Slender-billed xenops facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Slender-billed xenops |
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Xenops
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| Species: |
tenuirostris
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The slender-billed xenops (Xenops tenuirostris) is a small and interesting bird. It belongs to the ovenbird family called Furnariidae. You can find this bird in many countries in South America. These include Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
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About the Slender-billed Xenops
This bird gets its name from its special bill. It is shaped like a wedge and is longer and thinner than other birds in its group. The slender-billed xenops is about 10 to 11.5 centimeters (4 to 4.5 inches) long. It weighs around 9 to 11 grams (0.3 to 0.4 ounces). Both male and female birds look very similar.
What Does It Look Like?
The slender-billed xenops has a blackish-brown face. Its head is dark brown with light spots and streaks. It has a light, buff-colored stripe above its eye. There is also a clear white stripe on its cheek.
Its back is reddish-brown with creamy-buff spots. The lower back and upper tail feathers are reddish-orange. Its tail feathers are a mix of black and reddish-orange. When the bird flies, you can often see the black parts of its tail.
The wings are dark brown with reddish-orange edges. The main flight feathers are blackish-brown with a wide reddish-orange band. Its chin and throat are pale buff. The chest is dull olive-brown with pale buff streaks. The belly is also dull olive-brown with thinner buff streaks.
The bird's eyes are brown. Its upper bill is black or brownish, and the lower bill is black with a lighter base. Its legs and feet are dark blue-gray to black.
Different Types of Slender-billed Xenops
There are three slightly different types, or subspecies, of the slender-billed xenops:
- X. t. tenuirostris
- X. t. acutirostris
- X. t. hellmayri
Each subspecies has small differences in color or bill shape. For example, X. t. acutirostris has a darker back and a more slender bill.
Where It Lives
The slender-billed xenops lives in humid lowland forests. It also likes flooded evergreen forests. These birds usually live below 600 meters (2,000 feet) in elevation. However, in some places like Colombia, they can be found up to 900 meters (3,000 feet). In the Andes mountains, they can even reach 1,500 meters (4,900 feet).
Its Home Range
- X. t. acutirostris is found in western Guayana, southern Venezuela, southeastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, and northeastern Peru.
- X. t. hellmayri lives in Suriname and French Guiana.
- X. t. tenuirostris is found from southeastern Peru and northern Bolivia, stretching east into Brazil.
Behavior and Habits
The slender-billed xenops stays in its home region all year round. It does not migrate.
What It Eats
This bird mainly eats arthropods, which are creatures like insects and spiders. It often forages with other bird species in mixed-species flocks. It usually looks for food in the middle and upper parts of the forest trees. It hammers and picks at branches to find its food.
Vocalization
The slender-billed xenops has a song that sounds like four or five "tseep" or "tsip" notes.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
Not much is known about how the slender-billed xenops reproduces or raises its young. Scientists are still learning about this part of its life.
Conservation Status
The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has listed the slender-billed xenops as a species of "Least Concern." This means it is not currently at high risk of extinction. It lives across a very large area. Even though its exact population size is unknown, it is believed to be stable. No immediate threats have been found for this bird. It is considered rare to locally uncommon. It also lives in several protected areas, especially in Peru.
