The Santa Marta foliage-gleaner (''Clibanornis rufipectus'') is a Vulnerable species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is endemic to Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta 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 ...

Taxonomy and systematics

What is now the Santa Marta foliage-gleaner was originally described as a species in genus ''

Automolus ''Automolus'' is a genus of bird in the ovenbird family Furnariidae. Taxonomy The genus ''Automolus'' was introduced in 1853 by the German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach to accommodate the taxon ''Sphenura sulphurascens'' Lichtenstein, now tre ...

'' but in the early twentieth century it was lumped into the

ruddy foliage-gleaner The ruddy foliage-gleaner (''Clibanornis rubiginosus'') is a species of bird in the family Furnariidae. Its range is highly disjunct, with populations in the highlands of Mexico and Central America, and lowlands and foothills in the Chocó, ea ...

(at the time ''A. rubiginosus'', now ''C. rubiginosus''). Following the data in a 2008 publication, it was restored to full species status. More recent genetic data place both firmly in ''

Clibanornis ''Clibanornis'' is a genus of birds in the family Furnariidae. Formerly, it contained only the Canebrake groundcreeper but phylogenetic studies revealed that this species is closely related to other four species formerly placed in '' Automolus ...

''. The Santa Marta, ruddy, and the Henna-hooded foliage-gleaner (''C. erythrocephalus)'') form a trio of sister species.Remsen, 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, 2023Krabbe, N. (2008). Vocal evidence for restitution of species rank to a Santa Marta endemic: ''Automolus rufipectus'' Bangs (Furnariidae), with comments on its generic affinities. Bull. B.O.C. 128(4): 219-227Derryberry, E. P., S. Claramunt, G. Derryberry, R. T. Chesser, J. Cracraft, A. Aleixo, J. Pérez-Emán, J. V. Remsen, Jr., and R. T. Brumfield. (2011). Lineage diversification and morphological evolution in a large-scale continental radiation: the Neotropical ovenbirds and woodcreepers (Aves: Furnariidae). Evolution 65(10):2973–2986. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2011.01374.x The Santa Marta foliage-gleaner is monotypic.

Description

The Santa Marta foliage-gleaner is long. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a reddish brown face with slightly paler lores, faint brighter markings on 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 ...

, and a ring of bare blue skin around the eye. Their crown and back are medium brown. Their wing

and flight feathers are medium reddish brown with rufous edges. Their tail is dark chestnut. Their throat is pale rufous that blends to the reddish brown breast. Their lower breast and belly are light rufescent brown. Their iris is dark brown to grayish brown, their maxilla black to gray, their mandible pinkish gray to dusky horn, and their legs and feet brown to grayish olive.del Hoyo, J., N. Collar, and G. M. Kirwan (2020). Santa Marta Foliage-gleaner (''Clibanornis rufipectus''), 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.samfog1.01 retrieved September 5, 2023

Distribution and habitat

The Santa Marta foliage-gleaner is found only in the isolated Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in northern Colombia. It inhabits the undergrowth of semi-humid forest, both

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

and

secondary Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...

, and also occurs in

shade coffee Shade-grown coffee is a form of the crop produced from coffee plants grown under a canopy of trees. A canopy of assorted types of shade trees is created to cultivate shade-grown coffee. Because it incorporates principles of natural ecology to pr ...

plantations. It appears to favor dark ravines. Its elevational range is about .

Behavior

Movement

The Santa Marta foliage-gleaner is assumed to be a year-round resident.

Feeding

The Santa Marta foliage-gleaner's diet has not been detailed but is assumed to be arthropods and also small vertebrates like that of the ruddy foliage-gleaner. It usually forages alone or in pairs and only rarely joins mixed-species feeding flocks. It typically forages in dense vegetation within of the ground where it takes its prey mostly from dead leaves.

Breeding

Aside from the discovery of an active nest in February, nothing is known about the Santa Marta foliage-gleaner's breeding biology. (No details of the nest were recorded.)

Vocalization

The Santa Marta foliage-gleaner's song is very different from those of its former fellow ruddy foliage-gleaner subspecies; the differences were part of the evidence for its being recognized as a species. A very detailed description is Its calls are "churrs, both two- or three-noted while foraging but three- to four-noted in alarm" and are also quite different from those of ruddy foliage-gleaner.

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 in 2011 assessed the Santa Marta foliage-gleaner as Near Threatened but in 2020 uplisted it to Vulnerable. It has a small range and its estimated population of 9300 to 13,100 mature individuals is believed to be decreasing. "Despite its tolerance of low levels of habitat conversion, the species is threatened by the loss and fragmentation of its habitat, and it was found to be absent in sun-grown coffee plantations and in small secondary-growth patches surrounded by open areas." and "Deforestation and forest degradation are accelerating and are projected to increase further, as coffee plantations and touristic infrastructure expand across the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta." About 40% of its range is in protected areas.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1260650 Santa Marta foliage-gleaner Birds of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Endemic birds of Colombia Near threatened animals Near threatened biota of South America Santa Marta foliage-gleaner