From Opus

Sittasomus griseicapillus

Bird of subspecies sylviellus
Photo by Aracari
Photographed in Itatiaia NP., SE Brazil.

[edit] Identification

15cm. Grey-olive head, upper back and underparts, light rufous wings, tail and lower back. The bill is short and thin. The normal call is a fast, high-pitched trill wu-wu-wu-we-we-we-we-ee-ee-ee-ee-we-we-we-we.

[edit] Distribution

Mexico through tropical Central America and South America to northern Argentina, and also on Tobago.

[edit] Taxonomy

It is the only member of the genus Sittasomus, but the taxon includes several vocally and morphologically distinct froms, so this species may be split in the future.

[edit] Subspecies

15 subspecies are recognized^[1]:

• S. g. jaliscensis
• S. g. sylvioides
• S. g. gracileus
• S. g. perijanus
• S. g. tachirensis
• S. g. griseus
• S. g. aequatorialis
• S. g. amazonus
• S. g. axillaris
• S. g. transitivus
• S. g. viridis
• S. g. griseicapillus
• S. g. reiseri
• S. g. olivaceus
• S. g. sylviellus

[edit] Habitat

Forests and other woodland.

[edit] Behaviour

It builds a nest lined with dead leaves in a natural tree hole (not old woodpecker hole), and lays 3 white eggs. Usually, only one parent tends the young.

The diet includes insects and spiders. It normally forages on tree trunks or large branches or on the ground, usually alone.

[edit] References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, B.L. Sullivan, C. L. Wood, and D. Roberson. 2012. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2012. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
2. Bodrati et al. 2012. Ornithologia Neotropical 23(3):325-334

• List of references

[edit] External Links