Collared crescentchest
Species of bird
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The collared crescentchest (Melanopareia torquata) is a species of suboscine passerine bird in the family Melanopareiidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay.
| Collared crescentchest | |
|---|---|
| |
| at Chapada dos Guimarães, Mato Grosso State, Brazil | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Melanopareiidae |
| Genus: | Melanopareia |
| Species: | M. torquata |
| Binomial name | |
| Melanopareia torquata (Wied-Neuwied, M, 1831) | |
 | |
Taxonomy
The collared crescentchest was formally described in 1831 by the German naturalist Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied under the binomial name Synallaxis torquatus.[2] The specific epithet is Latin meaning "collared".[3] Wied-Neuwied specified the locality as the "Campo Geral" of inner Brasil. This is the grassland on the border between the Brazilian states of Bahia and Minas Gerais.[4] The collared crescentchest is now one of four crescentchests placed in the genus Melanopareia that was introduced in 1853 by the German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach.[5]
Three subspecies are recognised:[5]
- M. t. torquata (Wied-Neuwied, M, 1831) – east Brazil
- M. t. rufescens Hellmayr, 1924 – central Brazil and northeast Paraguay
- M. t. bitorquata (d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1837) – east Bolivia
The subspecies M. t. bitorquata has sometimes been treated as a separate species, the double-collared crescentchest.[5]
The crescentchests (genus Melanopareia) were at one time included in family Rhinocryptidae, the tapaculos. A 2010 publication confirmed earlier work and formally created the present family Melanopareiidae.[6]
Description
The collared crescentchest is 14.5 cm (5.7 in) long. Two unsexed specimens of M. t. rufescens weighed 16.5 and 18.0 g (0.58 and 0.63 oz). The nominate subspecies' back and rump are brown and the underparts buff. The crown of the head is gray brown. It has a narrow white supercilium edged with black, a rufous "collar" on the back of the neck, and a black band across the breast. Subspecies M. t. rufescens is almost identical but its crown is reddish brown.[7]
Both sexes of collared crescentchest sing year round, usually from atop a low shrub. The song is "a series of 3-6 loud, resonant 'chip' notes". Its call is "a penetrating churr".[7]
Distribution and habitat
Behavior
Feeding
The collared crescentchest's diet has not been described but the species is assumed to be insectivorous.[7]
Breeding
Little is known about the collared crescentchest's breeding phenology. Its nest is a globe of dry grass and leaves placed near the ground. Two eggs are laid and both sexes incubate them and care for nestlings.[7]