A blog dedicated to the thousands of bird species that fly, swim or walk on our planet.

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Minas gerais tyrannulet

Phylloscartes roquettei

Photo by Nick Athanas (Antpitta)

Common name:
Minas Gerais tyrannulet (en); cara-dourada (pt); tyranneau de Minas Gerais (fr); orejerito de Minas Gerais (es); gelbbürzel-laubtyrann (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Tyrannidae

Range:
This species is endemic to south-eastern Brazil, only being found in northern Minas Gerais and southern Bahia.

Size:
These birds are 11-12 cm long and weigh about 8 g.

Habitat:
The Minas Gerais tyrannulet is found in dry tropical forests, riparian forests and semi-deciduous forests within cerrado including second growths and forest fragments. They occur at altitudes of 400-900 m.

Diet:
They forage in pairs or family groups, taking small arthropods from the foliage.

Breeding:
Minas Gerais tyrannulets possibly breed in October-February. The nest is a small, globular structure. There is no further information on the reproduction of this species.

Conservation:
IUCN status - EN (Endangered)
This species has a large breeding range but the global population is estimated at just 1.500-7.000 individuals. The population is suspected to be declining at a very rapid rate due to habitat loss through charcoal burning, forest cutting for pasture, cattle ranching and agricultural development. The São Francisco basin is also threatened by limestone quarrying and a large-scale irrigation project that has already resulted in the loss of large areas of forest.

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