The nestlings are attended by both parents however; as the young near fledging, they are fed every 5-7 minutes or so on average.Predation may be a major cause of brood failure; in the Southern Andean yungas it was noted to be especially high during the nestling time and far less significant during incubation. [Auer "et al." (2007)]Footnotes
References
* (2007): Breeding biology of passerines in a subtropical montane forest in Northwestern Argentina. "Condor" 109(2): 321-333 [English with Spanish abstract] . DOI:10.1650/0010-5422(2007)109 [321:BBOPIA] 2.0.CO;2 [http://www.umt.edu/mcwru/files.pdf/Tom's%20PDF/Auer%20et%20al%20%202007%20Condor%20Argentina%20breeding%20biology.pdf PDF fulltext]
*|year=2004|id=51622|title=Turdus rufiventris|downloaded=7 March 2007 Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
* (2006): An extraordinary feeding assemblage of birds at a termite swarm in the Serra da Mantiqueira, São Paulo, Brazil. "Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia" 14(3): 297-299 [English with Portuguese abstract] . [http://www.ararajuba.org.br/sbo/ararajuba/artigos/Volume143/ara143not6.pdf PDF fulltext]
* (1997): "Ornitologia Brasileira" ["Brazilian Ornithology"] . Editora Nova Fronteir, Rio de Janeiro. ISBN 85-209-0816-0External links
* [http://ibc.hbw.com/ibc/phtml/especie.phtml?idEspecie=5970 Rufous-bellied Thrush videos] on the Internet Bird Collection
* [http://vireo.acnatsci.org/search.html?Form=Search&SEARCHBY=Common&KEYWORDS=rufous-bellied+thrush&showwhat=images&AGE=All&SEX=All&ACT=All&Search=Search&VIEW=All&ORIENTATION=All&RESULTS=24 Rufous-bellied Thrush photo gallery] VIREO
* [http://www.arthurgrosset.com/sabirds/photos/turruf3261.jpgPhoto-High Res] ; [http://www.arthurgrosset.com/sabirds/rufous-belliedthrush.html Article & synopsis] [http://www.arthurgrosset.com/sabirds/photos/turruf2553.jpgPhoto no. 2 of 2] arthurgrosset—"South American Birds"
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