Three-toed jacamar

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Three-toed jacamar

Near Threatened  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Piciformes
Family: Galbulidae
Genus: Jacamaralcyon
Lesson
, 1830
Species:
J. tridactyla
Binomial name
Jacamaralcyon tridactyla
(Vieillot, 1817)
Synonyms
  • Cauax tridactylus[2]
  • Galbula armata[2]
  • Galbula ceycoides[2]
  • Galbula triactyla[2]
  • Jacamaralcyon brasiliensis[2]

The three-toed jacamar (Jacamaralcyon tridactyla) is a species of

monotypic
within the genus Jacamaralcyon.

It is

habitat loss
.

Taxonomy and etymology

The three-toed jacamar is one of 18 jacamar species in the family

René Primevère Lesson created the genus Jacamaralcyon, separating the three-toed jacamar from other jacamar species on the basis of its unusual foot structure;[6] the genus name is a nod to Levaillant's earlier common name for the bird.[5] The specific name tridactyla is a combination of the Greek words tri, meaning "three" and dactulos, meaning "toes".[5]

Description

Like all members of its family, the three-toed jacamar is short-legged and short-winged. It perches upright, with its tail down and its long, sharply-pointed beak uptilted.[7] It is a medium-sized bird, measuring 18 cm (7.1 in) in length[8] and weighing between 17.4 and 19.3 g (0.61 and 0.68 oz); females average heavier than males.[9] The sexes are similarly plumaged: slaty black with a bronzy-green gloss above, and somewhat paler below. The belly and the center of the breast are white. The adult has a brownish-gray cap and a black throat, and the cap, chin and the sides of the head are finely marked with pale fulvous streaks. Its bill is black, and its feet are slaty gray.[2]

Unlike other members of its family, the three-toed jacamar has three, rather than four, toes. Its small

zygodactyl feet are missing a hind toe, and the front two toes are fused together at the base.[7]

Habitat and range

fledging, and adults sometimes move short distances.[7]

Behavior

Although it is a colonial nester, the three-toed jacamar is generally found singly or in pairs. It sometimes joins

mixed species flocks.[7]

Food and feeding

Like all jacamars, the three-toed jacamar is an insectivore.

sallying after prey which it often beats on a branch; this serves to stun the insect, and to remove any stinger or venom,[7] as well as the wings.[10]

Breeding

Three-toed jacamars breed during Brazil's

rainy season, with vocalizations and other courtship behaviors increasing between September and February.[10] During courtship, rival males sit side by side on a branch, flicking their wings and pumping their tails as they sing. Territories are defended vocally, with rivals rarely resorting to physical confrontation.[7] The species excavates a burrow nest, using one foot at a time to dig into an earthen bank; evidence (in the form of dirty and broken beaks on female museum specimens) suggests that the female may do most or all of the nest digging. Burrows are 6 cm (2.4 in) wide and 6–9 cm (2.4–3.5 in) high, and may extend as much as 72 cm (28 in) into the bank.[10] The species tends to nest colonially.[7] The female lays 2–4 eggs.[7]

Voice

The three-toed jacamar's song is a shrill series of short, ascending whistles, lasting about 20 seconds. Unlike most jacamars, which typically sing alone, male three-toed jacamars tend to sing in groups of 2–6.[10]

Conservation and threats

The three-toed jacamar is a species in trouble; habitat loss and habitat degradation have contributed significantly to its steep decline, and it is now rated as

Near Threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Its total population is estimated at 350–1500 individuals, which survive in small, widely scattered pockets of appropriate habitat across southeastern Brazil.[8]

References

  1. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22682186A153924733.en
    . Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Sharpe, Richard Bowdler, ed. (1891). Catalog of the Birds in the British Museum. Vol. 19. London, UK: The British Museum. pp. 174–5.
  3. ^ "ITIS Report: Jacamaralcyon". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  4. ^ "ITIS Report: Jacamaralcyon tridactyla". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  5. ^
    ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4
    .
  6. ^ Chenu, Jean Charles; des Murs, O. (1860). Encyclopédie d'histoire naturelle ou Traité complet de cette science, d'après les travaux des naturalistes les plus éminents de tous les pays et de toutes les époques: Oiseaux (in French). Paris, France: Marescq. p. 38.
  7. ^
    ISBN 978-1-4262-0403-6
    .
  8. ^ a b c d "BirdLife Species Factsheet: Three-toed Jacamar (Jacamaralcyon tridactyla)". BirdLife International. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  9. ISBN 978-1-4200-6445-2
    .
  10. ^
    ISSN 1353-985X
    . Retrieved 19 November 2020.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jacamaralcyon tridactyla.
Wikispecies has information related to Jacamaralcyon tridactyla.
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