#greytail

Equatorial Greytail by Tony Castro, CC BY-SA 4.0 

Etymology: Strange Creeper

First Described By: Berlepsch, 1886

Classification: Dinosauromorpha, Dinosauriformes, Dracohors, Dinosauria, Saurischia, Eusaurischia, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoromorpha, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostaylia, Ornithothoraces, Euornithes, Ornithuromorpha, Ornithurae, Neornithes, Neognathae, Neoaves, Inopinaves, Telluraves, Australaves, Eufalconimorphae, Psittacopasserae, Passeriformes, Eupasseres, Tyranni, Tyrannides, Furnariida, Furnariidae, Synallaxini

Referred Species: X. singularis (Equatorial Greytail), X. minlosi (Double-Banded Greytail)

Status: Extant, Near Threatened - Least Concern

Time and Place: Within the last 10,000 years, in the Holocene of the Quaternary 

The Greytails are known from the western coast of northern South America 

Physical Description: The Greytails are a pair of small, round birds, with grey backs, wings, and tails - as the name would suggest. They have differently colored heads, based on the species. Their stomachs and necks are white in color, and they have medium-length, sharp beaks. They are small birds, ranging in size from 11 to 12 centimeters.

Diet: These birds mainly feed on insects and other arthropods.

Behavior: The Greytails usually forages in small groups - either limited mixed-species flocks, in mated pairs, or alone. They forage from the mid-storey of the forest to the canopy, usually in dense foliage. They employ extensive acrobatic movement to reach food, hanging from trees and vines to reach their prey from the undersides of twigs, leaves, and flowers. They will even creep around to find sources of food.

These birds do not migrate, but stay near the location of their birth for most of their lives. They usually build nests in January, or at least around then, made out of a lot of sticks into a large, inverted light bulb. They’re suspended above the ground in a branch of a tree, and both parents take care of the nest, though one usually builds more of it than the other. These birds make dry, trilling calls, almost like those of insects - tsit-tsit-tsit-tsit, on repeat. They can also make very rapid trills that increase in volume. 

Double-Banded Greytail by John Gerrard Keulemans, in the Public Domain

Ecosystem: These birds live in tropical evergreen forests, especially dense growth humid forests.

Other: Neither of these species are considerably endangered; the Equatorial Greytail is just limited in its range and thus might be overlooked in its population stability.

Species Differences: The Double-Banded Greytail has a completely white belly, a black head, and a white stripe across the eye; it also lives in Panama and the surrounding areas. The Equatorial Greytail has a grey head and a white stripe, but orange coloration at the front with some orange splotching on the beak. This bird has grey stripes across its belly, and lives in Ecuador and Peru. The Equatorial Greytail lives at higher elevations, while the Double-Banded Greytail lives in lower elevations.

~ By Meig Dickson

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