| Sapayoa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nusagandi, Panama | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Superfamily: | Eurylaimoidea |
| Family: | Sapayoidae Irestedt et al. 2006 |
| Genus: | Sapayoa Hartert, 1903 |
| Species: | S. aenigma |
| Binomial name | |
| Sapayoa aenigma Hartert, 1903 | |
 | |
The sapayoa or broad-billed sapayoa (Sapayoa aenigma) is a suboscine passerine bird found Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama. [2]
As the sapayoa's specific epithet aenigma ("the enigma") implies, its relationships have long been elusive.
The sapayoa was formally described by the German ornithologist Ernst Hartert in 1903 under the present binomial name Sapayoa aenigma. [3] It has always been considered a monotypic genus, Sapayoa, and historically regarded as a New World suboscine; in particular, it was assigned to the manakin family (Pipridae). However, the species was listed as incertae sedis (position uncertain) in the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, because
"preliminary DNA-DNA hybridization comparisons ... indicate that this species is either a relative of the Old World Eurylaimidae or a sister group of all other Tyrannida, as suggested by earlier biochemical studies .... In any event, it is not a close relative of manakins or any other recent tyrannoid." [4]
More recent research suggests that it is not a New World suboscine at all, but an Old World suboscine. In 2004, it was shown that the sapayoa is an outlier to the New World suboscines. [5] In an earlier analysis based on nDNA myoglobin intron 2 and GAPDH intron 11 sequence data, the authors found the sapayoa
"as a deep branch in the group of broadbills and pittas of the Old World tropics." [6]
Accordingly, the sapayoa would be the last surviving New World species of a lineage that evolved in Australia-New Guinea when Gondwana was in the process of splitting apart. The sapayoa's ancestors are hypothesized to have reached South America via the Western Antarctica Peninsula.
Beginning in about 2010, major taxonomic systems moved the sapayoa into its own family Sapayoidae. [7] [8] [2] [9] [10] However, they differ in its placement in a linear sequence of families. The International Ornithological Committee (IOC) places it second among passerine families, between Acanthisittidae (the New Zealand wrens) and Philepittidae (the Asities). [2] The Clements taxonomy places several other families between the New Zealand wrens and the sapayoa and follows it with the asities. [9] BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World places it further down the linear sequence, between Eurylaimidae (typical broadbills) and Calyptomenidae (African and green broadbills). [10]
All the systems agree that the sapayoa is monotypic.
The sapayoa is 13.5 to 15 cm (5.3 to 5.9 in) long and weighs about 21 g (0.74 oz). Its head and upperparts are olive with a dusky tinge to the wings and tail. It throat and belly are a yellower olive. Its bill is wide and black with rictal bristles around it. Its iris is dull reddish brown and its legs are gray. Males have a yellow stripe on the crown. [11] [12]
The sapayoa is found from the Panama Canal Zone south through western Colombia into extreme northwestern Ecuador. It inhabits humid forest from the understory to the mid-level, and often occurs in ravines and near watercourses. In elevation it ranges as high as 1,200 m (3,900 ft) in Colombia but only to 500 m (1,600 ft) in Ecuador. [11] [13] [12]
The sapayoa is assumed to be a year-round resident in its range. [11]
The sapayoa typically feeds by perching for long periods between sallies to catch insects on the wing or from foliage. It also feeds on small fruits. It often joins mixed-species feeding flocks. [11] [13] [12]
The sapayoa's breeding season includes at least March to September in Panama and February to April in Colombia. Its pear-shaped nest is made from long strips of bark and other fibers, some of which dangle beneath the structure, and has a side entrance near its bottom. It is suspended from a branch, often above a stream. Two nests each held two nestlings. Both parents fed the brood at one. At the other the female brooded them and an adult male and two immature males attended her and the brood. [11] [14] [15]
The sapayoa's vocalizations are not well known. [11] One is "a soft trill" and another is "a slightly louder 'chipp, ch-ch-ch' ". [12]
The IUCN has assessed the sapayoa as being of Least Concern, though its population size is not known and is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified. [1] It is "[a]pparently rare to uncommon, and possibly rather local in distribution." [11]
A passerine is any bird of the order Passeriformes which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their toes, which facilitates perching.
