| Black nunbird | |
|---|---|
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| Black nunbird at Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Piciformes |
| Family: | Bucconidae |
| Genus: | Monasa |
| Species: | M. atra |
| Binomial name | |
| Monasa atra (Boddaert, 1783) | |
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The black nunbird (Monasa atra) is a species of near-passerine bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is found in Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela. [2] [3]
The black nunbird was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1780 in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux from a specimen collected in Cayenne, French Guiana. [4] The bird was also illustrated in a hand-colored plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle that was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text. [5] Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert coined the binomial name Calculus ater in his catalogue of the Planches Enluminées. [6] The black nunbird is now placed in the genus Monasa that was introduced by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1816. [7] The generic name is from the Ancient Greek monas meaning "solitary". The specific epithet atra is from the Latin ater meaning "black". [8]
The black nunbird is monotypic. [2] Some authors treat it, the black-fronted nunbird (M. nigrifrons) and the white-fronted nunbird (M. morphoeus) as a superspecies. [9]
The black nunbird is 25 to 29 cm (9.8 to 11 in) long and weighs 74 to 104 g (2.6 to 3.7 oz). The adult's upperparts are glossy blue-black and the underparts dark gray to light gray. The lesser coverts are white, showing as a wide white band on the closed wing. The bill is red, the eye red to brown, and the legs and feet slaty black. Immatures are sootier above and browner below than the adult. [9]
The black nunbird is found from southern and eastern Venezuela through the Guianas into Brazil, where it occurs north of the Amazon River and east of the Rio Negro. It possibly also occurs in extreme eastern Colombia, though that has not been confirmed by the South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society (SACC). [9] [3] It inhabits humid terra firme , gallery, and várzea forest, usually at the edges, near water, and in somewhat open landscapes. It can be seen at all levels of the forest from the understory to the canopy. In elevation it ranges from sea level to 1,000 m (3,300 ft). [9]
The black nunbird hunts by sallies from a perch, usually plucking prey from vegetation or limbs though sometimes taking it in flight. Its diet includes insects, spiders, and other invertebrates as well as small vertebrates such as lizards. It follows army ant swarms. [9]
The black nunbird breeds between March and May in Venezuela and August to September in French Guiana. In the region of Manaus, Brazil, it apparently nests twice each year. The nest is placed in a hole in level ground. [9]
The black nunbird's songs are a "[f]lute-like 'whoo-doo-doo' and descending 'hyoo-hoo-hoo-oo-oo-oo'". Calls include a "loud 'yawkl-diddl' or 'quee-didada'". [9]
The IUCN has assessed the black nunbird as being of Least Concern. It has a very large range, and though its population has not been enumerated it is believed to be stable. [1] It is considered common in most of its range. [9]
The white-naped woodpecker is woodpecker which is a widespread but a scarce breeder in the Indian Subcontinent. It is associated with open forest and scrub with some trees. It nests in a tree hole, laying one or two white eggs.
The diederik cuckoo, formerly dideric cuckoo or didric cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, which also includes the roadrunners and the anis.
The white-lined tanager is a medium-sized passerine bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is a resident breeder from Costa Rica south to northern Argentina and on the islands of Trinidad and Tobago.
The tufted coquette is a tiny hummingbird that breeds in eastern Venezuela, Trinidad, Guiana, and northern Brazil. It is an uncommon but widespread species, and appears to be a local or seasonal migrant, although its movements are not well understood.
The pied water tyrant is a small passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family. It breeds in tropical South America from Panama and Trinidad south to Bolivia.
The great grebe is the largest species of grebe in the world. A disjunct population exists in northwestern Peru, while the main distribution is from extreme southeastern Brazil to Patagonia and central Chile. The population from southern Chile is considered a separate subspecies, P. m. navasi.
The buff-necked ibis, also known as the white-throated ibis, is a fairly large ibis found widely in open habitats of eastern and northern South America. It formerly included the similar black-faced ibis as a subspecies, but that species is almost entirely restricted to colder parts of South America, has a buff lower chest, and lacks the contrasting large white wing-patches.
The rufescent tiger heron is a species of heron in the family Ardeidae. It is found in wetlands from Central America through much of South America.
The pied puffbird is a species of bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
The violet-necked lory is a species of parrot in the family Psittaculidae. It is endemic to Indonesia, where it is found in the northern Maluku Islands and west Papuan islands. Its natural habitats are tropical moist lowland forests and tropical mangrove forests.
The variegated antpitta is a species of bird in the family Grallariidae. It is found in southeastern Brazil, eastern Paraguay, the Guianas and the northern Amazon Basin. Its range extends to Venezuela in the northwest; in the Amazon Basin, it is found in the downstream half of the basin, as well as in the Atlantic outlet region of the neighboring Tocantins-Araguaia River drainage to the southeast. A minor disjunct population is in Peru, and an Argentinian population is found in the tongue of land between Paraguay and southern Brazil.
The rufous-throated antbird is a species of bird in the family Thamnophilidae. It is found in Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
The fulvous shrike-tanager is a South American bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
The helmeted pygmy tyrant is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and heavily degraded former forest.
The hooded tanager is a species of bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical mangrove forest, and heavily degraded former forest.
The cinereous becard is a species of bird in the family Tityridae. The term cinereous describes its colouration. It has traditionally been placed in Cotingidae or Tyrannidae, but evidence strongly suggest it is better placed in Tityridae, where it is now placed by the South American Classification Committee.
The rusty-collared seedeater is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae, formerly placed in the related Emberizidae.
The yellow-tufted woodpecker is a species of woodpecker. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and heavily degraded former forest.
The yellow-throated woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela.
The Guianan warbling antbird is an insectivorous bird in the antbird family, Thamnophilidae. It is found at lower levels in humid forest in the Guianas, far eastern Venezuela, and north-eastern Brazil.
