The planalto foliage-gleaner (''Syndactyla dimidiata''), also known as the russet-mantled foliage-gleaner, is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Brazil and Paraguay.

Taxonomy and systematics

The planalto foliage-gleaner was long placed in genus ''

Philydor ''Philydor'' is a genus of foliage-gleaners, birds in the ovenbird family Furnariidae.Remsen, J.V., Jr (2017). Ovenbirds (Furnariidae). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of ...

'' but morphological and vocal data suggested affinities within ''Syndactyla''. Molecular data confirmed this change and revealed that. ''S. dimidiata'' the sister species of ''S. rufosuperciliata''. While the International Ornithological Committee and

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

's ''

Handbook of the Birds of the World The ''Handbook of the Birds of the World'' (HBW) is a multi-volume series produced by the Spanish publishing house Lynx Edicions in partnership with BirdLife International. It is the first handbook to cover every known living species of bird. T ...

'' treat the species as monotypic,HBW and BirdLife International (2022) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 7. Available at: https://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v7_Dec22.zip retrieved December 13, 2022 the

Clements taxonomy ''The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World'' is a book by Jim Clements which presents a list of the bird species of the world. The most recent printed version is the sixth edition (2007), but has been updated yearly, the last version in 2022 ...

splits it into two subspecies: nominate ''S. d. dimidiata'' ( Pelzeln, 1859) and ''S. d. baeri'' (

Hellmayr Carl Eduard Hellmayr (29 January 1878 in Vienna, Austria – 24 February 1944 in Orselina, Switzerland) was an Austrian ornithologist. Biography Hellmayr was born in Vienna and studied at the University of Vienna, although he did not complete hi ...

, 1911).Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ retrieved November 10, 2022 The later subspecies has been treated as a separate species in the early to mid-1900sRemsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, G. Del-Rio, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 31 May 2023. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved May 31, 2023 but a recent study casts doubt on ''baeri''s validity as either a species or subspecies.Lopes, L.E. and Gonzaga, L.P. (2014). Taxonomy, distribution, natural history and conservation of the Russet-mantled Foliage-gleaner ''Syndactyla dimidiata'' (Pelzeln, 1859) (Aves: Furnariidae). Zootaxa 3754(4): 435–449. This article treats the planalto foliage-gleaner as monotypic, though the putati

taxon ''baeri'' is mentioned.

Description

The planalto foliage-gleaner is about long and weighs . It is a medium-sized furnariid with a long pointed bill. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a mostly

rufescent Rufous () is a color that may be described as reddish-brown or brownish-red, as of rust or oxidised iron. The first recorded use of ''rufous'' as a color name in English was in 1782. However, the color is also recorded earlier in 1527 as a dia ...

orange face; the color is deeper on the

supercilium The supercilium is a plumage feature found on the heads of some bird species. It is a stripe which runs from the base of the bird's beak above its eye, finishing somewhere towards the rear of the bird's head.Dunn and Alderfer (2006), p. 10 Also ...

and the ear

coverts A covert feather or tectrix on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts (or ''tectrices''), which, as the name implies, cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail. Ear coverts The ear coverts are sm ...

are darker. Their crown and upperparts are bright rufescent brown with a cinnamon tinge. Their tail is rufous-chestnut and their wings are dark rufescent brown with brighter edges on the primaries. Their throat and underparts are mostly unmarked ochraceous rufous, with faint pale streaks on the breast and an olive cast on the flanks. Their iris is brown, their maxilla dark brown, their mandible horn with a pinkish base, and their legs and feet olive. Juveniles have a shorter bill than adults, a whitish throat, and brown bars on their breast. (Compared to the above, ''baeri'' has a bright olive-brown back, less rufescent wings, and duller underparts.)Remsen, Jr., J. V. and C. J. Sharpe (2020). Russet-mantled Foliage-gleaner (''Syndactyla dimidiata''), 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.rumfog1.01 retrieved August 30, 2023

Distribution and habitat

The planalto foliage-gleaner is found in the southern planalto from Brazil's

Mato Grosso Mato Grosso ( – lit. "Thick Bush") is one of the states of Brazil, the third largest by area, located in the Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible for 1.9% of the Brazilian GDP. Neighboring ...

state east to Bahia and south to Paraná and eastern Paraguay's Concepción and Amambay departments. (The ''baeri'' taxon is in the southeasterly part of the species' range.) The species inhabits lowland tropical evergreen forest, gallery forest, and tropical woodlands within the '' cerrado''. In elevation it ranges from .

Behavior

Movement

The planalto foliage-gleaner is a year-round resident throughout its range.

Feeding

The planalto foliage-gleaner's diet has not been studied but is assumed to be arthropods. It is most often seen foraging in pairs and occasionally as part of mixed-species feeding flocks. It forages from the forest's understory to its mid-storey, taking prey from branches and

epiphyte An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

Breeding

Nothing is known about the planalto foliage-gleaner's breeding biology.

Vocalization

The planalto foliage-gleaner's song has been likened to "a small, slowly starting motorbike". It is a "rather short or very long series of 'tsjek' notes, ascending, starting and ending with some stuttering". Its contact call is "a loud, nasal 'cheh', single or doubled".

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 ...

originally assessed the planalto foliage-gleaner as Near Threatened but since 2004 has rated it as being of Least Concern. It has a large range but its population size is not known and is believed to be decreasing. "The species is presumably threatened by agricultural conversion of forested areas within the Brazilian planalto, and more information is required regarding population size and trends." It appears to be rare across its range and to not tolerate very disturbed forest. It does occur in a few protected areas.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1262177 planalto foliage-gleaner Birds of Brazil Birds of Paraguay planalto foliage-gleaner Taxonomy articles created by Polbot