Pale-legged Hornero - BirdForum Opus

Pacific Hornero
Photo © by NJLarsen
El Oro, Ecuador, June 4, 2019

Furnarius leucopus

Includes: Pacific Hornero and Caribbean Hornero

Identification

It is bright rufous above with a long broad white supercilium, a white throat and cinnamon-buff underparts. The tail has no terminal black band, unlike the Wing-banded Hornero.

Distribution

The main form is found east of the Andes in eastern Peru, southeastern Ecuador, Brazil, Bolivia and Guyana. A disjunct population, Pacific Hornero, (F. l. cinnamomeus, see taxonomy) exists in western Ecuador and north-western Peru, while another disjunct population, Caribbean Hornero, (F. l. longirostris, see taxonomy) occurs in northern Colombia and north-western Venezuela.

F. l. tricolor
Photo © by Peter R. Bono
Amazonia Lodge (500m), Peru, 2008-08-06

Taxonomy

There are several subspecies separated mainly by colour of plumage and of iris. The two disjunct population (see Distribution) are commonly considered separate species.

• F. l. longirostris
• F. l. endoecus
• F. l. leucopus
• F. l. tricolor
• F. l. araguaiae
• F. l. assimilis
• F. l. cinnamomeus

The first two subspecies constitute the Caribbean Hornero group mentioned in distribution, and the Pacific Hornero consists of the last subspecies. These two disjunct populations are recognized as full species by some authorities.

Habitat

A wide range of open and semi-open habitats. Often near water.

Pacific Hornero next to its nest. The black color and the large opening indicates the two birds are still building this nest. The photo was taken from a long distance, so no disturbance of the birds.
Photo © by NJLarsen
Guayas, Ecuador, June 4, 2019

Behaviour

It builds a nest using dung or mud which has given this group of birds their name (the nest is supposed to resemble wood-fired ovens looked over by the bakers, the horneros).

It commonly forages on the ground for food and often are seen walking while doing so. Their food is mainly arthropods.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. del Hoyo, J., Collar, N. & Kirwan, G.M. (2019). Pacific Hornero (Furnarius cinnamomeus). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com on 22 September 2019).

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2023) Pale-legged Hornero. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 17 August 2023 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Pale-legged_Hornero

External Links

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