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White-headed marsh tyrant

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White-headed marsh tyrant
Male in São Paulo, Brazil
Female in São Paulo, Brazil
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Tyrannidae
Genus: Arundinicola
d'Orbigny, 1840
Species:
A. leucocephala
Binomial name
Arundinicola leucocephala
(Linnaeus, 1764)
Synonyms
  • Pipra leucocephala Linnaeus, 1764

The white-headed marsh tyrant (Arundinicola leucocephala), also known as simply the marsh tyrant, is a small passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family, the only species of the genus Arundinicola. It is a diurnal, a migrating, and a monogamous bird.

Description

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Males

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The male marsh tyrants have a white head with a small crest, a white throat, and a contrasting black body. They have dark brown irises, black legs, and the top half of their bill is also black, while their lower mandible is yellow. They usually weigh 13g and are 13cm in length.[2]

Female in Argentina

Females

The female marsh tyrants have a white forecrown, a white throat, a greyish-brown breast, and greyish-brown flanks. Their wings and tail are also greyish-brown, although more uniform and much darker. The female usually weighs 12-12.5g and measures 13cm in length. The female and juvenile are similar in appearances.[2]

Vocalizations

They are usually quiet, but they do have a high pitched call "sedik!". During courting, they have a lower sounding call "dew-de-lewde" that is repeated in short intervals.[3]

Habitat and Distribution

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The species is native to many south American countries such as Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.[4]

Regions of Argentina (2%), Paraguay (6%), and Brazil (92%) are part of the Atlantic forest of South America which is one of the worlds essential biodiversity strongholds.[5]  Within this forest, many nature conservation areas have been the home of the white-headed marsh tyrant, thereby protecting both the bird and its habitat. The following nature reserve have housed the tyrant: Tapyta Private Nature Reserve, Ypeti Nature Reserve, Mbaracayú Binational.[6]

As its name implies, these tyrants inhabit wetlands in tropical zones including marshes, bogs, swamps, fens, peatlands, rivers, streams, creeks, and moist savannas.[4]

In addition, many of the countries mentioned earlier such as Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and Paraguay allocate a great deal of land to rice production. Arundinicola leucocephala was one of the many non-aquatic species to be reported in these ricelands.[7]

Behavior

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Diet

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Arundinicola leucocephala are insectivores and mainly prey on flying insects including dragonflies, grasshoppers, froghoppers and beetles.[2]

Foraging

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Tyrant flycatchers use many different types of foraging techniques such as the sally strike, sally glide, sally hover, sally pounce, leap upward, or leap downward. The type of technique used is usually linked to differences in bill, wing and tarsus structure. The sally strike (attacking in a fluid movement without gliding, hovering, or landing[8]) is the most frequently used foraging maneuver for the marsh tyrant.[9]

Most tyrant flycatchers hunt in living foliage or simply in the air. However, Arundinicola leucocephala captures most of its pray hunting at the water surface. The next foraging substrate most often used to catch or attempt to catch its prey is in the air followed by live leaves. They tend to perch low on small marsh plants (<2m) to then attack their prey within a 3-4m distance from their initial position. They attack prey that are mainly at the same height as them (on their perch) or below them. More rarely do they attack at a high flight angle.[9] Once they catch their prey, they promptly return to their perch as they are rarely found on the ground.[10]

Both the female and the male marsh tyrants feed the juveniles. The main differences are that the female marsh tyrant hunts further in distance and makes more visits to the young compared to the male. Regarding the nestlings, the parents try and keep the nest sanitary for them by removing arthropod remains and fecal sacs. Again the female is more active in this regard. The juveniles also participate in the cleaning, by handing the arthropod remains to the beak of its parents. It is theorized that keeping the nest clean reduces the risk of infestation by parasites and pathogens.[2]

It is theorized that if the male were to be more active, it would increase the vulnerability of the nest to predation and may even increase the predation on the male itself by raptors nearby. This is mainly because of the more prominent colors of the male tyrant making him more noticeable in his habitat compared to the female.[11]

Breeding

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Their nests are usually constructed within four feet off the ground in swamp bushes. It is spherical in shape with a roof and has a side opening near the top known as the "porch". The opening is narrow to protect the nest against predation. The nests are mainly made of dried grass and the chambers are lined thickly with soft substances like down. These homes measure about four inches high and three inches wide. The tyrants do not attempts to conceal the nests, making them very noticeable.[12] It is also built by both parents[2]

In Satarem, Brazil, many nests were found withing inches of the nest of a large species wasp. Consequently, the natives called the marsh tyrant "Mother of the Wasp".[13]

In order, the most popular breeding months are September, June, October and August followed by November and July.[14] The eggs laid are a creamy white color. The number of eggs laid in a single brood ranges from 1-3, and an individual egg ranges from 1.8-1.9 (g). These eggs usually have a length of 19.20-20.68 (mm) and a width of 11.10-14.58 (mm).[14] The duration of incubation is approximately 12 to 16 days and the task is shared between both parents.[10] The hatchlings stay about 15-17 days in the nest and then are ready to leave. The generation length of marsh tyrants is 3.6 years.[15]

