Grey-chested greenlet

{{speciesbox | name = Grey-chested greenlet | image = Hylophilus semicinereus - Grey-chested Greenlet.JPG | image_caption = At Iranduba, Amazonas state, Brazil | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2018 |title=Grey-chested Greenlet ''Hylophilus semicinereus'' |volume=2018 |article-number=e.T22705286A130387486 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22705286A130387486.en |access-date=19 November 2025}}</ref> | genus = Hylophilus | species = semicinereus | authority = Sclater, PL & Salvin, 1867 | synonyms = | range_map = Hylophilus semicinereus map.svg }}

The '''grey-chested greenlet''' ('''''Hylophilus semicinereus''''') is a species of bird in the family Vireonidae, the vireos, greenlets, and shrike-babblers.<ref name=IOC15.1>{{cite web |url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/bow/shrikes/ |title=Vireos, shrike-babblers |website=IOC World Bird List |version =v 15.1 | 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=March 2025 |access-date=3 March 2025 }}</ref> It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, French Guiana, Peru, Venezuela, and possibly Colombia.<ref name=SACCcountries>Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, D. F. Lane, L, N. Naka, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 29 September 2025. Species Lists of Birds for South American Countries and Territories. South American Classification Committee associated with the International Ornithological Union. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCCountryLists.htm retrieved September 29, 2025</ref>

==Taxonomy and systematics==

The grey-chested greenlet has three subspecies, the nominate ''H. s. semicinereus'' (Sclater, PL & Salvin, 1867), ''H. s. viridiceps'' (Todd, 1929), and ''H. s. juruanus'' (Gyldenstolpe, 1941).<ref name=IOC15.1/>

[[File:HylophilusSemicinereusSmit.jpg|thumb|left|220px|''Hylophilus semicinereus'' illustration by Joseph Smit, 1867]] ==Description==

The grey-chested greenlet is about {{convert|12|cm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} long; one individual weighed {{convert|13|g|oz|sigfig=2|abbr=on}}. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a grayish green forehead and a grayer crown. Their lores and the sides of their face are buffy and their ear coverts gray-buff. Their upperparts are greenish. Their wings' primaries and secondaries are blackish gray with greenish edges and the tertials are blackish gray with yellow edges on the inner webs. Their tail is dull olive-green with brighter green edges on the feathers. Their chin is whitish gray, their throat dull gray, their breast gray with a greenish yellow-tinge that is brighter on the side, their upper belly dull buff-white, and their lower belly gray-white with a slight yellow tinge. Subspecies ''H. s. viridiceps'' has less gray on the crown than the nominate, with paler and more whitish underparts that have a paler greenish wash on the breast. ''H. s. juruanus'' has a heavy olive-brown tinge on the head and nape and is otherwise overall paler than the nominate. All subspecies have a whitish to gray iris, a grayish maxilla, a pinkish mandible with a grayish tip, and dull gray-brown legs and feet.<ref name=GCGR-BOW>Brewer, D. (2020). Gray-chested Greenlet (''Hylophilus semicinereus''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.gycgre1.01 retrieved November 19, 2025</ref>

==Distribution and habitat==

The subspecies of the grey-chested greenlet are found thus:<ref name=GCGR-BOW/>

*''H. s. viridiceps'': southern Venezuela's Amazonas and Bolívar states, eastern French Guiana, and northern Brazil to the Solimões (upper Amazon) and main Amazon perhaps as far east as the Madeira River; perhaps also in eastern Colombia{{NoteTag|Though some sources place the grey-chested greenlet possibly or definitely in Colombia<ref name=GCGR-BOW/><ref name=McMullan>{{cite book | last1 =McMullan | first1 =Miles | last2 =Donegan | first2 =Thomas M. | last3 =Quevedo | first3 =Alonso | title = Field Guide to the Birds of Colombia | publisher = Fundación ProAves| date =2010 | location =Bogotá | pages =178 |isbn =978-0-9827615-0-2 }}</ref> others do not and the South American Classification Committee has no confirmed records in that country<ref name=IOC15.1/><ref name=SACCcountries/>.}} *''H. s. semicinereus'': northern Brazil south of the Amazon in Pará, Maranhão, northern Mato Grosso, and western Tocantins and into extreme northeastern Bolivia *''H. s. juruanus'': south of the upper Amazon/Solimões from northeastern Peru into northwestern Brazil to the Purus River

The grey-chested greenlet inhabits the canopy, edges, and clearings of humid forest including ''várzea'', permanently flooded forest, and secondary forest. It favors areas with a relatively low canopy.<ref name=GCGR-BOW/><ref name=Hilty>{{cite book | last =Hilty | first =Steven L. | title =Birds of Venezuela | publisher =Princeton University Press | edition =second | date =2003 | location =Princeton NJ | pages =677 | language =English }}</ref> In elevation it ranges from sea level to {{convert|400|m|ft|abbr=on}} in Brazil and up to {{convert|350|m|ft|-2|abbr=on}} in Venezuela.<ref name=vanPerlo>{{cite book | last =van Perlo | first = Ber| title =A Field Guide to the Birds of Brazil | publisher =Oxford University Press | date =2009 | location =New York | pages =338–339 | isbn =978-0-19-530155-7 }}</ref><ref name=Hilty/>

==Behavior== ===Movement===

The grey-chested greenlet is apparently a sedentary year-round resident.<ref name=GCGR-BOW/>

===Feeding===

The grey-chested greenlet feeds mostly on small insects. It forages mostly in the outer foliage and often hangs upside-down to glean prey from leaves. It often joins mixed-species feeding flocks.<ref name=GCGR-BOW/>

===Breeding===

Nothing is known about the grey-chested greenlet's breeding biology.<ref name=GCGR-BOW/>

{{birdsong|url=https://xeno-canto.org/species/Hylophilus-semicinereus |species=the grey-chested greenlet}} ===Vocalization===

The grey-chested greenlet's song is a "very high, hurried ''wee-wee-wee...'' (about 8-20 x, but often too fast to count".<ref name=vanPerlo/>

==Status==

The IUCN has assessed the grey-chested greenlet as being of Least Concern. It has a very large range; its population size is not known but is believed to be stable. No immediate threats have been identified.<ref name=IUCN/> It is considered "common to frequent" in Brazil, "uncommon and possibly local" in Venezuela, and "local" in Peru.<ref name=vanPerlo/><ref name=Hilty/><ref name=Schulenberg>{{cite book | last =Schulenberg | first =T.S. | last2 =Stotz | first2 =D.F. | last3 =Lane | first3 =D.F. | last4 =O'Neill | first4 =J.P. | last5 =Parker | first5 =T.A. III | title =Birds of Peru | publisher =Princeton University Press | edition =revised and updated |series=Princeton Field Guides | date =2010 | location =Princeton, NJ | pages =508 |isbn = 978-0691130231 }}</ref>

==Notes== {{notefoot}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

grey-chested greenlet Category:Birds of the Amazon rainforest Category:Birds of Brazil grey-chested greenlet grey-chested greenlet grey-chested greenlet Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot