Golden-fronted Greenlet
Encyclopedia
The Golden-fronted Greenlet, Hylophilus aurantiifrons, is a small passerine
bird
in the vireo
family. It breeds in Panama
, Colombia
, Venezuela
and Trinidad
.
It is a bird of forests and secondary growth which builds a deep cup nest suspended from a tree branch or vine. The typical clutch is three white eggs, which are marked with brown. This species is parasitised
by the Shiny Cowbird
.
The adult Golden-fronted Greenlet is 12 cm long and weighs 9.5 g. It is mainly green on the upperparts, with browner wings and tail, and a cinnamon tinge to the front and sides of the head. The underparts are yellow. The call is a chee-veee.
Golden-fronted Greenlets feed on insect
s and spider
s taken from the upper and middle levels of tree foliage. They often form small flocks.
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 vireo
Vireo
The vireos are a group of small to medium-sized passerine birds restricted to the New World. They are typically dull-plumaged and greenish in color, the smaller species resembling wood warblers apart from their heavier bills...
family. It breeds in 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...
, 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...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
and Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
.
It is a bird of forests and secondary growth which builds a deep cup nest suspended from a tree branch or vine. The typical clutch is three white eggs, which are marked with brown. This species is parasitised
Brood parasite
Brood parasites are organisms that use the strategy of brood parasitism, a kind of kleptoparasitism found among birds, fish or insects, involving the manipulation and use of host individuals either of the same or different species to raise the young of the brood-parasite...
by the Shiny Cowbird
Shiny Cowbird
The Shiny Cowbird, Molothrus bonariensis, is a passerine bird in the New World family Icteridae. It breeds in most of South America apart from the most dense jungles, mountains and deserts , the coldest southernmost regions , and on Trinidad and Tobago...
.
The adult Golden-fronted Greenlet is 12 cm long and weighs 9.5 g. It is mainly green on the upperparts, with browner wings and tail, and a cinnamon tinge to the front and sides of the head. The underparts are yellow. The call is a chee-veee.
Golden-fronted Greenlets feed on 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 and 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 taken from the upper and middle levels of tree foliage. They often form small flocks.