Rose Breast Core Crackers
| Rose Breast Core Crackers | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rose breast core crackers, males in splendid dress |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Pheucticus ludovicianus | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1766) |
The rose breast corecracker ( Pheucticus ludovicianus ) is a large songbird from the family of cardinals (Cardinalidae). The specific epithet ludovicianus refers to King Louis XIV of France , in whose honor the state in the southern United States of America , Louisiana , was named. Linnaeus was referring to the origin of the type specimen from Louisiana.
features
Rose breast core crackers are large songbirds , the body length is 18-21.5 centimeters, the weight 39-49 grams. The very large and powerful beak is whitish.
The species shows a very pronounced sexual dimorphism in terms of coloration and drawing, the plumage of the males is much more conspicuous and more intensely colored than that of the females. In the magnificent dress of the male, the head, neck and upper back are monochrome black, the lower back and rump are white. The upper tail-coverts show a black and white banding. The central control feathers are black, the rest are white and have a wide black border. The middle arm covers are white, the large ones black with a broad white tip. The black arm wings have a narrow white spot on the outer flag, the basal half of the hand wings is white, the distal half black. The name part "rose breast" refers to the pink breast, the rest of the underside of the body is white. The small and medium-sized under wing coverts are also pink.
In the plain dress , the red breast color is less pronounced. The black feathers on the head, neck and upper back have a brownish border; these areas therefore appear scaled. The white lower back shows an indistinct, dark transverse banding, the flanks are slightly darkly spotted.
In the female, the black parts of the plumage in the male are brownish. The brown head shows a whitish area in the middle of the top of the head, and a white stripe above the eyes extends from the front edge of the eye to the side of the neck. The throat is finely and darkly dotted and spotted on a whitish background, a brownish dotted line covers the whitish to cream-colored underside of the trunk. The red color is missing. The females are very similar to the females of the closely related Schwarzkopfkernknackers ( P. melanocephalus ), but in the latter species, in particular, the underside is more yellowish-brown and much less dashed.
Although the males of these two species differ, hybridization occurs in overlapping ranges.
distribution and habitat
The distribution area of the rose breast core cracker stretches in a wide belt from northwest Canada over the central and eastern United States of America to the east coast of North America. It inhabits more open deciduous and mixed forests, especially on the edge of water. The species migrates long distances , it winters from Mexico to Colombia and Venezuela, rarely to Peru and Guyana and can be found at altitudes of 1800 m. In Europe, the rose breast core cracker is a rare exception, especially in Great Britain , almost all of the evidence was made in October.
Reproduction
Nest building begins in May. 1 to 5, usually 4, pale bluish green and dark speckled eggs are laid, which are incubated by males and females. The young are fledged after 9 to 12 days and then dependent on the parent animals for another 3 weeks.
Danger
The world population is estimated at around 4.6 million animals and is apparently in decline. The population decline is not yet so rapid that classification of the species as endangered ("vulnerable") would be justified. Due to the very large total stock, the rose breast core cracker is therefore classified by the IUCN as safe ("Least Concern").
Individual evidence
- ^ Joel Ellis Holloway: Dictionary of Birds of the United States: Scientific and Common Names. Timber Press, 2003, ISBN 978-0881926002 , p. 153.
- ^ A b Robert S. Ridgely, John A. Gwynne: A Guide to the Birds of Panama: With Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras. Princeton University Press, 1992, ISBN 978-0691025124 , p. 411.
- ↑ a b c T. Dewey: Pheucticus ludovicianus. 2009, Animal Diversity Web. ( Online , accessed May 20, 2011)
- ↑ a b c d JL Dunn and J. Alderfer (eds.): Field guide to the birds of North America. 5th Edition, National Geographic Society, 2008, ISBN 978-0-7922-5314-3 : pp. 436-437
- ^ Lars Svensson , Peter J. Grant, Killian Mullarney, Dan Zetterström: Der neue Kosmos Vogelführer . Kosmos, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-440-07720-9 , pp. 364-3365
- ↑ Der Rosenbrust-Kernknacker at BirdLife International (Online, accessed June 14, 2011)
- ↑ Pheucticus ludovicianus in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2010.4. Listed by: BirdLife International, 2009. Retrieved May 20, 2011.
literature
- JL Dunn and J. Alderfer (Eds.): Field guide to the birds of North America. 5th Edition, National Geographic Society, 2008, ISBN 978-0-7922-5314-3 : pp. 436-437
