Planalto foliage-gleaner

Planalto foliage-gleaner
at Serra da Canastra National Park, Minas Gerais state, Brazil
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Furnariidae
Genus:	Syndactyla
Species:	S. dimidiata
Binomial name
Syndactyla dimidiata (Pelzeln, 1859)
Synonyms
Philydor dimidiatum Philydor dimidiatus

The planalto foliage-gleaner (Syndactyla dimidiata), also known as the russet-mantled foliage-gleaner, is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Brazil and Paraguay. ^[2]

Taxonomy and systematics

The planalto foliage-gleaner was long placed in genus Philydor but publications in 2005 and 2011 showed that it belonged in Syndactyla. ^{[3] [4]}

The planalto foliage-gleaner's taxonomy since that change remains unsettled. The International Ornithological Committee and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World treat it as monotypic. ^{[2] [5]} The Clements taxonomy assigns it two subspecies, the nominate S. d. dimidiata (Pelzeln, 1859) and S. d. baeri (Hellmayr, 1911). ^[6] That second subspecies had been treated as a separate species in the early to mid-1900s. ^[7] A 2014 publication cast doubt on baeri's validity as either a species or subspecies. ^[8]

This article treats the planalto foliage-gleaner as monotypic, though the putative taxon baeri is mentioned.

Description

The planalto foliage-gleaner is about 17 cm (6.7 in) long and weighs 27 to 32 g (0.95 to 1.1 oz). It is a medium-sized furnariid with a long pointed bill. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a mostly rufescent orange face; the color is deeper on the supercilium and the ear coverts are darker. Their crown and upperparts are bright rufescent brown with a cinnamon tinge. Their tail is rufous-chestnut and their wings are dark rufescent brown with brighter edges on the primaries. Their throat and underparts are mostly unmarked ochraceous rufous, with faint pale streaks on the breast and an olive cast on the flanks. Their iris is brown, their maxilla dark brown, their mandible horn with a pinkish base, and their legs and feet olive. Juveniles have a shorter bill than adults, a whitish throat, and brown bars on their breast. (Compared to the above, baeri has a bright olive-brown back, less rufescent wings, and duller underparts.) ^{[9] [10]}

Distribution and habitat

The planalto foliage-gleaner is found in the southern planalto from Brazil's Mato Grosso state east to Bahia and south to Paraná and eastern Paraguay's Concepción and Amambay departments. (The baeri taxon is in the southeasterly part of the species' range.) The species inhabits lowland tropical evergreen forest, gallery forest, and tropical woodlands within the cerrado . In elevation it ranges from 100 to 1,200 m (300 to 3,900 ft). ^{[9] [10]}

Behavior

Movement

The planalto foliage-gleaner is a year-round resident throughout its range. ^[9]

Feeding

The planalto foliage-gleaner's diet has not been studied but is assumed to be arthropods. It is most often seen foraging in pairs and occasionally as part of mixed-species feeding flocks. It forages from the forest's understory to its mid-storey, taking prey from branches and epiphytes. ^{[9] [10]}

Breeding

Nothing is known about the planalto foliage-gleaner's breeding biology. ^[9]

Songs and calls Listen to planalto foliage-gleaner on xeno-canto

Vocalization

The planalto foliage-gleaner's song has been likened to "a small, slowly starting motorbike". It is a "rather short or very long series of 'tsjek' notes, ascending, starting and ending with some stuttering". ^[10] Its contact call is "a loud, nasal 'cheh', single or doubled". ^[9]

Status

The IUCN originally assessed the planalto foliage-gleaner as Near Threatened but since 2004 has rated it as being of Least Concern. It has a large range but its population size is not known and is believed to be decreasing. "The species is presumably threatened by agricultural conversion of forested areas within the Brazilian planalto, and more information is required regarding population size and trends." ^[1] It appears to be rare across its range and to not tolerate very disturbed forest. It does occur in a few protected areas. ^[9]

References

1. BirdLife International (2018). "Russet-mantled Foliage-gleaner Syndactyla dimidiata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T22702803A130277586. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22702803A130277586.en . Retrieved 30 August 2023.
2. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2023). "Ovenbirds, woodcreepers". IOC World Bird List. v 13.2. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
3. Robbins, M.B. and Zimmer, K.J. (2005). Taxonomy, vocalisations and natural history of Philydor dimidiatum (Furnariidae), with comments on the systematics of Syndactyla and Simoxenops. Bull. Brit. Orn. Club 125(3): 212–228.
4. Derryberry, E. P., S. Claramunt, G. Derryberry, R. T. Chesser, J. Cracraft, A. Aleixo, J. Pérez-Emán, J. V. Remsen, Jr., and R. T. Brumfield. (2011). Lineage diversification and morphological evolution in a large-scale continental radiation: the Neotropical ovenbirds and woodcreepers (Aves: Furnariidae). Evolution 65(10):2973–2986.
5. HBW and BirdLife International (2022) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 7. Available at: https://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v7_Dec22.zip retrieved December 13, 2022
6. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ retrieved November 10, 2022
7. Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, G. Del-Rio, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 31 May 2023. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved May 31, 2023
8. Lopes, L.E. and Gonzaga, L.P. (2014). Taxonomy, distribution, natural history and conservation of the Russet-mantled Foliage-gleaner Syndactyla dimidiata (Pelzeln, 1859) (Aves: Furnariidae). Zootaxa 3754(4): 435–449.
9. Remsen, Jr., J. V. and C. J. Sharpe (2020). Russet-mantled Foliage-gleaner (Syndactyla dimidiata), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.rumfog1.01 retrieved August 30, 2023
10. van Perlo, Ber (2009). A Field Guide to the Birds of Brazil. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 224. ISBN   978-0-19-530155-7.