Black-headed mosquito-eater
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Black-headed mosquito-eater ( Pittasoma michleri ) |
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| Pittasoma michleri | ||||||||||||
| Cassin , 1860 |
The black-headed mosquito-eater ( Pittasoma michleri ) is a species of bird in the mosquito-eater family (Conopophagidae). It lives in humid forests in tropical Central America, where it hunts insects on the ground. Although the species is rarely observed, it is not considered to be threatened in terms of its survival.
features
Black-headed mosquito eaters reach a size between 18 and 19 cm when fully grown, their weight is 110 g. The physique appears slightly rounded with broad wings, a very short tail and a broad neck. The legs are very long in relation to the body and set far back, which leads to a more upright posture. The strong beak is laterally widened, the upper mandible ends in a small, downwardly curved hook. When it comes to plumage, there is a slight but noticeable sexual dimorphism between the sexes. A typical male is colored olive brown on the back, rump and shoulder feathers. On the shoulders there is a light, lighter stripe pattern and narrow, blackish hems of the contour feathers . The control feathers and the top of the wings are colored in warm brown. At the tip of the arm and hand covers there is a small, diamond-shaped spot in white or cream tones, which is bordered by a very narrow, black border. This marking can also be found on the shield springs, but is less pronounced there. The flight feathers are a little lighter on both sides and usually uniformly colored. The coverts of the lower wing have slightly dull green impacts and irregular, white and black stripes and spots. The neck, bonnet and forehead are glossy deep black, the rest of the face including the ear covers as well as the neck and throat are colored hazel brown. There is a distinctive white spot on the reins . The chest and abdomen are white to cream-colored, which tends to get darker towards the sides. The contour feathers on the entire front are broadly lined with black, which gives the plumage a scaly appearance. The beak is ivory to silvery white, the upper mandible tends to be a little darker in color. Legs and feet are pale gray. The iris of the eye is inconspicuously dark brown in color. In female birds, the hazel brown color extends a little further towards the neck and is criss-crossed with fine, blackish stripes. Furthermore, the plumage on the throat is lighter than that of the males and has a rather cream-colored basic color.
Nestlings of the black-headed mosquito-eater have not yet been described, while there are only a few descriptions of presumed young birds. In the case of these birds with slightly patterned backs, however, it is unclear whether they are really juvenile specimens or whether there is an individual variation or a slightly more pronounced sexual dimorphism.
Habitat and behavior
Black-headed mosquito-eaters are largely ground-dwelling birds that require humid, tropical forests for habitat. They prefer untouched primary forests in hilly areas or mountain foothills, but can also cope with correspondingly tall secondary forests . They usually move around hopping on the ground. Although they are basically airworthy, they only fly short distances, if at all. Outside of the breeding season , the birds lead a largely solitary way of life and usually do not join swarms with representatives of their own or other species. An exception is the regularly observed gathering near migrating swarms of driver ants in order to be able to easily prey on startled insects. It is not yet known whether the species has a pronounced territorial behavior, but male specimens can sometimes be spotted singing on small, horizontal branches just above the ground. In general, however, black-headed mosquito eaters are considered to be rather quiet and inconspicuous birds. The singing is a long series of knocking sounds, the frequency of which increases as the speed decreases. Arousal is expressed by 10 to 16 consecutive hoarse calls designed to be more like the sounds of a croissant than a bird. Singing males appear to regularly attract the attention of striped-throated shadow hummingbirds ( Phaethornis striigularis ), who respond to the song with aggressive hatred . It is still unclear why the hummingbirds behave in this way. The black-headed mosquito-eaters do not normally pose a threat to them. Foraging takes place on the ground, where something is eaten in the fallen leaves. Occasionally, the beak is also pecked in search of the soft ground. Various arthropods such as insects, scorpions, spiders and flagellated spiders serve as food . In addition, small vertebrates such as frogs and reptiles may also be captured when the opportunity arises. There is almost no information about the reproductive behavior of the species. Only a single nest was described in Panama in the early 1970s. It was about one meter high in the crown of a young palm and consisted of dark root fibers that were woven into a thin-walled, cup-shaped construction. In the nest there were two eggs with a yellowish-pink base color, the shell of which was speckled with purple-colored spots and smaller, brown spots.
Spread and endangerment
The black-headed mosquito eater lives in a range that extends as a narrow strip from northern Costa Rica along the Caribbean coast of Panama to the far west of Colombia. While the lowlands are also settled further south, the birds in Costa Rica are generally only to be found at altitudes between 300 and 1000 m. In this region in particular, historical reports of occurrences of the black-headed mosquito-eater are known, which could not be found again in modern times. It is therefore possible that the species has already disappeared from parts of its range. In general, the birds are considered to be rather rare everywhere. The IUCN estimates the global population of the species as of 2020 to be less than 50,000 adult specimens, the population development is generally decreasing. Nevertheless, the organization has the black-headed mosquito eater at the lowest risk level “not endangered” ( least concern ).
Systematics
The first scientific description of the black-headed mosquito-eater comes from the year 1860 and goes back to the American ornithologist John Cassin . The holotype comes from near the Río Truandó in what was then the Republic of New Granada . Today it was found in Panama. As a scientific name of the new type Cassin awarded the binomials Pittasoma michleri , the specific epithet honors the later Brigadier General Nathaniel Michler, of the expedition of the United States Army Corps of Topographical Engineers had on which the holotype was found passed. Together with its closest relative, the black- browed mosquito-eater ( P. rufopileatum ), the black-headed mosquito-eater forms the genus Pittasoma . It was traditionally regarded as belonging to the ant pittas and thus to the family Formicariidae. However, modern phylogenetic studies using mitochondrial DNA led to a split in this family. The two Pittasoma species are closely related to the mosquito-eaters of the genus Conopophaga , with which they form the family Conopophagidae today.
Within the species, two subspecies are considered valid:
- P. m. Michleri Cassin , 1860 - Extreme western Colombia and Panama with the exception of the westernmost regions
- P. m. Zeledoni Ridgway , 1884 - Westernmost Panama and Costa Rica. Generally darker than the nominate form , more reddish on the upper side. The sides of the head are colored uniformly black with the exception of the brown ear covers.
Web links
- Recordings of calls and chants at xeno-canto.org
Individual evidence
- ^ Niels Kaare Krabbe, Thomas Scott Schulenberg: Broadbills to Tapaculos . In: Josep del Hoyo, Andrew Elliott, Jordi Sargatal (eds.): Handbook of the Birds of the World . tape 8 . Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2003, ISBN 978-84-87334-50-4 , pp. 731 .
- ↑ a b c d Harold F. Greeney: Antpittas and Gnateaters . Christopher Helm, London 2018, ISBN 978-1-4729-1964-9 , pp. 137-142 .
- ↑ Pittasoma michleri in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2021. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2020. Accessed November 9 2021st
- ^ John Cassin: Catalog of Birds collected during a survey of a route for a ship canal across the Isthmus of Darien, by order of the Government of the United States, made by Lieut. N. Michler, of the US Topographical Engineers, with notes and descriptions of new species . In: Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia . tape 12 , 1860, p. 188-197 .
- ^ Nathan H. Rice: Phylogenetic Relationships of Antpitta Genera (Passeriformes: Formicariidae) . In: The Auk . tape 122 , no. 2 , 2005, p. 673-683 , doi : 10.1093 / auk / 122.2.673 .
- ^ Nathan H. Rice: Further evidence for paraphyly of the Formicariidae (Passeriformes) . In: The Condor . tape 107 , no. 4 , 2005, p. 910-915 , doi : 10.1650 / 7696.1 .