# Little thornbird > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Little_thornbird > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Little_thornbird.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_thornbird > Source revision: 1355308247 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Species of bird Little thornbird At Santa Fe Province, Argentina Conservation status Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1] Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Furnariidae Genus: Phacellodomus Species: P. sibilatrix Binomial name Phacellodomus sibilatrix Sclater, PL, 1879 The **little thornbird** (***Phacellodomus sibilatrix***) is a species of [bird](/source/Bird) in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird [family](/source/Family_(taxonomy)) [Furnariidae](/source/Furnariidae).[2] It is found in [Argentina](/source/Argentina), [Bolivia](/source/Bolivia), [Brazil](/source/Brazil), [Paraguay](/source/Paraguay), and [Uruguay](/source/Uruguay).[3] ## Taxonomy and systematics The formal description of the little thornbird is credited to [Philip Sclater](/source/Philip_Sclater)'s 1879 publication.[4] However, a specimen collected by [Azara](/source/F%C3%A9lix_de_Azara) and described in 1817 by [Vieillot](/source/Louis_Pierre_Vieillot) as *Sylvia ruficollis* was later determined to be a little thornbird. Sclater's [binomial](/source/Binomial_nomenclature) was retained in the interest of long usage and continuity.[5] The little thornbird is [monotypic](/source/Monotypic).[2] ## Description The little thornbird is 13 to 14 cm (5.1 to 5.5 in) long and weighs about 14 to 16 g (0.49 to 0.56 oz). It is the smallest member of its genus. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a wide dull buff-whitish [supercilium](/source/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 [coverts](/source/Covert_feather) rufescent-tinged brown. Their wings are mostly shades of brown with darker brown [primary coverts](/source/Primaries_(birds)) 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](/source/Maxilla) black to dark gray, their [mandible](/source/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.[6][7] ## Distribution and habitat The little thornbird is found in extreme southern Bolivia's [Santa Cruz Department](/source/Santa_Cruz_Department_(Bolivia)), in western Paraguay, in southwestern Uruguay, and in northern Argentina as far south as [Buenos Aires Province](/source/Buenos_Aires_Province). In addition there is at least one record in extreme southwestern [Rio Grande do Sul](/source/Rio_Grande_do_Sul), Brazil.[6][7][8] It inhabits tropical deciduous forest, [Gran Chaco](/source/Gran_Chaco) woodlands, savannah with scattered trees, and scrublands. In elevation it ranges from near sea level to 2,000 m (6,600 ft).[6][7] ## Behavior ### Movement The little thornbird is a year-round resident throughout its range.[6] ### Feeding The little thornbird feeds on [arthropods](/source/Arthropod). It usually forages in pairs or small groups that may include nest helpers, and occasionally joins [mixed-species feeding flocks](/source/Mixed-species_feeding_flock). It captures prey by gleaning from the ground or from vegetation as high as the forest's mid-storey.[6] ### Breeding The little thornbird breeds in the [austral](/source/South) spring and summer, roughly August to February or beyond. It builds a cone-shaped nest of thorny sticks that can be about 40 cm (1 ft) 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.[6] Songs and calls Listen to little thornbird on xeno-canto ### 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...*".[7] Its call is "a sharp 'chip', often repeated".[6] ## Status The [IUCN](/source/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.[1] It is considered common to uncommon in most of its range and occurs in at least one protected area.[6] ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-IUCN_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-IUCN_1-1) BirdLife International (2018). ["Little Thornbird *Phacellodomus sibilatrix*"](https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22702610/130274607). *[IUCN Red List of Threatened Species](/source/IUCN_Red_List)*. **2018** e.T22702610A130274607. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22702610A130274607.en](https://doi.org/10.2305%2FIUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22702610A130274607.en). Retrieved 20 September 2023. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-IOC13.2_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-IOC13.2_2-1) [Gill, Frank](/source/Frank_Gill_(ornithologist)); Donsker, David; [Rasmussen, Pamela](/source/Pamela_Rasmussen), eds. (July 2023). ["Ovenbirds, woodcreepers"](https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/bow/ovenbirds/). *IOC World Bird List*. v 13.2. Retrieved July 31, 2023. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-SACCcountries_3-0)** 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](https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCCountryLists.htm) retrieved May 31, 2023 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Sclater, Philip (1879). [*Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London*](https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/28521591). Vol. 1879:Mar.-Dec. Zoological Society of London. p. 461. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Smith, Paul (2018). ["The identity of *Sylvia ruficollis* Vieillot, 1817 and Azara's No. 240 'Cola aguda cola de canela obscura' (Aves: Furnariidae)"](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324844510). *Ardea*. **106**: 79–83. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.5253/arde.v106i1.a5](https://doi.org/10.5253%2Farde.v106i1.a5). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [90536313](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:90536313). 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-LITH-BOW_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-LITH-BOW_6-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-LITH-BOW_6-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-LITH-BOW_6-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-LITH-BOW_6-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-LITH-BOW_6-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-LITH-BOW_6-6) [***h***](#cite_ref-LITH-BOW_6-7) 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](https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.littho1.01) retrieved September 20, 2023 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Peña_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Peña_7-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Peña_7-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Peña_7-3) de la Peña, Martín R.; Rumboll, Maurice (2001). *Birds of Southern South America and Antarctica*. Princeton Illustrated Checklists. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. pp. Plate 64. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-691-09035-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-691-09035-1). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** 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. Taxon identifiers Phacellodomus sibilatrix Wikidata: Q1264936 Wikispecies: Phacellodomus sibilatrix Avibase: 01BB9F459559232B BirdLife: 22702610 BOLD: 115736 BOW: littho1 CoL: 4FK5Z eBird: littho1 EoL: 1050151 GBIF: 2485119 iNaturalist: 11620 IRMNG: 10456725 ITIS: 561957 IUCN: 22702610 NCBI: 1094456 Neotropical: littho1 Observation.org: 74603 Open Tree of Life: 138183 Xeno-canto: Phacellodomus-sibilatrix --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Little thornbird](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_thornbird) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_thornbird?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.