Gray Monjita - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Rogerio Araújo Dias
Brazil

Nengetus cinereus

Xolmis cinerea
Xolmis cinereus

Identification

22·5–23 cm
Ashy-grey above with white above the lores. The wings are mostly black with a white speculum when at rest which is seen as a very conspicuous white "V" in flight. The tail is black with a broad white tip. The throat is white with a broad dark grey malar stripe while the breast is ashy-grey and the belly is white.

Distribution

In South America they are found in the ranges noted under the subspecies below.

Taxonomy

Photo by arthurgrosset
Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, Brazil, July 2002

This is a polytypic species^[1] consisting of 2 subspecies.

Subspecies

• N. c. cinereus:

• Suriname; Amazonian and eastern Brazil, Uruguay and north-eastern Argentina

• N. c. pepoaza:

• South-eastern Peru (Madre de Dios) to eastern Bolivia, Paraguay and northern Argentina

Habitat

Grasslands with scattered trees and cerrado; city parks.

Behaviour

Diet

Their diet consists of insects. They sit on an open perch and drop to the ground to catch their prey.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, B.L. Sullivan, C. L. Wood, and D. Roberson. 2013. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.8., with updates to August 2013. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Avibase
3. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved May 2014)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Gray Monjita. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 29 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Gray_Monjita

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