Streak-breasted Treehunter
Encyclopedia
The Streak-breasted Treehunter (Thripadectes rufobrunneus), is a passerine
bird
which is endemic to the highlands of Costa Rica
and western Panama
.
This large treehunter is found in hills and mountains from 700 m up to 2500 m altitude, rarely to 3000 m, in damp epiphyte-laden
forests and adjacent old second growth, especially in shady ravines. It builds a wide saucer nest of rootlets in a 60 cm long burrow in a steep bank, and lays two white eggs between February and August.
The adult Streak-breasted Treehunter is typically 21.5 cm long, weighs 54 g and has a stout black bill. It has a black-scaled dark brown crown and rich brown upperparts shading to rufous on the rump and tail. It has an ochre throat and otherwise tawny underparts which are streaked with ochre, especially on the breast. Young birds are paler with more extensive but less distinct breast streaking. The call is a loud zeck. The song is a buzzy chi-wawr, chi-wowr.
Streak-breasted Treehunter is easily distinguished from its relatives by its large size, heavy bill and breast streaking.
The Streak-breasted Treehunter forages for large insect
s, spider
s, amphibian
s and lizard
s in dense undergrowth and vines, searching through leaf litter, plant debris, bromeliads and other epiphytes for its prey. It is usually seen alone, but sometimes as part of a mixed-species feeding flock
.
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
which is endemic to the highlands of Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
and western Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
.
This large treehunter is found in hills and mountains from 700 m up to 2500 m altitude, rarely to 3000 m, in damp epiphyte-laden
Epiphyte
An epiphyte is a plant that grows upon another plant non-parasitically or sometimes upon some other object , derives its moisture and nutrients from the air and rain and sometimes from debris accumulating around it, and is found in the temperate zone and in the...
forests and adjacent old second growth, especially in shady ravines. It builds a wide saucer nest of rootlets in a 60 cm long burrow in a steep bank, and lays two white eggs between February and August.
The adult Streak-breasted Treehunter is typically 21.5 cm long, weighs 54 g and has a stout black bill. It has a black-scaled dark brown crown and rich brown upperparts shading to rufous on the rump and tail. It has an ochre throat and otherwise tawny underparts which are streaked with ochre, especially on the breast. Young birds are paler with more extensive but less distinct breast streaking. The call is a loud zeck. The song is a buzzy chi-wawr, chi-wowr.
Streak-breasted Treehunter is easily distinguished from its relatives by its large size, heavy bill and breast streaking.
The Streak-breasted Treehunter forages for large insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s, spider
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
s, amphibian
Amphibian
Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...
s and lizard
Lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...
s in dense undergrowth and vines, searching through leaf litter, plant debris, bromeliads and other epiphytes for its prey. It is usually seen alone, but sometimes as part of a mixed-species feeding flock
Mixed-species feeding flock
A mixed-species feeding flock, also termed a mixed-species foraging flock, mixed hunting party or informally bird wave, is a flock of usually insectivorous birds of different species, that join each other and move together while foraging...
.