Brown-billed scythebill facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Brown-billed scythebill |
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| C. p. pusillius at Chinapintza, Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Campylorhamphus
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| Species: |
pusillus
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The brown-billed scythebill (Campylorhamphus pusillus) is a cool bird that belongs to the ovenbird family called Furnariidae. It's found in several countries in Central and South America. You can spot it in places like Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela. This bird is famous for its very long, curved bill, which looks a bit like a scythe or a sickle!
Contents
About Its Family Tree
Birds often have different types, called subspecies, that are a bit different from each other. The brown-billed scythebill has five known subspecies:
- C. p. borealis
- C. p. olivaceus
- C. p. tachirensis
- C. p. guapiensis
- C. p. pusillus (This is the main one, also called the nominate subspecies.)
Sometimes, scientists think one of these, C. p. borealis, might even be its own separate species. It's like different branches on a family tree!
What Does It Look Like?
The brown-billed scythebill is a medium-sized bird. It's about 20 to 25 centimeters (8 to 10 inches) long. It weighs between 32 and 48 grams (about 1 to 1.7 ounces). Both male and female birds look the same.
This bird is quite slim. Its most noticeable feature is its very long, thin, and strongly curved bill.
Feather Colors and Markings
The main subspecies, C. p. pusillus, has a face and neck with streaks of light yellow-brown and dark brown. It has a faint light stripe above its eye, called a supercilium. Its head and the back of its neck are dark brown. They have thin, light streaks that go down its upper back.
Its back and wing feathers are a deep reddish-brown. Its rump (the lower back) is a cinnamon-red color. Its wings and tail are a rich reddish-chestnut. The tips of its main wing feathers are dusky.
Its throat is a deep buff color with dark streaks. The rest of its belly is dark brown to olive-brown. This color gets more reddish-brown on its lower belly. Its lower neck, chest, and upper belly have thin, light streaks. The feathers under its tail also have lighter streaks. The feathers under its wings are cinnamon-buff to yellowish-brown.
Eye, Bill, and Leg Colors
The bird's eyes are dark brown to cinnamon-brown. Its bill is blackish-brown to brownish-horn. Its legs and feet are olive-green to blackish-brown.
Young Birds
Young brown-billed scythebills look a bit different. They are darker and more olive than adults. Their streaks are wider but not as clear. Their bill is shorter and darker.
Differences in Subspecies
The other subspecies have slight differences in their appearance:
- C. p. borealis is darker overall. It has a blacker head and more olive underparts. Its streaks are narrower but cover more area. Its wings and tail are a deeper chestnut color.
- C. p. olivaceus is smaller and darker than borealis. It has a black head and a deeper brown back. Its underparts are more olive.
- C. p. tachirensis is more olive than the main subspecies, especially on its underparts.
- C. p. guapiensis is smaller than the main subspecies. It is more brownish. Its yellowish-brown streaking is only on its head, neck, chest, and upper belly.
Where Does It Live?
The brown-billed scythebill lives in different areas across its range. It likes humid, evergreen forests. These are mostly in highlands, but sometimes in lower areas too. It especially loves middle-elevation cloudforests. You can find it inside these forests or along their edges. It sometimes lives in older secondary forests, which are forests that have grown back after being cut down.
Elevation
In Central America, it usually lives between 300 and 1,700 meters (about 1,000 to 5,600 feet) high. In southern Costa Rica, it can go up to 2,500 meters (about 8,200 feet). In Colombia, it lives from 250 to 2,700 meters (about 820 to 8,900 feet) high. In Ecuador, it's mostly found between 600 and 2,100 meters (about 2,000 to 6,900 feet). However, it can sometimes be found as low as 300 meters (about 1,000 feet) there.
How Does It Behave?
Movement
Scientists believe the brown-billed scythebill stays in the same area all year round. However, in Central America, it might move to different elevations depending on the season.
What Does It Eat?
This bird mainly eats arthropods. These are creatures like insects and spiders. It usually looks for food alone or sometimes in pairs. It often joins groups of different bird species that are feeding together.
It climbs up and along tree trunks and vines. It mostly forages from the lower parts of the forest up to the middle layers of the trees. It usually picks its prey right off the surface of trees. It also probes into cracks and holes in bark. It searches in plants like bromeliads, epiphytes (plants that grow on other plants), moss, and tangled vines.
Breeding Habits
The brown-billed scythebill seems to stay with the same partner for a long time. Its breeding season isn't fully known, but it appears to be from May to July. Not much else is known about how this bird raises its young.
Its Song
The brown-billed scythebill sings mostly at dawn and dusk. Its song is quite complex and can vary a lot. It's a series of notes that lasts about 2.5 to 5 seconds. It starts with a soft, twittering sound. Then, it continues with a series of loud whistles. These whistles usually go down in pitch and sound a bit shaky. Imagine something like "wheéwhipwhipwhipaweé, at-t-t-t-t-weeaweéaweé" or "twe-weo-WEO-weo weo-we-we-we-we-we".
Its Conservation Status
The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has looked at the brown-billed scythebill. They have assessed it as "Least Concern." This means it's not currently in danger of disappearing. It has a large area where it lives. There are at least 500,000 adult birds, but their numbers are thought to be going down. No immediate big threats have been found.
It's considered rare to uncommon in most of its range. It's especially rare in lowland areas. Experts believe it's very sensitive to human activity. It needs large areas of untouched forest to survive. In some parts of southwestern Colombia, it's at risk because there isn't enough habitat left for it.
