Nombre en español: Viuva de Antifaz

Nombre cientifico: Pipraeidea melanonota

Nombre en ingles: Fawn-breasted Tanager

Familia: Thraupidae

Foto: Ramiro Ramirez

Canto: Andres Angulo

La saíra de antifaz, viuvá de Antifaz, tangará de antifaz, cachaquito viuva, o viuvá (Pipraeidea melanonota), es una especie de Tanager, con una cabeza azul y pecho amarillo. Esta ave tan colorida pertenece a la familia Thraupidae. Esta colocado en el género Pipraeidea, junto a la especie Thraupis bonariensis. Esta especie habita en los Andes del noroeste de Argentina, en Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Perú y  Venezuela, y también en el sur de Brasil , en Paraguay y Uruguay. El nombre “Pipraeidea” fue dado por Linnaeus y provine de las palabras Griegas  «pipra» la cual significa pájaro pequeño, y «eidos» que significa similar. El nombre de la especie melanonota proviene de melanonotacomes, la cual es una palabra que se derriba de las palabras Griegas «melas«, para negro y «nōtos» para espalda, lo cual hace referencia a la coloración de esta especie de ave

Descripción

La saíra de antifaz tiene una longitud de cuerpo promedio de 14 cm y un peso promedio de entre 18 a 25g. Esta especie Tanager tiene un pico ancho relativamente corto, similar a los picos de las aves de la familia Hirundinidea. Esta especie también presenta patas y cola relativamente cortas y alas largas. Las características de coloración más particulares de este género son la corona de color azul-cielo, la máscara o antifaz negro que se extiende por los ojos hasta las coberturas oculares y el lomo y alas color azul oscuro. El macho presentapíleo, cubiertas y rabadilla color azul celeste, la zona de la garganta y vientre son de un color canela, presenta espalda de color azul oscuro y una cola de azul crepúsculo. El iris es de color rojo oscuro o rojo café, y el pico presenta una mandíbula inferior de color gris. La hembra de la especie presenta una coloración similar a la del macho pero con una tonalidad más opaca, particularmente en la zona de la corona con una coloración café en la espalda. En algunas ocasiones se ha observado que la hembra tiene las partes superiores de color gris azulado.   los juveniles de la especie no presentan patrones de coloración tan marcados, sino que son de un color café apagado.

Estas aves se han observado solas o en parejas, generalmente en áreas semi-abiertas, perchados a cualquier altitud.

Los patrones de voz o el llamado en esta especie, son considerados sigilosas. Puede emitir una serie de notas en tonos de “sii” o “swii” agudo. El canto puede ser en series de 4 o 5 notas lentas, o en alrededor de una docena de notas con ritmo más rápido.

Taxonomía

Esta especie fue descrita originalmente por Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot en el año 1819, bajo el nombre científico de: Tanagra melanonota. La localidad tipo dada es: «Río de Janeiro, Brasil». El género lo creó William John Swainson en el año 1827.

Estudios de ADN encontraron una relación más estrecha con Thraupis bonariensis.

Subespecies

Esta especie se subdivide en 2 subespecies:

• Pipraeidea melanonota venezuelensis (P. L. Sclater, 1857) – Habita en regiones selváticas de laderas andinas o sus proximidades, desde Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Perú, Bolivia, y el noroeste de la Argentina hasta Catamarca.
• Pipraeidea melanonota melanonota (Vieillot, 1819) – Habita en regiones selváticas de llanura y de montañas, así como selvas en galería, en el sudeste y sur del Brasil, el este del Paraguay, Uruguay, y el noroeste de la Argentina, llegando por el sur hasta la localidad de Punta Indio

Distribución y hábitat

Se extiende por casi todo Brasil, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Perú, Bolivia, el este del Paraguay,Uruguay, y las provincias del noroeste y noreste de la Argentina, llegando por el sur hasta la ribera austral del Río de la Plata.

Habita en los bordes del bosque, pastizales tupidos con arbustos y bosque de galería, tanto de montaña como de llanura, entre los 400 y 2.500 m de altitud.

Alimentación

Se alimenta de frutos e insectos.

Reproducción

Construye el nido con musgo, en la rama de un árbol, entre los 15 y 20 m de altura desde el suelo.

Fawn-breasted tanager

The fawn-breasted tanager (Pipraeidea melanonota) is a species of Tanager with a blue head and yellow breast. It is in the genus Pipraeidea, along with the Blue-and-yellow tanager. It occurs in the Andes of northwestern Argentina,Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, as well as in the highlands of northeastern Argentina, south Brazil,Paraguay and Uruguay. The name Pipraeidea was named by Linnaeus and comes from the combination of Greek words «pipra» which means small bird and «eidos» which refers to «likeness». The species name, melanonota comes frommelanonotacomes, which is derived from the Greek words «melas» for black and «nōtos» for back, which makes reference to this bird’s coloration.

