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/lp/springer-journals/the-nest-and-nestlings-of-the-black-tailed-flycatcher-myiobius-LyfYBLYREm
- Publisher
- Springer Journals
- Copyright
- Copyright © Sociedade Brasileira de Ornitologia 2017
- eISSN
- 2178-7875
- DOI
- 10.1007/bf03544382
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- See Article on Publisher Site
Abstract
Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 25(2): 84 4 4–87. SHORT-COMMUNIC NO ATION TE June 2017 Th e nest and nestlings of the Black-tailed Flycatcher, Myiobius atricaudus snethlagei (Passeriformes: Onychorhynchidae) 1,3 2 Daniel Fernandes Perrella & Jefferson Luis Gonçalves de Lima a a Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia e Recursos Naturais, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, Rodovia Washington Luís, km 235, 13565-905, São Carlos, SP, Brazil. Sítio Pau Preto, 10, Zona Rural, 63160-000, Potengi, CE, Brazil. Corresponding author: dfperrella@gmail.com Received on 20 April 2017. Accepted on 06 July 2017. ABSTRACT: Th e Black-tailed Flycatcher, Myobius atricaudus, is a Neotropical insectivorous bird species with seven recognized subspecies. Th is contribution focuses on M. a. snethlagei, a subspecies from northeastern Brazil that can be identifi ed based on plumage characters. To our knowledge, information on the breeding of the Black-tailed Flycatcher is scarce and is restricted to the other two subspecies, M. a. atricaudus s and M. a. ridgwayi. We describe an active nest observed on 15 February 2017 in the northeastern slope of the Araripe Plateau, Ceará state, Brazil. Th e nest containing two nestlings was a long and closed pensile structure, attached from the tip to a slender branch and suspended 89 cm over a small stream inside the forest. The nest was mai nly composed of long rootlets, strips of dried leaves, tendrils and some fi ne sticks. It was found in the Brazilian Caatinga Dry Forest during the rainy season, which does not correspond to the breeding period of birds in other localities of northeastern Brazil. Despite several similarities among the nests of M. a. atricaudus, M. a. ridgwayi and M. a. snethlagei, leaves and spider web were not observed among the materials used to build the nest of M. a. snethlagei. Th is might be a useful feature to diff erentiate between the nests of this species and the other subspecies. Furthermore, the nest description is consistent with the pattern of nest architecture known for the members of Family Onychorhynchidae. KEY-WORDS: Araripe Plateau, Caatinga, Neotropical bird, northeastern Brazil, rainy season. Th e genus Myiobius s Gray, 1839 comprises three or four both humid and dry forests, and vegetation of Cerrado species of Neotropical insectivorous birds with large eyes domain (Nascimento et al. 2000). This subs pecies can be and long rictal bristals (Clements et al. 2016, Farnsworth distinguished from the others by its plumage on the throat & Lebbin 2017, Remsen et al. 2017). The genus used to and breast, which is brighter yellow, and rump with some be classifi ed in the family Tyrannidae, until more recent orange-buff tinge (Farnsworth & Lebbin 2017). phylogenetic studies suggesting that it is closely related To our knowledge, information on the breeding of to Onychorhyncus s Fischer von Waldheim, 1810 and the Black-tailed Flycatcher is scarce and is restricted to Terenotriccus Ridgway, 1905, which belong to the family only two subspecies, with few dimensions provided (Table Onychorhynchidae (Ohlson et al. 2013). 1). Description of the nest architecture, measurements, The Black-tailed Flycatcher Myobius atricaudus and characteristics of the eggs and nestlings of M. a. Lawrence, 1863 is a medium-sized bird (12–12.7 cm) atricaudus s were provided by various authors (Stone 1918, with dark olive-green crown and back, grey face, long Skutch 1960, Gross 1964, Wetmore et al. 1972, Willis & rounded black tail, dark wings and yellow coronal patch, Eisenmann 1979). Information on M. a. ridgwayi i is even rump and belly (Farnsworth & Lebbin 2017). It includes scarcer. A female was recorded with incubation patch, seven recognized subspecies, occurring from southwestern and a brief description of the nest was given (Davis 1945, Costa Rica to southern and western Colombia. Th is Kirwan 2009). In this short communication we aim to contribution focuses on the subspecies M. a. snethlagei, describe the nest and nestlings of M. a. snethlagei from from northeastern Brazil (including the states of northeastern Brazil. Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, west Bahia and southeast Goiás) An active nest of the Black-tailed Flycatcher (Clements et alll. 2016, Farnsworth & Lebbin 2017). was observed on 15 February 2017 (7 19'59.6''S; There , M. a. snethlagei i inhabits mainly the understory of 39 24'40.9''W, 733 m a.s.l.) near Nascente do Farias, on Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 25(2): 2017 Nest and nestlings of the Black-tailed Flycatcher, Myiobius atricaudus snethlagei Perrella & Lima Table 1. Measurements of the nests and nest characteristics (in mm) of Myiobius atricaudus subspecies (in mm) Caatinga Biome, northeast Brazil. High above Nesting Nesting Outside Outside Entrance Subspecies ground/ chamber chamber References height diameter length water heig ght diameter M. a. ridgwayi 7000 300 120 Kirwan 2009 M. a. atricaudus 3048 Skutch 1960 500 510 38 × 45 Gross 1964 M. a. snethlag gei 890 410 52.5 62.9 44.6 43.6 × 31 Th is study collected with a metal caliper nearest 0.1 mm and the main measurements (height above the water and nest total length) were taken with a measuring tape. The classifi cation of the nest type followed Simon & Pacheco (2005) and nest dimension patterns followed Hansell (2000). Th e nest (Fig. 1), containing two nestlings in their initial stage of development, was over a small stream inside the forest and near the border (Fig. 2A). It consisted of a long, closed, pensile structure attached from the tip to a slender branch and suspended 89 cm above water. It was pyriform with lots of tightly bonded material and ended in a chamber with circular lateral entrance, located on the lower portion of the nest. The nest had the followin g dimensions: total outside height 41 cm; widest outside diameter 52.5 mm; outside height of nesting chamber 62.9 mm; inside diameter of nesting chamber 44.6 mm; circular chamber entrance 43.6 mm (horizontal length) per 31 mm (vertical length). Th e nest wall was composed mainly of long rootlets, strips of dried leaves, tendrils and some fine sticks, makin g the nest pale brown on the outside. In the bottom, there were loose rootlets dangled irregularly forming a “tail” measuring 43 cm. The same material in the walls was projected over the entrance of the nest chamber, covering it. Th e outer surface was poorly adorned with some sticks, and the inner lining was composed of thin rootlets. The nestlin gs had their eyes closed and were totally Figure 1. Lateral view of the nest, depicting the attachment, devoid of down. Th e skin on their bodies was dark architecture and material of Myiobius atricaudus snethlagei reddish, and on their heads, dark grey. Th eir bills were in the Caatinga Biome, northeast Brazil. Photo author: D.F. Perrella. dark, the swallow fl anges and the interior of their mouth was bright yellow (Fig. 2B). During approximately one hour of nest observation, only one parent came to attend the slope of the Araripe Plateau, Ceará state, northeastern the nestlings. Th is parent brought whole arthropods Brazil. The area is located in the Cariri Valley, where to the nest, in its beak. After provisioning the nest, the several permanent water sources such as springs and streams maintain an evergreen humid forest in the midst adult brooded the nestlings while its tail projected to the outside, remaining totally covered by the projection of of the semi-arid Brazilian Caatinga (Bencke et alll. 2006). material over the chamber's entrance. Th e mean annual temperature there varies between 24.1 and 27.4 C, with annual precipitation averaging 1033 Th e observed nest was found during the rainy season in the northeastern slope of the Araripe Plateau (Linhares mm (Linhares et al. 2010). Th e climate is arid steppe with hot temperatures – BSh description according to et al. 2010). However, this does not correspond to the Köppen-Geiger classification (Peel et al. 2007). breeding period of birds in other localities of northeastern