| Rufous-backed Robin | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Turdidae |
| Genus: | Turdus |
| Species: | T. rufopalliatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Turdus rufopalliatus Lafresnaye, 1840 | |
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The rufous-backed robin (Turdus rufopalliatus) is a songbird of the thrush family. It is endemic to the Pacific slope of Mexico. It is also known as the rufous-backed thrush.
This species resembles its widespread relative the American robin in general appearance, but is a bit smaller at 21.5–24 cm (8.5–9.4 in) long, [2] with an average wingspan of 39.4 cm (15.5 in) and weight of 74 g (2.6 oz). [3] It is named for the adult's rufous or olive-rufous upper back, which contrasts with the grayish head, nape, and rump. The chest and flanks are also rufous. The belly and undertail coverts are white; the throat is white with many black streaks. The bill and eye-ring are yellow. Females are typically somewhat duller-colored than males. Juveniles, like other juvenile Turdus thrushes, are spotted below; they are browner and have pale flecks above.
The subspecies of the Islas Tres Marías, also found around San Blas, Nayarit, is sometimes considered a separate species, Grayson's robin or Grayson's thrush, Turdus graysoni (Ridgway, 1882). It looks "washed out", with little rufous tinting. [4]
The song is slow and warbling, with repetition of phrases. [2] [3] An example is "weedele loo loo freerlii..." [3] The alarm call is a long, mellow, descending whistle, [3] "cheeoo or teeeuu". [2] Other calls resemble those of the American robin; the flight call is thinner. [2] [3]
The rufous-backed robin inhabits dry deciduous forests, including the edges, and in human-planted habitats, at heights from the ground to high in trees. Its main range extends from southeastern Sonora to the southeastern corner of Oaxaca along the coast and in the Río Balsas drainage. The isolated populations in Mexico City and Oaxaca City are probably descended from escaped cage birds. [2] A number of vagrants have reached the Mexican-border states of the United States, where they are often found in riparian woods. [3]
This species is shyer than the American robin. [3] In winter it often forms flocks. The diet is typical of thrushes: fruit and invertebrates, especially insects. Reproduction resembles that of other Turdus species. The eggs are whitish with heavy red-brown markings. [2] In regard to nesting, nests are usually made of plant material mixed with mud, found in trees and shrubs, and can hold about 2-3 nestlings [5] One of the parents tends to build the nest, while both sexes care for the nestlings and defend the nest territory. [6]
The American robin is a migratory bird of the true thrush genus and Turdidae, the wider thrush family. It is named after the European robin because of its reddish-orange breast, though the two species are not closely related, with the European robin belonging to the Old World flycatcher family. The American robin is widely distributed throughout North America, wintering from southern Canada to central Mexico and along the Pacific coast.
The sharp-shinned hawk or Northern sharp-shinned hawk, commonly known as a sharpie, is a small hawk, with males being the smallest hawks in the United States and Canada, but with the species averaging larger than some Neotropical species, such as the tiny hawk. The taxonomy is far from resolved, with some authorities considering the southern taxa to represent three separate species: white-breasted hawk, plain-breasted hawk, and rufous-thighed hawk. The American Ornithological Society keeps all four variations conspecific.
The rufous-tailed robin is a small passerine bird. Its breeding range extends from southern Siberia and the Sea of Okhotsk to southern China and southeastern Asia.
The lilac-crowned amazon, also known as lilac-crowned parrot, Finsch's parrot or Finsch's amazon, is a parrot endemic to the Pacific slopes of Mexico. Also known as Finsch's amazon, it is characterised by green plumage, a maroon forehead, and a violet-blue crown and neck.
The ladder-backed woodpecker is a North American woodpecker.
The crimson-collared tanager is a rather small Middle American songbird. It was first described by the French naturalist René-Primevère Lesson in 1831, its specific epithet from the Latin adjective sanguinolentus, "bloodied", referring to its red plumage.
The yellow grosbeak, also known as the Mexican yellow grosbeak, is a medium-sized seed-eating bird in the same family as the northern cardinal, "tropical" or "New World" buntings, and "cardinal-grosbeaks" or New World grosbeaks.
The crimson-collared grosbeak is a medium-size seed- and leaf-eating bird in the same family as the northern cardinal, Cardinalidae.
The clay-colored thrush is a common Middle American bird of the thrush family (Turdidae). It is the national bird of Costa Rica, where it is well known as the yigüirro. Other common names include clay-colored robin.
Townsend's solitaire is a medium-sized thrush, the only solitaire native to America north of Mexico.
The mountain thrush is a large thrush which is found in Central America. It was formerly known as the mountain robin. Some authorities refer to it as the American mountain thrush to differentiate it from the Abyssinian thrush, known in their taxonomy as the African mountain thrush.
The Montezuma quail is a stubby, secretive New World quail of Mexico and some nearby parts of the United States. It is also known as Mearns's quail, the harlequin quail, and the fool quail.
The American gray flycatcher, or American grey flycatcher, or just gray flycatcher as it is known in North America, is a small, insectivorous passerine in the tyrant flycatcher family. It is common in the arid regions of western North America, especially the Great Basin. From sagebrush steppes to pinyon-juniper woodlands and ponderosa pine forests, this flycatcher forages for insects from shrubs or low tree branches.
The solitary eagle or montane solitary eagle is a large Neotropical eagle. It is also known as the black solitary eagle.
The rufous-bellied thrush is a songbird of the thrush family (Turdidae). It occurs in most of east and southeast Brazil from Maranhão south to Rio Grande do Sul states, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and central regions of Argentina.
The long-billed thrasher is a medium-sized resident songbird of South Texas and eastern Mexico. It bears a strong resemblance to its close relative the brown thrasher in appearance, calls, and various other behaviors; however, the two species do not overlap in range except in the winter when the brown thrasher will temporarily reside in the northern range of the long-billed.
The brown-backed solitaire is considered a thrush and is placed in the family Turdidae. It is a medium-sized bird about 21 centimeters long. It is a mostly grayish bird with brown flight feathers, a white eye ring and white rectrices (tail) feathers.
The blue mockingbird is a species of bird in the family Mimidae. It is endemic to Mexico, but has occurred as a vagrant in the southern United States. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, and heavily degraded former forest.
The stripe-throated hermit is a species of hummingbird from Central America and north-western South America. It is generally fairly common and considered Least Concern by BirdLife International.
The western red-tailed hawk is a subspecies of the red-tailed hawk.
