Sharp-tailed Streamcreeper
Encyclopedia
The Sharp-tailed Streamcreeper (Lochmias nematura) is a passerine
bird
of South America
belonging to the family
Furnariidae, the ovenbirds
. It is the only member of the genus
Lochmias. The species is also known as the Streamside Streamcreeper.
. The plumage is dark brown, densely spotted white on the underparts. There is a white stripe over the eye and the tail is blackish.
The first Guyana
specimen, collected on July 24, 2004, had a smooth ovary
measuring 4x3 mm, a bursa of Fabricius
measuring 3x3 mm, and an unossified
skull (as often seen in Furnarioidea even when adult).
The song
is an accelerating trill, lasting for about five seconds.
s and other invertebrate
s. It usually occurs alone or in pairs and is often shy and hard to see. The nest
is ball-shaped with a side-entrance and is built on the ground.
Due to its extremely wide range, the Sharp-tailed Streamcreeper is not considered a threatened species
by the IUCN.
which differ little:
The species has long been suspected to have at least a temporary presence in Guyana
. However, this was only proven recently, with sight records in the Pakaraima Mountains since 2002 and a specimen (LSUMZ 175389) taken in 2004. These birds probably belong to one of the Venezuelan populations, but it is not yet known to which.
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...
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...
belonging to the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Furnariidae, the ovenbirds
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...
. It is the only member of the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Lochmias. The species is also known as the Streamside Streamcreeper.
Description
This bird is about 6 in (15 cm) long, with a short tail and a long, thin, slightly curved billBeak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
. The plumage is dark brown, densely spotted white on the underparts. There is a white stripe over the eye and the tail is blackish.
The first Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
specimen, collected on July 24, 2004, had a smooth ovary
Ovary
The ovary is an ovum-producing reproductive organ, often found in pairs as part of the vertebrate female reproductive system. Ovaries in anatomically female individuals are analogous to testes in anatomically male individuals, in that they are both gonads and endocrine glands.-Human anatomy:Ovaries...
measuring 4x3 mm, a bursa of Fabricius
Bursa of Fabricius
In birds, the bursa of Fabricius is the site of hematopoiesis, a specialized organ that, as first demonstrated by Bruce Glick and later by Max Cooper and Robert Good, is necessary for B cell development in birds...
measuring 3x3 mm, and an unossified
Ossification
Ossification is the process of laying down new bone material by cells called osteoblasts. It is synonymous with bone tissue formation...
skull (as often seen in Furnarioidea even when adult).
The song
Bird song
Bird vocalization includes both bird calls and bird songs. In non-technical use, bird songs are the bird sounds that are melodious to the human ear. In ornithology and birding, songs are distinguished by function from calls.-Definition:The distinction between songs and calls is based upon...
is an accelerating trill, lasting for about five seconds.
Ecology
It inhabits dense undergrowth near streams, particularly in humid premontane and montane forest, foraging on the ground for insectInsect
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 other invertebrate
Invertebrate
An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
s. It usually occurs alone or in pairs and is often shy and hard to see. The nest
Bird nest
A bird nest is the spot in which a bird lays and incubates its eggs and raises its young. Although the term popularly refers to a specific structure made by the bird itself—such as the grassy cup nest of the American Robin or Eurasian Blackbird, or the elaborately woven hanging nest of the...
is ball-shaped with a side-entrance and is built on the ground.
Due to its extremely wide range, the Sharp-tailed Streamcreeper is not considered a threatened species
Threatened species
Threatened species are any speciesg animals, plants, fungi, etc.) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future.The World Conservation Union is the foremost authority on threatened species, and treats threatened species not as a single category, but as a group of three categories,...
by the IUCN.
Subspecies
There are six subspeciesSubspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
which differ little:
- Lochmias nematura castanonotus - south-east VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , 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...
- Lochmias nematura chimantae - southern Venezuela
- Lochmias nematura nelsoni - PanamaPanamaPanama , 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...
(eastern DariénDarién ProvinceDarién is a province in eastern Panama. It is also the largest province in Panama. It is hot, humid, heavily forested, and sparsely populated, having 48,378 habitants...
) - Lochmias nematura nematura - south-east BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, north-east ArgentinaArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, eastern ParaguayParaguayParaguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
, northern UruguayUruguayUruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
. - Lochmias nematura obscuratus - PeruPeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, BoliviaBoliviaBolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America... - Lochmias nematura sororius - ColombiaColombiaColombia, 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...
, EcuadorEcuadorEcuador , 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...
, northern Venezuela, north-east Peru
The species has long been suspected to have at least a temporary presence in Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
. However, this was only proven recently, with sight records in the Pakaraima Mountains since 2002 and a specimen (LSUMZ 175389) taken in 2004. These birds probably belong to one of the Venezuelan populations, but it is not yet known to which.
Further reading
- Meyer de Schauensee, RodolpheRodolphe Meyer de SchauenseeRodolphe Meyer de Schauensee was an American ornithologist.He was born in Rome, and his family moved to the United States in 1913. He was curator of birds at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia for nearly fifty years. He was particularly noted for his study of South American birds...
& Phelps, William H. (1978): A Guide to the Birds of Venezuela. Princeton University Press. - Ridgely, Robert S. & Gwynne, John A. (1989) A Guide to the Birds of Panama with Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Honduras. Princeton University Press.