Chestnut-capped piha
Chestnut-capped piha | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Cotingidae |
Genus: | Lipaugus |
Species: | L. weberi
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Binomial name | |
Lipaugus weberi Cuervo, Salaman, Donegan & Ochoa, 2001
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Geographic distribution shown in green on map of Colombia |
The chestnut-capped piha (Lipaugus weberi) is a species of
The chestnut-capped piha was not discovered until 1999, due in large part to the very limited and to political instability in central Colombia. The chestnut-capped piha is considered by the IUCN to be
Taxonomy
During the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the area infrastructure led many ornithological expeditions to explore the northern
The chestnut-capped piha is also known as the chestnut-capped cotinga and Antioquia piha.[4] Locals call the species Arrierito Antioqueño, which translates to the "little herdsman of Antioquia," because its call reminds them of the whistles made by horsemen herding cattle.[5] The genus name Lipaugus comes from the Greek lipaugēs, meaning "dark" or "devoid of light."[6] The specific name weberi is in honor of Walter H. Weber, a Colombian ornithologist from Medellín known for promoting conservation and the study of birds in Antioquia.[7] The chestnut-capped piha has no subspecies, and seems to be most closely related to the dusky piha.[3] It may form a superspecies with the dusky, cinnamon-vented, and scimitar-winged pihas.[8]
Description
Overall the chestnut-capped piha is a dark grey bird with a notable chestnut crown on the upper nape and pale cinnamon-colored undertail coverts.[3] The upperparts and wing coverts are a dark grey with paler fringes to most of the feathers.[3] The flight feathers are a dark brownish grey with cinnamon-colored fringes on the secondaries and tertials.[3] As the bird's feathers wear, the pale fringes tend to darken, leaving the bird even more uniform grey in coloration.[3] The underwing is a pale silvery grey.[3] The underparts are a paler shade of grey than the upperparts, particularly on the throat.[3] The tail is a dark greyish-brown, and is noticeably long and forked.[3] The legs and feet are also dark grey, although they have contrasting yellow soles.[3] In addition to its namesake chestnut crown, the bird's head is marked by a dark brown iris and a narrow orbital ring that is a bright yellow.[3] The bird's beak is black and relatively deep and broad at its base, and has a very hooked tip.[3] It also has short rictal bristles and obvious nostrils.[3] Adult chestnut-capped pihas are small for pihas, measuring about 20 to 25 cm (8 to 10 in) long and weighing between 69.4 and 72.2 g (2.45 and 2.55 oz).[3][4]
The sexes are similar in appearance, although the male is suspected to be slightly larger than the female.
Juveniles have a far less obvious chestnut crown than the adults, but have brighter and broader rufous fringes on their secondaries and tertials.[3] Their irises are also a greyer shade of dark brown.[3] Juvenile males also have not yet developed the modified primary feathers of the adult.[3]
While no other pihas have been found to share the chestnut-capped piha's habitat, making it unlikely to be confused with another species, it is distinguished from the closely related dusky piha by its relatively smaller size, greyer plumage, distinctive chestnut crown, and yellow orbital ring.[3]
Voice
Like most pihas, the chestnut-capped piha is extremely and conspicuously vocal.[4] Its call is a loud, piercing sreeck which rises in pitch before abruptly descending.[4] These calls are given repetitively in a series at one-second intervals, although when agitated they can be given every third of a second, and can be heard over 100 m (330 ft) away.[9] The chestnut-capped piha calls sporadically throughout the day and year-round.[9] The species also produces a quiet, nasal gluck-gluck which is believed to be a contact call.[9]
Distribution and habitat
The chestnut-capped piha is
The species is limited to living in a very narrow band of extremely humid, premontane cloud forest between 1,400 and 1,925 m (4,600 and 6,300 ft) in elevation, although it is suspected that birds may venture as low as 1,200 m (3,900 ft).[3][4] This piha seems to be most common between 1,600 and 1,750 m (5,200 and 5,700 ft).[10] The cloud forest is dominated by trees in the genera Guarea, Pouteria, Protium, Roucheria, Vochysia, Virola, and Clusia.[2] The species prefers pristine cloud forest, and may need blocks of at least 30 ha (74 acres) of habitat to thrive; however, it may be able to tolerate some selective logging and habitat fragmentation, although as a lower population density.[4][7] The chestnut-capped piha is non-migratory.[4]
Ecology and behavior
The piha is typically found between the midstory and lower canopy of its cloud forest, and has been observed joining mixed-species foraging flocks in the upper canopy, although typically only for the amount of time needed for the flock to pass through the piha's territory.[9][10] The species tends to be sluggish and relatively inactive.[9] While perching, the chestnut-capped piha tends to adapt a more horizontal position than the other pihas, which typically perch very upright.[3] When agitated, the piha flicks its tail upwards and raises its crown feathers.[9] The piha is parasitized by at least one species of tick in the genus Acaro.[2]
The chestnut-capped piha is mostly
The nest and breeding behavior of the chestnut-capped piha has not been described.[4] It is assumed to have similar behavior to the closely related dusky piha, and likely forms leks where males use their modified primary feathers to produce a whirring noise with their wings.[4] In March 2000, a survey found the species was mostly paired off and frequently vocalizing, suggesting that the breeding season was about to begin.[9] A juvenile piha collected in early June was likely only a few months old.[4]
Conservation
The chestnut-capped piha was listed as
Some portions of the piha's range are protected, including the 4.5 km2 (1,100 acres) Reserva Natural La Forzosa where the bird was first discovered; this site had actually been declared a reserve by a local landowner prior to the species' discovery.[7][9] In 2006, the American Bird Conservancy purchased the 5.3 km2 (1,300 acres) Arrierito Antioqueño Bird Reserve to be managed by Fundación ProAves.[10] Two smaller reserves, the La Serrana Municipal Reserve and the Caracolí-Guayabito Reserve, also protect portions of its habitat.[12] Further efforts to conserve portions of the chestnut-capped piha's range and limit its conversion to agricultural usage, particularly in the Riachón River valley, as well as additional surveys to clarify its current distribution, population, and any genetic variation between the Amalfi and Anorí populations, are needed to further protect the species.[10]
Relationship with humans
The chestnut-capped piha was featured on a Colombian $1,500 postage stamp in 2008.[14]
References
- ^ . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ . Retrieved March 24, 2021.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-691-15352-0.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4729-0628-1.
- ^ a b "Recently discovered species gain protection". Phys.org. Phys.org. January 18, 2007. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
- ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4729-0628-1.
- ISBN 978-0-691-15352-0.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-691-15352-0.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Species factsheet: Lipaugus weberi". BirdLife International Data Zone. BirdLife International. 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
- ^ S2CID 226077291. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
- ^ a b Sharpe, Christopher (2015). "Globally Threatened Bird: Chestnut-capped Piha". Neotropical Birding. Neotropical Bird Club. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
- ^ Howell, Lillie (March 16, 2017). "13,000 acres of cloud forest now protected in Colombia". Mongabay. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
- ^ Gibbins, Chris. "Chestnut-capped Piha stamps". Birds of the World on Postage Stamps. Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
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