Gray camel

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Gray camel
Grauämmerling painted by Jean-Gabriel Prêtre

Grauämmerling painted by Jean-Gabriel Prêtre

Systematics
Order : Passerines (Passeriformes)
Subordination : Songbirds (passeri)
Family : Tangaren (Thraupidae)
Subfamily : Poospizinae
Genre : Piezorina
Type : Gray camel
Scientific name of the  genus
Piezorina
Lafresnaye , 1843
Scientific name of the  species
Piezorina cinerea
Lafresnaye, 1843

The gray chamois ( Piezorina cinerea ), also known as the thick-billed gray tangerine , is a songbird in the tangerine family (Thraupidae). This monotypical species is endemic to the South American country Peru . The IUCN classifies the population as Least Concern . It is the only species in the genus Piezorina .

features

The Grauämmerling reaches a body length of about 16.5 centimeters. The top is medium gray while the bottom is pale gray. There is a black color at the base of the thick yellow bill. The legs are light yellow.

The young birds are gray-brown in color and, in contrast to adult birds, have a pale pink beak.

behavior

You can see the gray bugle alone or in pairs. But mostly they are traveling alone. They hold mainly on the ground and ground-level strata on. When they sing or are disturbed, they retreat to branches in the bushes. Her singing is described as a choppy series with short, powerful and squeaky sounds. The singing sounds like a loud tea or tea-too and occasionally like a dry tik-tik-tik .

distribution and habitat

They occur exclusively in the desert scrubland in northwestern Peru at altitudes below 200 meters. The area is characterized by flat sand dunes with the occasional bush. The distribution area stretches from the south of the Tumbes region to the region of La Libertad .

Brood

They build their nests from the stalks of a yellowish tobacco-like weed. Cobwebs help hold these stems together and secure them to the branches. The cocoon and yellow stems are attached to the outer shell of the nest. The same yellow fibers from the stems line the inner nest. The nests are between 9 and 9.5 centimeters wide at a height of 7 centimeters, while the inner diameter is about 6.4 to 7 centimeters at a depth of 3.5 to 4 centimeters.

Their nests can be found u. a. at a height of 2 to 4.5 meters in Bichayos ( Capparis ovalifolia ), Sapotes ( Capparis angulata ), Cordia rotundifolia and Faiques ( Acacia macracantha ), in which they lay two to three eggs.

The Grauämmerlinge serve the Seidenkuhstärling ( Molothrus bonariensis ), a Brutparasitisen , often as a host for their eggs.

Etymology and history of research

Lafresnaye first described the bird under the name Guiraca cinerea , but in his first description he suggested that a new genus Piezorina ("bec comprimé") would make sense due to the shape of the beak . Later, the gray chamois was also added to this genus.

The word "Piezorina" is made up of the Greek word "piezō πιεζω " for "to squeeze" and the Latin word "rhis, rhinos" for "nose, beak". Due to the Latin origin of this name, the generic name can sometimes also be read in the spelling Piezorhina . However, this notation is invalid from a taxonomic point of view.

"Cinerea" comes from the Latin word "cinereus" and means something like "ash gray".

literature

  • Thomas Scott Schulenberg , Douglas Forrester Stotz , Daniel Franklin Lane, John Patton O'Neill , Theodore Albert Parker III : Birds of Peru . Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey 2007, ISBN 978-0-7136-8673-9 .
  • James A. Jobling: Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4 .
  • Morris D. Williams: Discovery of the Nest and Eggs of the Cinereous Finch. (Piezorhina cinerea), a Peruvian Endemic . In: The Auk . tape 98 , no. 1 , 1981, p. 187–189 ( online [PDF; 218 kB ; accessed on December 16, 2013]).
  • Frédéric de Lafresnaye: G. Gros-bec. Coccothraustes Cuv., (G. Guiraca. Swainson. SG-Piezobina. De Lafr.) G. Gendré. C. cinerea. De Lafr. In: Magasin de zoologie, d'anatomie comparée et de palaeontologie (=  2 ). tape 5 , class 2, plate 30, 1843, p. 1–2 ( online [accessed December 16, 2013]).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Thomas Schulenberg et al., P. 588
  2. ↑ a b Morris D. Williams p. 187
  3. ↑ a b Morris D. Williams p. 189
  4. ^ Morris D. Williams p. 188
  5. ↑ Frédéric de Lafresnaye, pp. 1-2
  6. ↑ James A. Jobling p. 306
  7. ↑ James A. Jobling p. 107

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