The brown nunlet (''Nonnula brunnea'') is a species of

near-passerine Near passerines and higher land-bird assemblage are terms of traditional, pre-cladistic taxonomy that have often been given to tree-dwelling birds or those most often believed to be related to the true passerines (order Passeriformes) owing to mor ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is found in

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

, and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 24 August 2021. Species Lists of Birds for South American Countries and Territories. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCCountryLists.htm retrieved August 24, 2021

Taxonomy and systematics

The brown nunlet is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

. Its relationship to others of its genus has not been detailed but it is believed to be most closely related to the

rusty-breasted nunlet The rusty-breasted nunlet (''Nonnula rubecula'') is a species of near-passerine bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Venezue ...

(''N. rubecula'') and

fulvous-chinned nunlet The fulvous-chinned nunlet (''Nonnula sclateri'') is a species of near-passerine bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Clar ...

(''N. sclateri'') and may form a superspecies with them. It has sometimes been considered conspecific with the latter, and alternatively as conspecific with

grey-cheeked nunlet The grey-cheeked nunlet (''Nonnula frontalis'') is a species of near-passerine bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is found in Colombia and Panama. Taxonomy and systematics The grey-cheeked nunlet was firs ...

(''N. frontalis'') and rufous-capped nunlet (''N. ruficapilla'').Rasmussen, P. C., N. Collar, and E. de Juana (2020). Brown Nunlet (''Nonnula brunnea''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.bronun1.01 retrieved November 10,, 2021Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 24 August 2021. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved August 24, 2021

Description

The brown nunlet is long. Its crown and upperparts are plain brown. It has a buffy rufous band from the bill to the eye, a narrow buffy ring around the eye, and dark grayish brown cheeks. The throat and flanks are dark rufous, and the chin and breast pale rufous. The belly is buffy rufous. The bill, eye, and feet are dark.

Distribution and habitat

The brown nunlet is found from south-central Colombia through eastern Ecuador into northern Peru. It inhabits humid lowland ''

terra firme Terra may often refer to: * Terra (mythology), primeval Roman goddess * An alternate name for planet Earth, as well as the Latin name for the planet Terra may also refer to: Geography Astronomy * Terra (satellite), a multi-national NASA scienti ...

'' forest and dense

secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a timber harvest or clearing for agriculture, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident. ...

. It tends to remain below the canopy. In Ecuador it mostly occurs below of elevation but has been recorded as high as .

Behavior

Feeding

Almost nothing is known about the brown nunlet's feeding behavior or diet. It has been observed joining flocks of ''

Myrmotherula ''Myrmotherula'' is a genus of insectivorous passerine birds in the antbird, antbird family, Thamnophilidae. These are all small antbirds, measuring . The genus was erected by the English zoologist Philip Sclater in 1858. The type species is the ...

'' antwrens.

Breeding

One nest of the brown nunlet was a trench excavated in the ground and roofed with sticks and leaves. Its close relative the rusty-breasted nunlet also nests in a shallow scrape that it covers with twigs and leaves. That species' clutch size is usually four eggs.

Vocalization

The brown nunlet's song is "a series of 20–25 'treeu' notes, repeated steadily, starting quietly, building up, and then fading again towards end."

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has assessed the brown nunlet as being of

Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

, though its population is unknown and believed to be decreasing. It appears to be rare to uncommon across its range.

References

External links

Brown Nunlet photo gallery
VIREO
Photos and videos
on Birds of the world {{Taxonbar, from=Q1268358 brown nunlet Birds of the Colombian Amazon Birds of the Ecuadorian Amazon Birds of the Peruvian Amazon brown nunlet brown nunlet Taxonomy articles created by Polbot