The marsh tyrant is often found in pairs or in a small family group, nevertheless it does sometimes forage alone.[10] It also shows evidence of monogamy, since most individuals spend the majority of their time in pairs. However, once one of the individuals disappears, it is replaced by another. To attract the opposite sex, the marsh tyrant demonstrates pre-nuptial flights.[11] During courtship, the crest is significant and can be bushy or flattened depending on the moment. Usually, the performance incorporates an erected crest, high vocalizations and various wing positioning (raised, fanned or fluttering). This behavior is also used when facing rivals in aggressive disputes.[10] The tyrant rarely spreads or cocks its tail.[16]

Threats

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Shiny cowbirds (Molthrus bonariensis)

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The Shiny Cowbird of South America, Panama and the West Indies, an obligate brood parasite, has targeted 176 bird species as its hosts.[17] In wetlands, the cowbird preys upon two marsh tyrants: the Pied water tyrant (Fluvicola pica) and the White-headed marsh tyrant (Arundinicola IeucocephaIa).[18]

Status

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This bird is not considered threatened by the IUCN. Local populations may disappear however due to declining habitat quality.

References

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  1. ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Arundinicola leucocephala". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22700291A93767511. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22700291A93767511.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e Ewing, Nikita (2017). "Arundinicola leucocephala (White-headed Marsh Tyrant)" (PDF). The Online Guide to the Animals of Trinidad and Tobago. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  3. ^ Farnsworth, Andrew; Langham, Gary (4 March 2020). "White-headed Marsh Tyrant". Birds of the World. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  4. ^ a b "White-headed Marsh-tyrant (Arundinicola leucocephala) - BirdLife species factsheet". datazone.birdlife.org. Retrieved 2024-10-02.
  5. ^ "State of the Atlantic Forest: Three countries, 148 million people, one of the richest forests on Earth" (PDF). Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina & WWF. Puerto Iguazú, Argentina.: Technical Report: 146. 2017.
  6. ^ Esquivel, Alberto; Zarza, Rebecca; Tiffer-Sotomayor, Ruth; Diaz, Alejandrino; Perez, Dario; Velazquez, Myriam (2019). "Conservation Status and Challenges of the Atlantic Forest Birds of Paraguay". Diversity. 11 (12) – via ProQuest.
  7. ^ Acosta, Martín; Mugica, Lourdes; Blanco, Daniel; López-Lanús, Bernabé; Dias, Rafael Antunes; Doodnath, Lester W.; Hurtado, Joanna (2010). "Birds of Rice Fields in the Americas". Waterbirds: The International Journal of Waterbird Biology. 33: 105–122. ISSN 1524-4695.
  8. ^ Remsen, J.V; Robinson, Jr.; Robinson, Scott K. (1990). "A classification scheme for foraging behavior of birds in terrestrial habitats" (PDF). Studies in Avian Biology (13): 144–160.
  9. ^ a b Gabriel, Vagner de A.; Pizo, Marco A. (December 2005). "Foraging behavior of tyrant flycatchers (Aves, Tyrannidae) in Brazil". Revista Brasileira de Zoologia. 22: 1072–1077. doi:10.1590/S0101-81752005000400036. ISSN 0101-8175.
  10. ^ a b c d Bouglouan, Nicole. "White-headed Marsh-Tyrant". Oiseaux-birds.com. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  11. ^ a b Cestari, César (December 2023). "Sexual Differences in Parental Feeding Effort during the Nestling Period of the White-headed Marsh-tyrant (arundinicola Leucocephala)". Ornitologia Neotropical. 23 (2).
  12. ^ Lamm, Donald W. (1948). "Notes on the Birds of the States of Pernambuco and Paraiba, Brazil". The Auk. 65 (2): 261–283. doi:10.2307/4080302. ISSN 0004-8038.
  13. ^ Riker, Clarence B.; Chapman, Frank M. (1890). "A List of Birds Observed at Santarem, Brazil (Continued)". The Auk. 7 (3): 265–271. doi:10.2307/4067986. ISSN 0004-8038.
  14. ^ a b Cruz, Alexander; Andrews, Robert W. (1989). "Observations on the Breeding Biology of Passerines in a Seasonally Flooded Savanna in Venezuela". The Wilson Bulletin. 101 (1): 62–76. ISSN 0043-5643.
  15. ^ "White-headed Marsh-tyrant". IUCN RedList. 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  16. ^ "White-headed Marsh-tyrant - Arundinicola leucocephala". www.arthurgrosset.com. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  17. ^ Mason, Paul (1 January 1986). "Brood Parasitism in a Host Generalist, the Shiny Cowbird: 1. The Quality of Different Species as Hosts". The Auk. 103 (1): 52–60 – via American Ornithological Society.
  18. ^ Haverschmidt, F (1 July 1965). "Molothrus bonariensis Parasitizing Fluvicola pica and Arundinicola leucocephala in Surinam". The Auk. 82 (3): 508–509 – via American Ornithological Society.
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