Tawny-throated leaftosser facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Tawny-throated leaftosser |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Sclerurus
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| Species: |
mexicanus
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The tawny-throated leaftosser (Sclerurus mexicanus) is a cool bird found in the warm, tropical parts of the Americas. It's part of the ovenbird family, called Furnariidae. This bird is also known by other names like the Middle American leaftosser or Mexican leaftosser. You can find it living in countries from Mexico all the way down to Panama.
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About the Tawny-throated Leaftosser
Scientists sometimes have different ideas about how to group animals. For the tawny-throated leaftosser, some groups of scientists say there are two main types, called subspecies. These are S. m. mexicanus and S. m. pullus. Other groups include more types. For this article, we'll focus on the two main types.
What Does This Bird Look Like?
The tawny-throated leaftosser is about 15 to 17 centimeters (6 to 7 inches) long. It weighs about 24 to 30 grams (less than an ounce). Both male and female birds look very similar.
- Color: Adults have a dark reddish-brown head, back, and tail. Their wings are a darker brown. Their throat and chest are a warm, reddish-orange color, which is where they get the "tawny-throated" part of their name. The rest of their belly is similar to their back.
- Beak: They have a fairly long, slightly curved beak. The top part is dark, and the bottom part has two colors.
- Eyes and Legs: Their eyes are brown, and their legs and feet are dark grayish-brown.
- Young Birds: Young leaftossers look a lot like adults, but their colors are not as bright. They might also have light streaks on their throat and chest.
- Subspecies Differences: The S. m. pullus type is usually browner than the S. m. mexicanus type. It also has a redder bottom (rump) and a lighter throat.
Where Does This Bird Live?
The tawny-throated leaftosser lives in different parts of Central America.
- S. m. mexicanus: This type is found in southeastern Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. Some scientists also say it lives a bit further north in Mexico and even down into Nicaragua.
- S. m. pullus: This type lives in Costa Rica and western Panama. It's also found in a specific mountain area in eastern Panama called Cerro Tacarcuna.
These birds like to live in moist, warm forests. They prefer evergreen forests and forests where some trees lose their leaves. In Guatemala and Honduras, you can find them high up in the mountains, between 700 and 2,200 meters (about 2,300 to 7,200 feet) high. In Panama, they can live all the way down to sea level.
How This Bird Behaves
The tawny-throated leaftosser stays in the same area all year long. It doesn't migrate to different places.
What Does This Bird Eat?
This bird mostly looks for food on the ground. It hops around and uses its beak to flip over leaves and search through leaf litter. It also pecks at rotting logs. It usually hunts for food alone or with a partner. It doesn't join big groups of different bird species looking for food.
Their diet mainly consists of small creatures without backbones, like:
- Spiders
- Beetles
- Ants
- Roaches
- Larvae (young insects)
Reproduction and Life Cycle
The breeding season for the tawny-throated leaftosser in Costa Rica is from December to April. In Mexico, it includes April. We don't know much about their breeding habits in other places.
- Nests: They build their nests in burrows (holes) in the ground. Inside the burrow, they make a loose cup out of dry twigs.
- Eggs: A female leaftosser usually lays two eggs.
Bird Calls and Songs
The song of the tawny-throated leaftosser is a series of high-pitched whistles that go down in sound. It sounds like Pseeer!-pseeer-pseer-pseer-pseer. The song can have 3 to 9 notes. Sometimes, it starts with sharp spik! notes and ends with a few short, stuttering notes.
Their main call is a short, sharp, loud single note. It sounds like Tseek! or Skweek!. They usually make this call every now and then. But if they are excited, they might make a long series of these calls.
Conservation Status
The tawny-throated leaftosser is currently listed as a species of "Least Concern." This means that its population is not in immediate danger of disappearing. However, some areas where they live have seen fewer birds. This is because their forest homes are sometimes broken up or damaged.
