Brown trembler

Last updated

Brown trembler
Cinclocerthia ruficauda - Dominica 2001 - a.jpg
In Dominica
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Mimidae
Genus: Cinclocerthia
Species:
C. ruficauda
Binomial name
Cinclocerthia ruficauda
(Gould, 1836)
Cinclocerthia ruficauda map.svg

The brown trembler (Cinclocerthia ruficauda) is a species of bird in the family Mimidae, the mockingbirds and thrashers. It is found on the islands of Saba, St. Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat, Guadeloupe, Dominica and St. Vincent in the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean Sea. [2] [3]

Contents

Taxonomy and systematics

The taxonomy of genus Cinclocerthia is not fully resolved. The International Ornithological Committee (IOC) recognizes the brown trembler and the grey trembler (C. gutturalis). It divides the brown trembler into four subspecies, the nominate C. r. ruficauda, C. r. pavida, C. r. tremula, and C. r. tenebrosa. However, there is significant phylogenetic evidence that brown tremblers from Guadeloupe northwards may represent a separate species (C. tremula) from those on the other islands. Some authors consider tremula to be part of ruficauda [2] [3] [4]

Description

The nominate subspecies of brown trembler is 20.5 to 26 cm (8.1 to 10.2 in) long; males weigh 47.6 to 65.4 g (1.68 to 2.31 oz) and females 42.8 to 71 g (1.51 to 2.50 oz). The species has a long, slightly downcurved bill, the female's longer than the male's. Adults are mostly shades of brown. Their crown is a deep grayish brown, the nape less gray, the back an olive brown, and the rump and tail a reddish brown. The face is blackish through the eye with grayish olive brown cheeks. The chin and throat are pale grayish buff that becomes browner on the breast and belly. The sides and flanks are cinnamon. The juvenile is similar with faint dusky spots on the breast. [3]

C. r. pavida is larger than the nominate but is otherwise similar. C. r. tenebrosa is also similar to the nominate, but its upperparts are darker and sootier and the breast more grayish. C. r. tremula is similar to tenebrosa but much larger. [3]

Distribution and habitat

Subspecies C. r. pavida of the brown trembler is the most widely distributed; it is found in the northern Lesser Antilles from Saba south to Montserrat. C. r. tremula is restricted to Guadeloupe, the nominate C. r. ruficauda to Dominica, and C. r. tenebrosa to St. Vincent. [2] [3]

The brown trembler mostly inhabits humid evergreen forest but is also found in secondary forest and plantations. In elevation it ranges from sea level to about 900 m (3,000 ft). [3]

Behavior

Tremblers derive their name from a typical behavior "in which the wings both are drooped and angled slightly away from the body...making very rapid vertical and lateral motions. [3]

Feeding

The brown trembler forages on the ground, in the understory, and in the midstory. It tosses leaves with its bill and more typically probes epiphytes, gaps between vines and trunks, and clusters of dead leaves. Its diet includes a wide variety of fruit, arthropods, and small vertebrates. [3]

Breeding

Little is known about the brown trembler's breeding phenology. It apparently breeds in March and April. The only documented nest was in a coconut palm, "cup-shaped and ... composed of rootlets, lined with finer rootlets and dead leaves". [3]

Vocalization

The brown trembler's principal song is "a series of variable loud phrases ranging in quality from 'rather harsh, others rich and warbled, still others high and squeaky'" It also has "subsongs" delivered less frequently. A common call is "a nasal, rasping yeeeah, often repeated many times". [3]

Status

The IUCN has assessed the brown trembler as being of Least Concern. [1] However, its population size and trend have not been determined and "it is likely that further deforestation and conversion to plantations or other human settlement will result in a population decrease." [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slaty-capped flycatcher</span> Species of bird

The slaty-capped flycatcher is a small passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family. It is found from Costa Rica south to Bolivia and east to Venezuela and Trinidad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mountain elaenia</span> Species of bird

The mountain elaenia is a small passerine bird in subfamily Elaeniinae of family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and Venezuela.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sapphire-spangled emerald</span> Species of hummingbird

