Plain Xenops
Encyclopedia
The Plain Xenops, Xenops minutus, is a passerine
bird
which breeds in moist lowland forests in the tropical New World
from southern Mexico
south to western Ecuador
, northeastern Argentina
and central Brazil
.
It is a member of the South America
n bird family Furnariidae
, a group in which many species build elaborate clay nests, giving rise to the English
name for the family of "ovenbirds".
However, Plain Xenops simply places shredded plant fibres in a hole between 1.5 and 9 m high in a decaying tree trunk or branch. The normal clutch is two white egg
s, incubated by both sexes. This species is a resident breeder in forest habitats.
The Plain Xenops is typically 12 cm long, weighs 12 g, and has a stubby wedge-shaped bill. The head is light brown with a buff supercilium and whitish malar stripe. The upperparts are brown, becoming rufous on the tail and rump, and there is a buff bar on the darker brown wings. The underparts are unstreaked pale olive brown. The sexes are similar, but young birds have dark brown throats. The lack of streaking is an obvious distinction from other xenops
especially Streaked Xenops
. It is also the only lowland species in the genus.
The Plain Xenops is often difficult to see as it forages for insect
s, including the larvae of wood-boring beetle
s, on bark, rotting stumps or bare twigs. It moves in all directions on the trunk like a treecreeper
, but does not use its tail as a prop. It may be located by its sharp cheet call, or its song, a series of 5 or 6 trilled fit fit fit f’ f’f f’ notes. It regularly joins mixed-species feeding flock
s.
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
which breeds in moist lowland forests in the tropical New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
from southern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
south to western Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, northeastern Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
and central Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
.
It is a member of the South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
n bird family Furnariidae
Ovenbird (family)
Ovenbirds or furnariids are a large family of small suboscine passerine birds found in Mexico, and Central and South America. They form the family Furnariidae...
, a group in which many species build elaborate clay nests, giving rise to the English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
name for the family of "ovenbirds".
However, Plain Xenops simply places shredded plant fibres in a hole between 1.5 and 9 m high in a decaying tree trunk or branch. The normal clutch is two white egg
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
s, incubated by both sexes. This species is a resident breeder in forest habitats.
The Plain Xenops is typically 12 cm long, weighs 12 g, and has a stubby wedge-shaped bill. The head is light brown with a buff supercilium and whitish malar stripe. The upperparts are brown, becoming rufous on the tail and rump, and there is a buff bar on the darker brown wings. The underparts are unstreaked pale olive brown. The sexes are similar, but young birds have dark brown throats. The lack of streaking is an obvious distinction from other xenops
Xenops
Xenops is a genus in the bird family Furnariidae, the ovenbirds. They are found in Mexico, Central America and South America.They are small birds with a longish tail, a laterally flattened bill with an upturned tip , brown back and buff or rufous wing stripe...
especially Streaked Xenops
Streaked Xenops
The Streaked Xenops, Xenops rutilans, is a passerine bird which breeds in the tropical New World from Costa Rica and Trinidad south to Bolivia and northern Argentina...
. It is also the only lowland species in the genus.
The Plain Xenops is often difficult to see as it forages for insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s, including the larvae of wood-boring beetle
Beetle
Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...
s, on bark, rotting stumps or bare twigs. It moves in all directions on the trunk like a treecreeper
Treecreeper
The treecreepers are a family, Certhiidae, of small passerine birds, widespread in wooded regions of the Northern Hemisphere and sub-Saharan Africa. The family contains ten species in two genera, Certhia and Salpornis...
, but does not use its tail as a prop. It may be located by its sharp cheet call, or its song, a series of 5 or 6 trilled fit fit fit f’ f’f f’ notes. It regularly joins mixed-species feeding flock
Mixed-species feeding flock
A mixed-species feeding flock, also termed a mixed-species foraging flock, mixed hunting party or informally bird wave, is a flock of usually insectivorous birds of different species, that join each other and move together while foraging...
s.