- Ramphocaenus melanurus
Identification
10.9cm long and weigh 10.3g. Long thin bill, short cocked tail, upperparts grey-brown, with rufous on the sides of the head. The throat is white, shading to buff on the rest of the underparts. The tail is black with white tips.
Distribution
Central and South America: From Mexico through Central America to Panama, and from Colombia east to Venezuela, Trinidad, The Guianas, and Brazil, as well as south to Peru and Bolivia .
Taxonomy
It is the only member of the genus Ramphocaenus (Vieillot, 1819).
14 subspecies are recognized:
- R. m. rufiventris
- R. m. ardeleo
- R. m. sanctaemarthae
- R. m. griseodorsalis
- R. m. pallidus
- R. m. trinitatis
- R. m. albiventris
- R. m. duidae
- R. m. badius
- R. m. amazonum
- R. m. sticturus
- R. m. austerus
- R. m. melanurus
- R. m. obscurus
There may be more than one biological species involved, differing in voice and tail color, occurring together in an area of Peru.
Habitat
A variety of forest and woodland types and present in lowland to foothill elevations.
Behaviour
It builds a deep cup nest very low in a small plant or sapling. 2 white eggs are laid and incubated by both parents for 16-17 days to hatching, with a further 11-12 days to fledging.
The diet includes mainly insects, insect eggs and spiders.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, B.L. Sullivan, C. L. Wood, and D. Roberson. 2013. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.8., with updates to August 2013. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Birdforum thread discussing taxonomy of this species
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Long-billed Gnatwren. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 16 June 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Long-billed_Gnatwren
