Cranioleuca gutturata (Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1838)

Melo, Tomaz Nascimento de & Greeney, Harold F., 2019, Notes on the breeding biology of birds in riverine floodplains of western Amazonia, Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 139 (1), pp. 56-64 : 60

SPECKLED SPINETAIL Cranioleuca gutturata

On 15 June 2018 a nest under construction was found in a lowland forest, c. 200 m from the Phaethornis hispidus nest described above. An adult was observed collecting green mosses in a nearby tree and depositing the material in the nest, which was a globular closed construction c. 200 mm tall, of dry leaves and green mosses, especially the latter ( Fig. 4 ), with a lateral entrance. The nest was sited on the fork of a branch of Protium sp. ( Burseraceae ), c. 7 m above ground. On returning to the site on 10 July, the nest was apparently empty and no adult was observed. It is unknown whether the nest had been abandoned or not. There are very few published data concerning the species’ breeding biology: Remsen (2003) mentioned nestbuilding in mid August in Peru, and the nest reported here was obviously similar to that described previously. A nest found in January, also in Brazil, was of similar shape and size, but with less green moss used in the construction (D. P. Fernandes; https:// www.wikiaves.com/1234488).

Figures

Figure 4. Nest of Specked Spinetail Cranioleuca gutturata in floodplain várzea forest, Rondônia, Brazil, June 2018 (Tomaz Nascimento de Melo)