Measurements of the nest for description were Brazil, where reproduction activities were detected from Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 25(2): 2017 Nest and nestlings of the Black-tailed Flycatcher, Myiobius atricaudus snethlagei Perrella & Lima Figure 2. Nest placement over the stream inside forest ( ( (A A A) and nestlings (B) of the Black-tailed Flycatcher, of Myiobius atricaudus snethlagei in the Caatinga Biome, northeast Brazil. Photo author: D.F. Perrella. March to July in Rio Grande do Norte state (Cavalcanti et tail projects out of the entrance. This has been observed in al. 2016), and from June to August in the state of Paraíba other members of the genus Myiobius, Onychorhynchus s and (Telino-Júnior et al. 2005). It is possible that the diff erent Terenotriccus s (Skutch 1960). The projected material over the reproductive phenology of the Black-tailed Flycatcher is nest entrance might represent a strategy to hide or to keep associated to seasonal rains, that infl uences the timing of both the access to the chamber and parents safe. Another breeding cycles in the Caatinga, as found by other studies characteristic shared among the species of the family conducted in semi-arid habitats (Illera & Díaz 2006, Onychorhynchidae and reinforced by the information Cavalcanti et al. 2016). provided here is the nest architecture pattern (Tello et al. Although definitive conclusions cannot be drawn 2009), depicted as an elongated and closed pendulous from one nest, the data presented here is useful to compare structure with the incubation chamber bellow and lateral the characteristics of the nest of M. a. snethlagei with the entrance (Fitzpatrick et alll. 2004 and references therein). nests of the other subspecies of f Myiobius. It is known Here, we provide additional information on that both M. a. atricaudus s and M. a. ridgwayi i construct the reproduction of the Black-tailed Flycatcher, and closed and elongated nests attached by the tip and that present the fi rst data on the nest and nestlings of M. a. those nests are mainly composed of rootlets and leaf fibers snethlagei. Despite other similarities among the nests of (Stone 1918, Skutch 1960, Gross 1964, Wetmore et alll. the three subspecies, we did not fi nd evidence that M. 1972, Kirwan 2009), matching the information provided a. snethlagei i uses leaves and spider web, as the nominate here on M. a. snethlagei. Hatchings with no down, with subspecies does, in nest construction. Furthermore, this dark skin and yellow mouth also seem to be conditions nest description further strengthens the known pattern present in the other subspecies (Skutch 1960, Gross of nest architecture of other members of the Family 1964). However, according to Gross (1964), the birds of Onychorhynchidae. the nominate subspecies use spider web to bond the nest material and entire leaves to compound the outer surface of the nest. We did not find such materials in the nest o f ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS M. a. snethlagei. Despite considerable volume of material on the nest, We are grateful to Thiago Filadelfo and Marco A. the chamber has a small size. So when the bird sits for Crozariol for important comments on this manuscript brooding, with the head facing the back of the nest, its and to “Científi ca Publicações” for English text revision. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 25(2): 2017 Nest and nestlings of the Black-tailed Flycatcher, Myiobius atricaudus snethlagei Perrella & Lima Nascimento J.L.X., Nascimento I.L.S. & Azevedo-Júnior S.M. 2000. REFERENCES Aves da Chapada do Araripe (Brasil): biologia e conservação. Ararajuba a 8: 115–125. Bencke G.A., Maurício G.N., Develey P.F. & Goerck J.M. (eds.). 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Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press. plants of the Araripe Manakin Antilophia bokermanni, a Critically Endangered endemic bird from Ceará, Brazil. Cotinga a 32: 121– 125. Associate Editor: Cristiano S. Azevedo. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 25(2): 2017
Journal
Ornithology Research – Springer Journals
Published: Jun 1, 2017
Keywords: Araripe Plateau; Caatinga; Neotropical bird; northeastern Brazil; rainy season