Buffy Tuftedcheek
Encyclopedia
The Buffy Tuftedcheek or Lawrence’s Tuftedcheek, Pseudocolaptes lawrencii, is a passerine
bird
in the ovenbird family
, which breeds in the tropical New World
in Costa Rica
, western Panama
and the Andes
of Colombia
and Ecuador
. It is sometimes considered conspecific with the Streaked Tuftedcheek
, P. boissonneautii, of South America
. Birds from Colombia
and Ecuador
sometimes are considered a separate species, the Pacific Tuftedcheek (P. johnsoni).
It occurs as a resident breeder above 1600 m in wet mountain forests with many epiphyte
s. The female lays one white egg in a thickly lined old woodpecker
nest. One parent, probably the female, incubates the single white egg for 29 days to hatching, covering the egg with leaves when she leaves the nest.
The Buffy Tuftedcheek is typically 20 cm long, weighs 48 g, and has a long bright rufous tail. The back is brown, and the wings are blackish with buff wingbars. The head has a buff-streaked dark brown cap and dusky eyestripe. The cheeks sport a tuft of richly buff feathers. The throat is buff and the underparts are olive brown with diffuse spotting on the breast. The sexes are similar, but young birds lack the buff crown streaks, have more sooty marking on the back and underparts, and their flanks are more orange in hue.
This species has a hard wooden chu-chu-chrrr song, often given as a duet. The call is a sharp chip.
The Buffy Tuftedcheek forages actively amongst mosses, vines, bromeliads and other epiphytes for insect
s, spider
s, and even small amphibian
s. It will join mixed feeding flocks in the middle levels of the forest.
The scientific and alternative English
names of this bird commemorate American
amateur ornithologist, George Newbold Lawrence
.
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...
in the ovenbird family
Ovenbird (family)
Ovenbirds or furnariids are a large family of small suboscine passerine birds found in Mexico, and Central and South America. They form the family Furnariidae...
, which breeds in the tropical New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
in 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....
, 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...
and the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
of Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
and Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
. It is sometimes considered conspecific with the Streaked Tuftedcheek
Streaked Tuftedcheek
The Streaked Tuftedcheek, Pseudocolaptes boissonneautii, is a passerine bird in the ovenbird family, which breeds in the tropical New World in the coastal mountains of Venezuela, and the Andes from Venezuela to Bolivia. It is sometimes considered conspecific with the Buffy Tuftedcheek, P...
, P. boissonneautii, of South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. Birds from Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
and Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
sometimes are considered a separate species, the Pacific Tuftedcheek (P. johnsoni).
It occurs as a resident breeder above 1600 m in wet mountain forests with many epiphyte
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...
s. The female lays one white egg in a thickly lined old woodpecker
Woodpecker
Woodpeckers are near passerine birds of the order Piciformes. They are one subfamily in the family Picidae, which also includes the piculets and wrynecks. They are found worldwide and include about 180 species....
nest. One parent, probably the female, incubates the single white egg for 29 days to hatching, covering the egg with leaves when she leaves the nest.
The Buffy Tuftedcheek is typically 20 cm long, weighs 48 g, and has a long bright rufous tail. The back is brown, and the wings are blackish with buff wingbars. The head has a buff-streaked dark brown cap and dusky eyestripe. The cheeks sport a tuft of richly buff feathers. The throat is buff and the underparts are olive brown with diffuse spotting on the breast. The sexes are similar, but young birds lack the buff crown streaks, have more sooty marking on the back and underparts, and their flanks are more orange in hue.
This species has a hard wooden chu-chu-chrrr song, often given as a duet. The call is a sharp chip.
The Buffy Tuftedcheek forages actively amongst mosses, vines, bromeliads and other epiphytes for 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, and even small 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. It will join mixed feeding flocks in the middle levels of the forest.
The scientific and alternative English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
names of this bird commemorate American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
amateur ornithologist, George Newbold Lawrence
George Newbold Lawrence
George Newbold Lawrence was an American businessman and amateur ornithologist.Lawrence conducted Pacific bird surveys for Spencer Fullerton Baird and John Cassin, and the three men co-authored Birds of North America in 1858.Lawrence left his collection of 8,000 bird skins to the American Museum of...
.