Blue-grey saltator

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Blue-grey saltator
Grausaltator .jpg
In the Pantanal, Brazil

Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Thraupidae
Genus: Saltator
Species:
S. coerulescens
Binomial name
Saltator coerulescens
(Vieillot, 1817)

The blue-grey saltator (Saltator coerulescens) is a passerine bird in the tanager family Thraupidae that is widespread in the tropical Americas.

Taxonomy[]

The blue-grey saltator was formally described in 1817 by the French ornithologist Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot under the binomial name Saltator coerulescens.[2] Vieillot based his description on the "Habia de la Ceja Blanca" that Félix de Azara had described in 1802 in his book on birds in Paraguay and the Río de la Plata.[3][4] The specific epithet coerulescens is derived from Latin and means "blueish".[5] The cinnamon-bellied (Saltator grandis) and olivaceous saltators (Saltator olivascens) were previously considered subspecies,[6] together known as the greyish saltator.

Description[]

On average, the blue-grey saltator is 20 cm long and weighs 52 g. The plumage depends on age and subspecies, but in general this bird has grey or greyish-olive upperparts, a white stripe over the eye, a narrow white throat, a grey breast and a buff or cinnamon belly.

The common call is a long-drawn upward slur, ch'wheeet or ch'kweeee, sometimes with a more elaborate beginning, as hi'whee chu weeeeh. The song is a warble, usually fairly short, varying from nasal to mellow.[7]

Distribution and habitat[]

This species occurs in open woodland, plains and scrub, in Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, and Uruguay.</ref>

Behaviour and ecology[]

The greyish saltator feeds on fruits,[8] buds and slow-moving arthropods. It forages at low and middle levels, sometimes in pairs or small groups and sometimes with mixed-species flocks that may include other saltators.[7]

Egg

The two pale blue subelliptic eggs per clutch measure some 23–31.5 mm long by about 17–22 mm wide and weigh about 5 grams each. They look unusual for this genus as they have a circle of blackish-brown hairstreaks and dots around the blunt end.[9] They are laid in a bulky cup nest 2–4 m high in a tree.

References[]

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2017). "Saltator coerulescens". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  2. ^ Vieillot, Louis Jean Pierre (1817). Nouveau dictionnaire d'histoire naturelle, appliquée aux arts, à l'agriculture, à l'économie rurale et domestique, à la médecine, etc (in French). Volume 17. Paris: Deterville. pp. 105–106. |volume= has extra text (help)
  3. ^ Azara, Félix de (1802). Apuntamientos para la historia natural de los páxaros del Paragüay y Rio de la Plata (in Spanish). Volume 1. Madrid: Imprenta de la Hija de Ibarra. p. 344–348, No. 81. |volume= has extra text (help)
  4. ^ Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1970). Check-List of Birds of the World. Volume 13. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 232-233. |volume= has extra text (help)
  5. ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 113. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  6. ^ "Species Updates – IOC World Bird List". Retrieved 2021-06-13.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b Howell & Webb (1995)
  8. ^ E.g. of Trophis racemosa (Moraceae): Forster (2007).
  9. ^ Echeverry-Galvis & Córdoba-Córdoba (2006)

Further reading[]

  • Bencke, Glayson Ariel (2007): Avifauna atual do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil: aspectos biogeográficos e distribucionais ["The Recent avifauna of Rio Grande do Sul: Biogeographical and distributional aspects"]. Talk held on 2007-JUN-22 at Quaternário do RS: integrando conhecimento, Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. PDF abstract
  • Echeverry-Galvis, María Ángela & Córdoba-Córdoba, Sergio (2006): Descripción del huevo del saltátor collarejo (Saltator cinctus) y comentarios preliminares sobre huevos del género Saltator. ["Description of the egg of the Masked Saltator (S. cinctus) and preliminary comments on the eggs of the genus Saltator"]. Boletín de la Sociedad Antioqueña de Ornitología 16(1): 76–84. [Spanish with English abstract] PDF fulltext
  • ffrench, Richard; O'Neill, John Patton & Eckelberry, Don R. (1991): A guide to the birds of Trinidad and Tobago (2nd edition). Comstock Publishing, Ithaca, N.Y.. ISBN 0-8014-9792-2
  • Foster, Mercedes S. (2007): The potential of fruiting trees to enhance converted habitats for migrating birds in southern Mexico. Bird Conservation International 17(1): 45–61. doi:10.1017/S0959270906000554 PDF fulltext
  • Hilty, Steven L. (2003): Birds of Venezuela. Christopher Helm, London. ISBN 0-7136-6418-5
  • Howell, Steven N. G. & Webb, Sophie (1995): A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America. Oxford University Press, Oxford & New York. ISBN 0-19-854012-4
  • Stiles, F. Gary & Skutch, Alexander Frank (1989): A guide to the birds of Costa Rica. Comistock, Ithaca. ISBN 0-8014-9600-4

External links[]

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