Little thornbird

{{Speciesbox | name = Little thornbird | image = Phacellodomus sibilatrix - Little thornbird.JPG | image_caption = At [[Santa Fe Province]], Argentina | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2018 |title=Little Thornbird ''Phacellodomus sibilatrix'' |volume=2018 |article-number=e.T22702610A130274607 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22702610A130274607.en |access-date=20 September 2023}}</ref> | genus = Phacellodomus | species = sibilatrix | authority = [[Philip Sclater|Sclater, PL]], 1879 | synonyms = | range_map = Phacellodomus sibilatrix map.svg }}

The '''little thornbird''' ('''''Phacellodomus sibilatrix''''') is a species of [[bird]] in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird [[Family (taxonomy)|family]] [[Furnariidae]].<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> It is found in [[Argentina]], [[Bolivia]], [[Brazil]], [[Paraguay]], and [[Uruguay]].<ref name=SACCcountries>Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, G. Del-Rio, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 31 May 2023. Species Lists of Birds for South American Countries and Territories. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCCountryLists.htm retrieved May 31, 2023</ref>

==Taxonomy and systematics==

The formal description of the little thornbird is credited to [[Philip Sclater]]'s 1879 publication.<ref>{{cite book | last =Sclater | first =Philip | title = Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London | publisher =Zoological Society of London | date =1879 | volume =1879:Mar.-Dec. | page =461 | url =https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/28521591 }}</ref> However, a specimen collected by [[Félix de Azara|Azara]] and described in 1817 by [[Louis Pierre Vieillot|Vieillot]] as ''Sylvia ruficollis'' was later determined to be a little thornbird. Sclater's [[Binomial nomenclature|binomial]] was retained in the interest of long usage and continuity.<ref>{{ cite journal | last=Smith | first=Paul | year=2018 | title=The identity of ''Sylvia ruficollis'' Vieillot, 1817 and Azara's No. 240 'Cola aguda cola de canela obscura' (Aves: Furnariidae) | journal=Ardea | volume=106 | pages=79–83 | doi=10.5253/arde.v106i1.a5 | s2cid=90536313 | url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324844510 | ref=none }}</ref>

The little thornbird is [[monotypic]].<ref name=IOC13.2/>

==Description==

The little thornbird is {{convert|13|to|14|cm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} long and weighs about {{convert|14|to|16|g|oz|sigfig=2|abbr=on}}. It is the smallest member of its genus. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a wide dull buff-whitish [[supercilium]] that extends beyond the eye and an indistinct dull brown stripe behind the eye on an otherwise light brownish face. Their forehead is light rufous with pale streaks, their crown and back dull brown, and their rump and uppertail [[Covert feather|coverts]] rufescent-tinged brown. Their wings are mostly shades of brown with darker brown [[Primaries (birds)|primary coverts]] and some rufescence. Their tail's central pair of feathers are dull brown, the next pair mostly rufous with a brownish outer third, and the rest bright rufous. Their throat and belly are dingy whitish, their breast slightly darker, and their flanks and undertail coverts whitish with a tawny-brown tinge. Their iris is greenish gray to dark brown, their [[maxilla]] black to dark gray, their [[mandible]] light horn-gray to gray, and their legs and feet gray to pinkish gray. Juveniles have slightly darker upperparts and slightly grayer underparts than adults.<ref name=LITH-BOW>Remsen, Jr., J. V. (2020). Little Thornbird (''Phacellodomus sibilatrix''), 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.littho1.01 retrieved September 20, 2023</ref><ref name=Peña>{{cite book | last1 =de la Peña | first1 =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 64 | isbn =0-691-09035-1 }}</ref>

==Distribution and habitat==

The little thornbird is found in extreme southern Bolivia's [[Santa Cruz Department (Bolivia)|Santa Cruz Department]], in western Paraguay, in southwestern Uruguay, and in northern Argentina as far south as [[Buenos Aires Province]]. In addition there is at least one record in extreme southwestern [[Rio Grande do Sul]], Brazil.<ref name=LITH-BOW/><ref name=Peña/><ref>Bellagamba, G. and Oliveira, D.B. (2012). [First record of the Little Thornbird ''Phacellodomus sibilatrix'' (Passeriformes: Furnariidae) in Brazil]. Rev. Bras. Orn. 20(2): 158–160. In Portuguese with English summary.</ref> It inhabits tropical deciduous forest, [[Gran Chaco]] woodlands, savannah with scattered trees, and scrublands. In elevation it ranges from near sea level to {{convert|2000|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref name=LITH-BOW/><ref name=Peña/>

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

The little thornbird is a year-round resident throughout its range.<ref name=LITH-BOW/>

===Feeding===

The little thornbird feeds on [[arthropod]]s. It usually forages in pairs or small groups that may include nest helpers, and occasionally joins [[mixed-species feeding flock]]s. It captures prey by gleaning from the ground or from vegetation as high as the forest's mid-storey.<ref name=LITH-BOW/>

===Breeding===

The little thornbird breeds in the [[South|austral]] spring and summer, roughly August to February or beyond. It builds a cone-shaped nest of thorny sticks that can be about {{convert|40|cm|ft|0|abbr=on}} high and lines an interior chamber with shredded vegetation, hair, feathers, and other soft material. It hangs the nest near the end a bush or tree branch, usually in an isolated tree or small cluster of them. The clutch size is usually three and sometimes four eggs. The incubation period, time to fledging, and details of parental care are not known.<ref name=LITH-BOW/>

{{birdsong|url=https://xeno-canto.org/species/Phacellodomus-sibilatrix |species=little thornbird}} ===Vocalization===

The little thornbird's song is "a duetted series of sharp, piercing, loud and straight ''tee tee tee''s, where one bird goes faster than the other (three notes for two) so the effect is a ''tee teeter tee teeter teeter tee tee teeter...''".<ref name=Peña/> Its call is "a sharp 'chip', often repeated".<ref name=LITH-BOW/>

==Status==

The [[IUCN]] has assessed the little thornbird as being of Least Concern. It has a large range, but its population size is not known and believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified.<ref name=IUCN/> It is considered common to uncommon in most of its range and occurs in at least one protected area.<ref name=LITH-BOW/>

==References== {{Reflist}}

[[Category:Phacellodomus|little thornbird]] [[Category:Birds of the Gran Chaco]] [[Category:Birds described in 1879|little thornbird]] [[Category:Taxa named by Philip Sclater|little thornbird]] [[Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot]]