#thornbird

photograph by Celso de Castro (@celsobirds)

September 20, 2024 - Little Thornbird (Phacellodomus sibilatrix) These birds in the ovenbird family are found in parts of Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay, and possibly Brazil in forests, savannas, and shrublands. Foraging in pairs or small groups and sometimes joining mixed-species flocks, they feed on insects and spiders, picking prey from the ground and low vegetation. They build cone-shaped nests at the ends of branches in small trees from usually thorny sticks and line them with leaves, hair, moss, lichen, snake skin, and other soft materials. Females lay clutches of three or, occasionally, four eggs.

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These ovenbirds are found in open habitats with some trees in parts of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Peru. They eat mostly insects and spiders, usually foraging in small flocks on or near the ground under bushes and other plants or in leaf litter. Pairs often sing duets together, particularly while building their nests and caring for chicks. They build their large stick nests suspended from the ends of branches in isolated trees, sometimes with assistance from other adults. Both parents, along with the helpers, care for the chicks. Outside of the breeding season they often roost in the nests.

These ovenbirds are found in the coastal forests of southeastern Brazil, often near marshes. Usually seen alone or in pairs, they forage in dense vegetation, probably feeding on insects like beetles and wasps. Breeding mainly in spring and summer, they build large stick nests near marshes and other bodies of water.