Least seedsnipe
| Least seedsnipe | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Charadriiformes |
| Family: | Thinocoridae |
| Genus: | Thinocorus |
| Species: | T. rumicivorus |
| Binomial name | |
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Thinocorus rumicivorus Eschscholtz, 1829 |
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The least seedsnipe (Thinocorus rumicivorus) is a xerophilic species of bird in the Thinocoridae family.
It breeds in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. They are common across South America and have been recorded in Ecuador, the Falkland Islands, Uruguay, Brazil, and as far away as Antarctica. The range of the least seedsnipe is estimated to be about 1,300,000 km2.
Its natural habitats are temperate grassland, subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland, and pastureland, but it can be found in habitats ranging from sandy beaches to the open steppe, and even some open deserts in northern Chile.
The least seedsnipe was described in 1829 by Eschscholtz. The genus name comes from the Greek thin-, this- (θινος) “shore" or "sandbank” and -corus (κορυδος) “helmet”. The species name comes from Latin rumicis “sorrel” and vorā “eater”.
There are three subspecies of the least seedsnipe:
The least seedsnipe is the smallest member of the Thinocoridae family. They have short tails and long pointed wings. Their legs and toes are a dull greenish yellow. The beak of the least seedsnipe is an ashy color and is conical like that of a finch or a sand grouse. Adult males have a gray face, neck, and breast, and have black lines at the center of the throat that form an inverted “T” shape. The eyes are a dark gray color.
Male seedsnipe will commonly perch on a prominent bush or fence post to deliver nuptial calls that sound like a series of a “rapid pu-pu-pu-pu-pu”s, very similar to that of the Common Snipe.
Seedsnipes are well-adapted to arid environments and show no increases in water loss between 20 and 36 °C. The thermoneutral zone extends from 33 to 38 °C in this species, but they have the capacity to dissipate heat through evaporative water loss up to 42 °C. Their metabolic rate is 38% lower than other non-passerine birds of similar body mass (~50 g), reducing the contribution to the total heat budget.
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Wikipedia