{{Short description|Species of bird}} {{Use American English|date=September 2023}}
{{Speciesbox | name = Blackish cinclodes | image = Blackish_Cinclodes_Falklands.jpg | status = NT | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name=IUCN1>{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |year=2016 |title=Blackish Cinclodes ''Cinclodes antarcticus'' |article-number=e.T103670928A93860479 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T103670928A93860479.en |access-date=3 September 2023}}</ref> | status2 = NT | status2_system = IUCN3.1 | status2_ref = <ref name=IUCN2>{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |year=2021 |title=Black Cinclodes ''Cinclodes maculirostris'' |article-number=e.T103670944A192074027 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T103670944A192074027.en |access-date=3 September 2023}}</ref> (See Taxonomy and Status sections) | genus = Cinclodes | species = antarcticus | authority = (Garnot, 1826) | range_map = Cinclodes antarcticus map.svg | range_map_caption = Range of ''C. a. antarcticus'' }}
The '''blackish cinclodes''' ('''''Cinclodes antarcticus''''') is a Near Threatened passerine bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found on Tierra del Fuego and the Falkland Islands, where it is known as the '''tussac-bird''' or '''tussock-bird'''.<ref name=IOC13.2>{{cite web |url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/bow/ovenbirds/ |title=Ovenbirds, woodcreepers |website=IOC World Bird List |version =v 13.2 | editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen |date=July 2023 |access-date=July 31, 2023 }}</ref><ref name=IUCN1/><ref name=IUCN2/>
==Taxonomy and systematics==
The blackish cinclodes' taxonomy is unsettled. The International Ornithological Committee and the Clements taxonomy assign it two subspecies, the nominate ''C. a. antarcticus'' (Garnot, 1826) and ''C. a. maculirostris'' (Dabbene, 1917.<ref name=IOC13.2/><ref name=Clements2022>Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ retrieved November 10, 2022</ref> BirdLife International's ''Handbook of the Birds of the World'' (HBW) treats the two taxa as separate species, retaining "blackish cinclodes" for ''antarcticus'' and calling ''maculirostris'' the "black cinclodes".<ref name=HBW7>HBW and BirdLife International (2022) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 7. Available at: https://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v7_Dec22.zip retrieved December 13, 2022</ref>
This article follows the one-species, two-subspecies, model.
==Description==
The blackish cinclodes is {{convert|18|to|23|cm|in|abbr=on}} long and weighs about {{convert|63|g|oz|sigfig=2|abbr=on}}. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies are mostly dark sooty brown, with a slightly paler throat and some dull rufous on the base of the flight feathers. The last is usually visible only in flight. Its iris is dark brown, its bill blackish, and its legs and feet blackish. Juveniles are generally browner than adults. Subspecies ''C. a. maculirostris'' is slightly larger than the nominate with a shorter bill and longer tail, and is blacker overall with a visibly yellowish base to its bill and no rufous on its wings.<ref name=BLCI-BOW>del Hoyo, J., J. V. Remsen, Jr., G. M. Kirwan, and N. Collar (2022). Blackish Cinclodes (''Cinclodes antarcticus''), version 1.1. In Birds of the World (N. D. Sly, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.blacin1.01.1 retrieved September 3, 2023</ref><ref name=Peña>{{cite book | last =de la Peña | first =Martín R. | last2=Rumboll |first2=Maurice| title =Birds of Southern South America and Antarctica | publisher =Princeton University Press | series =Princeton Illustrated Checklists | date =2001 | location =New Jersey | pages =Plate 61 | isbn =0-691-09035-1 }}</ref>
==Distribution and habitat==
The nominate subspecies of the blackish cinclodes is found on the Falkland Islands.<ref name=IOC13.2/> Surveys through the late 1990s found them on 40 of the 59 islands studied.<ref name=Hall>Hall, J.R., Woods, R.W., Brooke, M.L. and Hilton, G.M. (2002). Factors affecting the distribution of landbirds on the Falkland Islands. Bird Conservation International. 12(2): 151–167.</ref> Subspecies ''C. a. maculirostris'' is found in southernmost mainland Chile, both Chilean and Argentine Tierra del Fuego, and other islands in the Cape Horn Archipelago.<ref name=BLCI-BOW/><ref name=Peña/>