Description and Identification

The Fawn-breasted Tanager has an average body length of 14cm and can way 18 to 25g. This species of Tanager has an unusually short, wide beak, similar to the beaks of members of the Hirundinidea family, as well as short legs and tail, and long wings. the most particular coloration of this species is its sky-blue crown and broad black mask that extends through the eyes into ear-coverts. The coloration of male crown and nape is a medium blue, and the forehead, lores, ocular area and ear-coverts are deep black. The mantle and back of male specimens are a dull blue color, the lower back and rump a bright turquoise-blue, tail dusky blue, throat and the underparts of the body are a cinnamon color. The iris is a dark red to reddish brown color and the bill is dusky with a lower mandible that is normally a grey color. The female of this species, has a similar coloration to that of the male: usually of a duller tonality, particularly in the crown region, and a brownish coloration on the back. The juvenile of the species is almost without pattern and has a dull brownish-grey coloring. The juvenile of the species is almost without pattern and has a dull brownish-grey coloring. This brightly colored Tanager is usually seen singly or in pairs, most often in the semi-open, but it may perch at any height.

The voice patterns in this species have “see” or «swee” tones that varying in sets of 4 or 5 notes sung slowly, or a higher number of notes, around a dozen, uttered in pulsating trill pattern in a faster rhythm. Recording of voice calls may be found at Xeno-canto.

Taxonomy

Pipraeidea melanonota, was first described in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1819 by Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot a French ornithologist. Pipraeidea malanonota was originally described, by Vieillot, with the name Tangara melanonota.

Recent DNA evidence places this species in the genera, Pipraeidea, with a probable relation to a sister group,Thraupis bonariensis.

Subespecies

This species is subdivided into two currently recognized subspecies,

• Pipraeidea melanonota venezuelensis (P. L. Sclater, 1857) – Inhabits Neotropical regions in Andean slopes or proximal areas, from Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and the Northeastern Argentina.
• Pipraeidea melanonota melanonota (Vieillot, 1819) – Inhabits Neotropical regions where open areas can be found (forest borders and fields), in the southeastern Brazil, East Paraguay, Northeastern Argentina and following south to Punta Indio.

Habitat and distribution

The Faun-breasted Tanager is a bird that inhabits humid areas forest edge ecosystems and lighter woodlands. Its habitat range extends throughout South America, covering most of Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, east Paraguay, Uruguay, NortheasternArgentina, following towards the southern bank of the Rio de la Plata. This avian species can be found in habitats along forest borders, bushy pastures, and cultivated small semi open areas with large trees and clearings with scattered trees. The elevation range that this species can tolerate varies geographically. In the Andes it can be found in altitudes of around c. 1500 to 2500m typically, with a maximum of 3000. In Venezuela it has been found to inhabit altitudes as low as 400m, and in Colombia it has been found at latitudes as low as 900m. In Ecuador its altitude range can go from 1000 to 2600m.

Food and Feeding

Mixed diet, which includes vegetable matter such as berries, fruit pulp, buds, flowers and seeds, as well as insects such as moths, ithominid butterflies (Lepidoptera) or larvae. This species is considered to be something of a “loner”, but can also be found to be part of mixed species flocs. The Fawn-Breasted Tanager has been known to congregate at fruiting trees with other species or shrubs.

Movement and breeding

This avian species is nomadic or can display seasonal migration. It can be found in northern Venezuela during the months of January through June, which is a presumed breeding period for this species. It is present in Pacific Colombia during November through March. The populations located in southern regions, such as those located in Southern Argentina may migrate to more Northern localities during coldest months.

The fledgling may be found in in July in Western Venezuela, while in Colombia, nest building and birds in breeding condition may be found in March and July. In Ecuador, breeding adult birds, or nesting birds, can be found in early March in the South-Eastern part of the country. In central Peru, juvenile or immature specimens can be found in August.

This species has been known to make well-lined cup-shaped nests, composed of moss, sticks, grass, straw fragments, and colored threads, in forest borders on the edge of pine branches, at an approximate heights of 15–20 m from the ground. The nests are concealed with epiphytes and mosses. Information on specific breeding patterns is limited, but It is known that females tanagers, in general, lay 2 or 3 eggs and incubate them for 12–14 days, and nestlings remain in the nest for 18–22 days.

Status and conservacion

This species is not considered to be globally threatened. Its distribution is widespread, and ranges from rare to fairly common (periodically or seasonally). This species can be found in a range of semi-open habitats or forest-borders. Due to agriculture and anthropogenic change of ecosystems, it is considered that this species may be expanding its range locally due to the opening of forests in the Andes. Given the variety of areas this species inhabits, form unprotected habitat to protected habitat, within its large range it is currently considered as a species with no short-term risks.

According to the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species, P. melanonota is not considered vulnerable under the range size criterion, which is an extent of occurrence which is defined as a population inhabiting an area smaller than 20,000 km2, combined with a declining or fluctuating range size. The population trend appears to be stable for this species, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion which is defined as being greater than 30% decline over ten years or three generations. It has been noted that there has been an increase in population size and range since 1988, when it was considered to be at Lower Risk/least concern (LR/lc)

For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

Wikipedia/eBird/xeno-canto