Pittas are a family, Pittidae, of passerine birds found in Asia, Australasia and Africa. There are 44 species of pittas, all similar in general appearance and habits. The pittas are Old World suboscines, and their closest relatives among other birds are in the genera Smithornis and Calyptomena. Initially placed in a single genus, as of 2009 they have been split into three genera: Pitta, Erythropitta and Hydrornis. Pittas are medium-sized by passerine standards, at 15 to 25 cm (5.9–9.8 in) in length, and stocky, with strong, longish legs and long feet. They have very short tails and stout, slightly decurved bills. Many have brightly coloured plumage.
The Eurylaimidae are a family of suboscine passerine birds that occur from the eastern Himalayas to Indonesia and the Philippines. The family previously included the sapayoa from the Neotropics, the asities from Madagascar, and the Calyptomenidae from Africa and Asia, but these are now separated into distinct families.
The Tyranni (suboscines) are a suborder of passerine birds that includes more than 1,000 species, the large majority of which are South American. It is named after the type genus Tyrannus. These have a different anatomy of the syrinx musculature than the oscines, hence the common name of suboscines.
The asities are a family of birds, Philepittidae, that are endemic to Madagascar. The asities consist of four species in two genera. The Neodrepanis species are known as sunbird-asities and were formerly known as false sunbirds.
The long-tailed broadbill is a species of bird that is found in the Himalayas, extending east through Northeastern India to Southeast Asia. It is the only bird in the genus Psarisomus. The long-tailed broadbill is about 25 cm (10 inches) in length and weighs between 50 and 60 grams. It can be identified by its shrill call.
The streaked xenops is a passerine bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in the New World from Costa Rica and Trinidad south to Bolivia and Argentina.
The green broadbill also known as the lesser green broadbill is a small bird in the family Calyptomenidae. It was formerly classified in the family Eurylaimidae, a group of closely related birds that share the name "broadbill".
Pitta is a genus of birds in the Pittidae, or pitta family. They are secretive, brightly coloured birds that forage on the forest floor. They are long-legged and short-tailed with rounded wings. They all have green on their upperparts with blue wing-patches. Many have dark heads. Nest construction, incubation and rearing of nestlings is performed by both parents. Incubation is completed in some 17 days, and the nestlings are altricial and nidicolous. Some species are migratory.
The Colombian crake is a species of bird in the subfamily Rallinae of the rail, crake, and coot family Rallidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama.
The black-and-red broadbill is a species of bird in the typical broadbill family, Eurylaimidae. It is the only species in the genus Cymbirhynchus. A large, distinctive bird, it has maroon underparts, black upperparts, a maroon neck-band, and white bars on the wings. It also has a large, two-colored, blue-and-yellow bill. The species shows slight sexual dimorphism, with females being smaller than males. No other bird in its range resembles it, though the black-and-yellow broadbill has a similar call.
The song wren is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.
Eurylaimus is a genus of broadbills found in Southeast Asia.
The black-and-yellow broadbill is a species of bird in the typical broadbill family Eurylaimidae. A small, distinctive species, it has a black head, breastband, and upperparts, a white neckband, yellow streaking on the back and wings, and vinous-pink underparts that turn yellow towards the belly. The beak is bright blue, with a green tip to the upper mandible and black edges. It shows some sexual dimorphism, with the black breastband being incomplete in females.
The grey-breasted wood wren is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is found from Mexico to Bolivia.
The buff-breasted wren is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is found in the Amazon Basin of northern Brazil and Amazonian Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and northern-border Bolivia, and also the Guianan countries of Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana. It occurs in non-Amazonian regions of Venezuela and Colombia and its range extends into eastern Panama.
The bay wren is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is native to southern Central America and northwestern South America.
Eurylaimides is a clade of passerine birds that are distributed in tropical regions around the Indian Ocean and a single American species, the sapayoa. This group is divided into five families. The families listed here are those recognised by the International Ornithologists' Union (IOC).
The Chocó screech owl is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found from central Panama to western Ecuador.
Calyptomenidae is a family of passerine birds found in Africa, the Malay Peninsula and Borneo. There are six species in two genera.