The sapphire-spangled emerald is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is regularly found in Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, and Venezuela; as a vagrant in Argentina; and has possibly occurred in Ecuador.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pearly-eyed thrasher</span> Species of bird

The pearly-eyed thrasher is a bird in the thrasher family Mimidae. It is found on many Caribbean islands, from the Bahamas in the north to the Grenadines in the south, with an isolated subspecies on Bonaire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trembler</span> Genus of birds

Tremblers (Cinclocerthia) are a genus of perching birds in the family Mimidae that are endemic to the Lesser Antilles. They are medium-small, mostly brown or grey birds with long beaks and tails that typically are held cocked. Most recent authorities recognize two species in the genus, but some split each into two species, bringing it to four species:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purple-throated carib</span> Species of hummingbird

The purple-throated carib is a species of hummingbird in the subfamily Polytminae. It is resident on most of the islands of the Lesser Antilles and has occurred as a vagrant both further north and south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antillean crested hummingbird</span> Species of bird

The Antillean crested hummingbird is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. Found across Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Montserrat, north-east Puerto Rico, Saba, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Eustatius, the British Virgin Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Lesser Antilles, while it has also been recorded as a vagrant in Florida, USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swallow-winged puffbird</span> Species of bird

The swallow-winged puffbird is a species of near-passerine bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is also called the swallow-wing. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pearly-breasted cuckoo</span> Species of bird

The pearly-breasted cuckoo is a species of bird in the tribe Phaenicophaeini, subfamily Cuculinae of the cuckoo family Cuculidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Suriname, Venezuela, and possibly Colombia and Panama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rufous-vented ground cuckoo</span> Species of bird

The rufous-vented ground cuckoo is a Vulnerable species of cuckoo in the tribe Neomorphini of subfamily Crotophaginae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Panama, and Peru.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashy-faced owl</span> Species of bird

The ashy-faced owl is a species of bird in the barn-owl family Tytonidae. It is found on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, on Dominica, and on several other islands of the Lesser Antilles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern chat-tanager</span> Species of bird endemic to the Dominican Republic

The eastern chat-tanager is a Near Threatened species of passerine bird belonging to the family Calyptophilidae. It is endemic to the island of Hispaniola, in the Dominican Republic; it is possibly extirpated from Haiti.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forest thrush</span> Species of bird

The forest thrush is a species of bird in the family Turdidae. It was historically the sole species within the genus Cichlherminia, however the AOU reclassified the species to the genus Turdus in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grey trembler</span> Species of bird

The grey trembler is a songbird species in the family Mimidae, the mockingbirds and thrashers. It is found only on Martinique and Saint Lucia in the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean Sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-winged cinclodes</span> Species of bird

The white-winged cinclodes is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sepia-brown wren</span> Species of bird

The sepia-brown wren or Sharpe's wren is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scaly-breasted thrasher</span> Species of bird

The scaly-breasted thrasher is a species of bird in the family Mimidae. It is found throughout much of the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean Sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greater wagtail-tyrant</span> Species of bird

The greater wagtail-tyrant is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stripe-throated wren</span> Species of bird

The stripe-throated wren is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fantastic least gecko</span> Species of lizard

The fantastic least gecko, or fantastic sphaero is a species of gecko found in the Caribbean, on the islands of Dominica, Montserrat, and the Guadeloupe archipelago.

References

  1. 1 2 BirdLife International (2018). "Cinclocerthia ruficauda". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T22711130A131961843. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22711130A131961843.en .
  2. 1 2 3 Gill, F.; Donsker, D.; Rasmussen, P. (July 2021). "IOC World Bird List (v 11.2)" . Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Sibbald, E. (2020). Brown Trembler (Cinclocerthia ruficauda), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.brotre1.01 retrieved August 3, 2021
  4. Hunt, Jeffrey S.; Bermingham, Eldredge; Ricklefs, Robert E. (2001). "Molecular systematics and biogeography of Antillean Thrashers, Tremblers, and Mockingbirds" (PDF). The Auk . 118 (1): 35–55. Retrieved August 3, 2021.