The blackish cinclodes is primarily coastal though it does range as far inland as {{convert|0.5|km|mi|1|abbr=on}}. It favors landscapes of short grass and tussoc (tussock) grass ''Poa flabellata'', and is also common around human habitations. Both subspecies are often found on rocky beaches near colonies of marine mammals and seabirds. In elevation they range from sea level to about {{convert|200|m|ft|-2|abbr=on}}.<ref name=BLCI-BOW/><ref name=Peña/>
==Behavior== ===General===
The blackish cinclodes is often very tame and will approach humans and their habitations, especially in the Falklands.<ref name=BLCI-BOW/><ref name=Peña/>
===Movement===
The blackish cinclodes is a year-round resident throughout its range.<ref name=BLCI-BOW/>
===Feeding===
The blackish cinclodes feeds mainly on small invertebrates such as amphipods, isopods, flies, and Orthoptera. Among seabird colonies it feeds on cracked eggs, scraps, and regurgitated matter, and also takes prey from excrement. It has also been documented feeding at wounds on southern elephant seals (''Mirounga leonina'') and sometimes enters houses to take food crumbs and scraps. On and near beaches it gleans and probes for prey, especially in floating and washed up kelp. It leaps up to capture flies in mid-air and follows humans along beaches to capture what they disturb.<ref name=BLCI-BOW/>
===Breeding===
Most of the data on the blackish cinclodes' breeding biology comes from the nominate subspecies on the Falklands. Their breeding season lasts from September to January and two broods are often raised. Subspecies ''C. a. maculirostris'' appears to have a similar nesting season. Both subspecies nest in a tunnel in an earthen bank or in a rock crevice. The nominate is also known to nest in abandoned seabird burrows and under buildings. Both subspecies line the nest chamber with grass and feathers. The clutch size is two or three eggs. In the Falklands the incubation period is about 16 days, fledging occurs about 25 days after hatch, and both adults care for the young.<ref name=BLCI-BOW/>
{{birdsong|url=https://xeno-canto.org/species/Cinclodes-antarcticus |species=blackish cinclodes}} ===Vocalization===
All of the recordings of blackish cinclodes vocalizations in xeno-canto and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Macaulay Library are from the Falkland Islands. The song is "a long series of sharp, explosive notes intermixed with musical trills...described as tittering ''chee-chee-chee-chee-cheecheecheecheecheechee-chee''". The species sometimes sings during a flight display that ends with a dive to the ground, an occasionally sings for several minutes on the ground. Its call is "a short, sharp ''chip''" that is sometimes extended into a trill.<ref name=BLCI-BOW/>
==Status==
The IUCN follows HBW taxonomy and so has separately assessed the two subspecies of blackish cinclodes. Both are considered Near Threatened. The size of the nominate "blackish" population on the Falkland Islands is not known and is believed to be decreasing. The population of the "black" ''C. a. maculirostris'' is estimated at 3000 to 19,000 mature individuals and is also believed to be decreasing. Both are extremely vulnerable to predation by introduced cats and rats and are generally found only where they are absent. Some previously affected small islands in the Falklands have been cleared of land predators and populations on them appear to be more stable.<ref name=IUCN1/><ref name=IUCN2/> The species occurs in only a few formally protected areas.<ref name=BLCI-BOW/>
==References== {{Wikispecies|Cinclodes antarcticus}} {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== * Jaramillo, Alvaro; Burke, Peter & Beadle, David (2003) ''Field Guide to the Birds of Chile'', Christopher Helm, London * Woods, Robin W. (1988) ''Guide to Birds of the Falkland Islands'', Anthony Nelson, Oswestry
==External links== * {{VIREO|Blackish+cinclodes}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q995834}}
blackish cinclodes Category:Birds of the Falkland Islands Category:Birds of Tierra del Fuego blackish cinclodes blackish cinclodes