The tuftedcheeks are a genus, Pseudocolaptes, of passerine birds in the ovenbird family Furnariidae. They are found in the mountains of the tropical New World from Costa Rica to Bolivia.
| Tuftedcheek | |
|---|---|
| |
| Streaked tuftedcheek (P. boissonneautii) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Furnariidae |
| Genus: | Pseudocolaptes Reichenbach, 1853 |
| Type species | |
| Anabates auritus Streaked tuftedcheek Tschudi, 1844
| |
| Species | |
|
P. boissonneautii | |
Taxonomy
editThe genus Pseudocolaptes was introduced in 1853 by the German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach.[1] The name combines the Ancient Greek pseudos meaning "false" or "another" with kolaptēs meaning "pecker".[2] George Robert Gray designated the type species in 1855 as Anabates auritus Lichtenstein.[3][4] This taxon is now considered a subspecies of the streaked tuftedcheek (Pseudocolaptes boissonneautii auritus) with Johann Jakob von Tschudi credited as the authority.[5]
Species
editThe genus contains three species:[5]
- Buffy tuftedcheek, Pseudocolaptes lawrencii
- Pacific tuftedcheek, Pseudocolaptes johnsoni (formerly a subspecies of Pseudocolaptes lawrencii)
- Streaked tuftedcheek, Pseudocolaptes boissonneautii
These species are resident breeders in wet mountain forests with many epiphytes, normally above 1500 m. The female lays one white egg in a thickly lined old woodpecker nest or other tree cavity. One parent, probably the female, incubates the single white egg for about 29 days to hatching.
The tuftedcheeks are 20–22 cm long weigh 48 g, and have long bright rufous tails, mainly brown upperparts, and a pale-streaked dark brown cap to the head. The feature that gives the group its English name is the tuft of buff or whitish feathers on each cheek. The throat is the same colour as the tufts.
The tuftedcheeks forage actively amongst mosses, vines, bromeliads and other epiphytes for insects, spiders, and even small amphibians. They will join mixed feeding flocks in the middle levels of the mountain forests.
References
edit- ^ Reichenbach, Ludwig (1853). "Icones ad synopsin avium No. 10 Scansoriae A". Handbuch der speciellen Ornithologie (in German). Dresden und Leipzig: Expedition Vollständigsten Naturgeschichte. pp. 145–218 [148, 209].
- ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 320. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
- ^ Gray, George Robert (1855). Catalogue of the Genera and Subgenera of Birds Contained in the British Museum. London: British Museum. p. 28.
- ^ Peters, James Lee, ed. (1951). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 7. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 119.
- ^ a b Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2021). "Ovenbirds, woodcreepers". IOC World Bird List Version 11.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- Hilty, Birds of Venezuela by, ISBN 0-7136-6418-5
- Stiles and Skutch, A guide to the birds of Costa Rica ISBN 0-8014-9600-4