Recurve-billed bushbird facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Recurve-billed bushbird |
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| Conservation status | |
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Clytoctantes
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| Species: |
alixii
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The recurve-billed bushbird (Clytoctantes alixii) is a rare bird found in the northern Andes mountains. It lives in dense forests that are growing back in Colombia and Venezuela. This bird is special because its bill (beak) curves upwards!
Until 2007, very few people had ever seen this bird alive. Scientists only knew about it from old preserved birds. It was seen only once in 1965, near a group of army ants. This bird is considered an Endangered species, meaning it is at high risk of disappearing forever.
Contents
Finding the Recurve-billed Bushbird
First Discovery
The recurve-billed bushbird was first described in 1870 by a scientist named Daniel Giraud Elliot. He studied a preserved bird from the Rio Napo area. He named the bird after Dr. Edouard Alix.
Finding it Again
For many years, scientists tried to find this bird in Colombia but had no luck. Then, in April 2004, a team of ornithologists (bird scientists) found the bird in Venezuela. They were exploring the foothills of the Sierra de Perijá mountains. This trip was part of a quick study by Conservation International. For the first time, photos were taken of a pair of these birds. A few months later, a British bird scientist, Chris Sharpe, recorded their calls and watched how they behaved.
Around the same time, in July 2005, a student named Oscar Laverde found the bushbirds in Norte de Santander, Colombia. Oscar and other students from the National University of Colombia then studied the birds closely. They found that the best way to locate these birds is by listening for their call. It sounds like four short whistling notes. In June 2007, the first published photos of the species were shared. These photos were taken by Fundacion ProAves at a new protected area in Colombia. This area was created to help save this special bird.
About the Bushbird
Family and Group
The recurve-billed bushbird is the only type of recurve-billed bushbird. It belongs to the same group, Clytoctantes, as another bird called the Rondonia bushbird.
What it Looks Like
The recurve-billed bushbird is about 16 to 17 centimeters (6 to 7 inches) long. It has a strong body and a short tail. Its large, pale beak is flat on the sides, and the lower part of the beak curves upwards.
Male and female bushbirds look different:
- Males are mostly dark gray. They have a white patch between their shoulders. Their face, throat, and upper chest are black. Their wing feathers have small black spots.
- Females have a dark reddish-brown head, back, and rump. Their wings and tail are blackish with light reddish tips on some feathers. Their underside is reddish-brown, darker on their sides.
- Young males are dark yellowish and blackish-brown. Their forehead, sides of the head, and throat are reddish-yellow-brown. Their wing feathers have white dots.
Where it Lives
The recurve-billed bushbird is found in only a few places. These include the Sierra de Perijá in Venezuela and parts of Antioquia, Norte de Santander, and Santander in Colombia. It used to live in many more areas.
This bird likes to live in thick, bushy areas. It can be found in the lower parts of evergreen forests, at the edges of forests, and in clearings where new trees are growing. It also lives in secondary forests, which are forests that have grown back after being cut down. In one area of Colombia, it lives near bamboo plants.
The bushbird lives at different heights depending on the country:
- In Venezuela, it lives between 300 and 1200 meters (about 980 to 3900 feet) above sea level.
- In Colombia, it is mostly found between 200 and 1000 meters (about 650 to 3300 feet), but can be seen as high as 1150 meters (about 3770 feet).
Bushbird Behavior
Movement
Scientists believe the recurve-billed bushbird stays in the same area all year round. It does not migrate.
What it Eats
The recurve-billed bushbird mainly eats insects. It has been seen looking for food by pecking into plant stems and pulling out pieces. It has also been seen near army ant swarms, likely catching insects disturbed by the ants. This bird does not usually join mixed groups of different bird species when feeding.
Reproduction
The recurve-billed bushbird is thought to breed in April and May in the western part of its range. Breeding might even start as early as January. Not much else is known about how these birds raise their young.
Vocalization
The recurve-billed bushbird makes a loud, whistling sound. It sounds like "peeeuw peeeuw peeuw-pweet-pweet-pweet."
Status and Protection
The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) first listed the recurve-billed bushbird as "Threatened" in 1988. Since 1994, it has been listed as "Endangered." This means it faces a very high risk of becoming extinct.
The bird is found in very small, separate areas. Scientists estimate there are only about 150 to 700 adult birds left. This number is believed to be shrinking. Most of the places where the bushbird used to live have been cleared. People have cut down forests for homes, farms, logging, and mining.
Even though the bird lives in Paramillo National Park in Colombia and Sierra de Perijá National Park in Venezuela, these parks offer little real protection. Trees are still being cut down in these areas. Scientists hope the species might be more common than thought and able to live in areas where forests are growing back. However, we still don't know much about what the bird needs to survive. It also lives in two small private protected areas.
The future for the bushbird in Venezuela's Sierra de Perijá foothills looks more hopeful than scientists first thought. The bird seems to be common in areas where forests are regrowing after being cleared by "slash-and-burn" farming. However, large areas of important old-growth forest in these foothills are being rapidly destroyed. People are cutting down trees to plant crops for quick money. The Venezuelan government does not seem to be doing much to stop this illegal deforestation. Even though this harms the forest in the long run, it might create more new habitat for the bushbird in the short term.
Scientists believe the bushbird should be looked for in other suitable areas. The Sierra de Perijá is a very important place for bird conservation in Venezuela. It is important not just for the recurve-billed bushbird, but for several other endangered birds too.
