Elegant crescentchest

The elegant crescentchest (Melanopareia elegans) is a species of bird in the family Melanopareiidae. It is found in Ecuador and Peru.[2]

Elegant crescentchest
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Melanopareiidae
Genus: Melanopareia
Species:
M. elegans
Binomial name
Melanopareia elegans
(Lesson, 1844)

Taxonomy and systematics

The crescentchests (genus Melanopareia) were previously included in family Rhinocryptidae, the tapaculos. A 2010 publication confirmed earlier work and created their present genus.[3][4] The elegant crescentchest and the Marañón crescentchest (Melanopareia maranonica) might form a superspecies.[3] Two subspecies of elegant crescentchest are recognized, the nominate Melanopareia elegans elegans and M. e. paucalensis.

Description

The elegant crescentchest is 14.5 cm (5.7 in) long. Males weigh 16.0 to 20.2 g (0.56 to 0.71 oz) and females 15.5 to 19.0 g (0.55 to 0.67 oz) Males of both subspecies have a black crown, nape, and mask and a creamy supercilium. The back and rump are olive-brown. Its throat is white or pale buff that is darker around the margins and a black "bib" is below it. The upper chest is dark chestnut fading to tawny on the flanks and belly. The nominate female is similar, but the crown is sooty and there is no dark chestnut on the chest. The female M. e. paucalensis is like the nominate except that its crown is the same olive-brown as the back.[5]

Distribution and habitat

The elegant crescentchest is found discontinuously along the coast of Ecuador from Manabí Province south into Peru as far south as the Department of La Libertad. The nominate is in Ecuador and M. e. paucalensis is in Peru, and birds in far southern Ecuador might be intergrades between the two subspecies. Its principal habitat is scrub and undergrowth in semi-arid woodland; it can also be found in more humid disturbed areas. In Ecuador it ranges from near sea level usually to 2,000 m (6,600 ft) and locally to 2,400 m (7,900 ft). It Peru it reaches only as high as 1,700 m (5,600 ft).[5]

Behavior

Feeding

The elegant crescentchest's diet has not been reported. It forages alone by hopping through dense cover on and near the ground.[5]

Breeding

Almost nothing is known about the elegant crescentchest's breeding phenology. Three nests have been described. They were constructed of dry strips of cactus and weeds, were enclosed with a side entrance, and hidden on the ground.[5]

Vocalization

The elegant crescentchest's song is "a series of..."chuck" notes" . Its scold call is "a dry penetrating churr" .[5]

Status

The IUCN has assessed the elegant crescentchest as being of Least Concern.[1] Though it has a somewhat restricted range, it occurs in several protected areas and tolerates habitat disturbance.[5]

References
  1. BirdLife International (2016). "Elegant Crescentchest Melanopareia elegans". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  2. Gill, F.; Donsker, D.; Rasmussen, P. (January 2021). "IOC World Bird List (v 11.1)". Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  3. Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 19 January 2021. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved January 19, 2021
  4. Ericson, P.G.P.; Olson, S.L.; Irestedt, M.; Alvarenga, H.; Fjeldså, J. (2010). "Circumscription of a monophyletic family for the tapaculos (Aves: Rhinocryptidae): Psiloramphus [sic] in and Melanopareia out". Journal of Ornithology. 151: 337–345.
  5. Krabbe, N., T. S. Schulenberg, and E. de Juana (2020). Elegant Crescentchest (Melanopareia elegans), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.elecre1.01 retrieved May 3, 2021
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