| Cinnamon attila | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Tyrannidae |
| Genus: | Attila |
| Species: | A. cinnamomeus |
| Binomial name | |
| Attila cinnamomeus (Gmelin, JF, 1789) | |
 | |
The cinnamon attila (Attila cinnamomeus) is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. [2] It is found in every mainland South American country except Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay. [3]
The cinnamon attila was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae . He placed it with the Old World flycatchers in the genus Muscicapa and coined the binomial name Muscicapa cinnamomea. [4] [5] Gmelin based his description on the "cinnamon flycatcher" that had been described in 1783 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his book A General Synopsis of Birds. Latham had access to a specimen from Cayenne in the Leverian Museum in London. [6] The cinnamon attila is now one of seven flycatchers in the genus Attila that was introduced in 1831 by the French naturalist René Lesson. [2]
From early in the twentieth century until the 1970s many authors classified genus Attila in family Cotingidae; after that it was recognized as belonging to family Tyrannidae. In the early twentieth century the cinnamon attila and the ochraceous attila (A. torridus) were treated as conspecific. [7]
A molecular genetic study published in 2020 found that the cinnamon attila is sister to the rufous-tailed attila (Attila phoenicurus). [8]
The cinnamon attila is about 19.5 to 20.5 cm (7.7 to 8.1 in) long and weighs 28 to 45 g (0.99 to 1.6 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a deep rufous head, upperparts, and tail. Their wings are mostly deep rufous with blackish primaries. Their wing coverts are dusky with wide rufous edges. Their underparts are mostly cinnamon-rufous with a somewhat yellower belly. They have a reddish brown iris, a black bill, and gray legs and feet. [9]
The cinnamon attila is a bird of the Amazon and Orinoco basins. It range extends from the southeastern third of Colombia [10] south through eastern Ecuador [11] into northeastern Peru [12] . Its range continues east into Venezuela's Táchira and Amazonas states. In Venezuela its range then resumes in the northeast and extends from there across the Guianas. [13] [9] From southern Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru its range extends across northern Bolivia and across Brazil to the Atlantic, with its southern boundary roughly following the line Rondônia northeast to Maranhão. [14]
The cinnamon attila inhabits a variety of landscapes, most of which are closely associated with water. These include várzea , igapó , and other swampy forest; the edges of oxbow lakes; along small streams; river islands; and palm groves and mangroves in river deltas. [9] In elevation in Brazil it ranges from sea level to 500 m (1,600 ft). It reaches 500 m (1,600 ft) in Colombia, 300 m (1,000 ft) in Ecuador, and 400 m (1,300 ft) in Venezuela. [10] [11] [13]
The cinnamon attila is believed to be a year-round resident. [9]
The cinnamon attila feeds primarily on large arthropods and also includes small amphibians and fruit in its diet. It typically forages singly or in pairs and seldom joins mixed-species feeding flocks. It mostly forages in the forest's mid-story though it uses all levels. It takes prey and fruits by gleaning from vegetation and branches after a short sally from a perch. [9]
The cinnamon attila's breeding season has not been defined, though nesting has been documented in April, May, and September. Its nest is a shallow cup made from small sticks lined with rootlets; one was noted in a crevice in a tree and another wedged between a bromeliad and a tree trunk. The clutch is two to three eggs. The incubation period, time to fledging, and details of parental care are not known. [9]
One of the cinnamon attila's songs is "a loud ascending whistle weary weary weary weer-ry". Another is a "slow, reedy series of 3 or more ascending wheer whistles" that is repeated persistently. Its calls are "a loud ringing hawk-like whistle, pü-puéééeeeear" that also is repeated multiple times and a "whoo-whoo-wheeeyeér" that is similar to calls of other Attila species. [9]
The IUCN has assessed the cinnamon attila as being of Least Concern. It has an extremely large range; its population size is not known and is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified. [1] It is considered fairly common in Colombia and Ecuador [10] [11] , "uncommon to locally fairly common" in Peru [12] , "fairly common to common...very locally" in Venezuela [13] , and common in Brazil [14] . It occurs in many national parks and other protected areas throughout its range. "Much of its habitat within its relatively large range remains reasonably undisturbed." [9]
