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The rufous piha (''Lipaugus unirufus'') is a species of
The rufous piha breeds between March and August in Costa Rica, there probably being two clutches in the year. The diet consists largely of fruits, such as those of laurels and palms, and invertebrates such as
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 Cotingidae.
It is found in Belize
Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...
, 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 ...
, Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
, 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 ...
, Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
, Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
, Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...
, and Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
. Its natural habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
s.
Description
The adult rufous piha is about long and the sexes look similar. The upper parts are a uniform reddish-cinnamon and the underparts are similar but a slightly paler shade, the throat being the palest part. The bill is broad and either flesh-coloured or brown at the base, and there is sometimes a slight ring round the eye. This bird could be confused with the speckled mourner (''Laniocera rufescens'') but that bird is shorter and more slender, with a slimmer bill and a relatively longer tail; the male rufous piha utters various piercing, whistling calls.Ecology
The rufous piha breeds between March and August in Costa Rica, there probably being two clutches in the year. The diet consists largely of fruits, such as those of laurels and palms, and invertebrates such as insect
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...
s and spider
Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...
s. It lives in the middle and lower storeys of humid forest and seldom descends to ground level. Much of its food is plucked while it hovers, and anything gathered on the ground is carried aloft before being eaten. It often sits lethargically on a suitable perch for long periods, sallying out at intervals to snap up passing insect prey.
Status
The rufous piha has a very wide distribution and its total population is estimated to be within the range 50,000 to 500,000 individuals. The population may be in slight decline because of deforestation, particularly in Colombia and Ecuador, but not at a fast enough rate for it to be considered threatened, so theInternational Union for Conservation of Nature
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 rated it as being a " least-concern species".
References
Further reading
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1302546 rufous piha Birds of Central America Birds of Colombia rufous piha rufous piha Taxonomy articles created by Polbot