Cotinga 36 Short Communications

A Wing-barred Piprites griseiceps is unknown3. Only the faint yellow wash to the vent and Piprites chloris nest in Mato nest of Black-capped Piprites P. throat5. The unique combination Grosso, Brazil pileata has been fully described; a of bill shape, wingbars, big eyes Wing-barred Piprites Piprites sphere of moss supported by the and large-headed appearance 1 chloris is the most widespread fork of a trunk . eliminated any superficially member of its genus, ranging We describe a Wing-barred similar Tyrannidae species. The discontinuously from Colombia Piprites nest under construction in presumed resident subspecies P. c. to north-east Argentina2,3,7. The the Rio Cristalino Private Natural grisescens is overall greyish with genus has previously been included Heritage Preserve (09°41’S the least amount of yellow on the 2 in the (Pipridae)8,9 but 55°54’W), 40 km north-east of Alta underparts . We followed the is currently classified as incertae Floresta, Mato Grosso, Brazil. as it flew to a shallow cavity in a sedis by SACC6, whereas it is The species is fairly common to tree trunk, where it deposited the included in the tyrant flycatchers uncommon in tall terra firme forest material, and sat on it briefly as if (Tyrannidae) by Tello et al.10 and in the reserve, and often joins shaping a nest cup. The bird was the IOC2. Recently, Ohlson et al.4 mixed-species flocks. While easily clearly visible the entire time it proposed family rank (Pipritidae) detected by voice, it is infrequently was in the cavity. It then flew off, for this genus. seen and tends to remain in the disappearing from view and we Wing-barred Piprites and its upper subcanopy, where it often made no further observations that two congeners represent some of remains still when vocalising day. During the entire observation the least known of Neotropical (pers. obs.). we saw just one individual. . Data on natural history During mid morning of 25 May Some moss was visible at the and breeding ecology can aid in 2013, along a trail skirting a entrance to the cavity and we resolving taxonomic uncertainties. treefall gap in terra firme forest on photographed the nest site. We Details of the nesting of P. the east bank of the rio Cristalino, made no further observations of chloris are essentially unknown, while observing a mixed-species the bird during subsequent visits despite a reference to a nest ‘in flock, we spotted a Wing-barred to the nest on 26, 30, 31 May and a cavity, with no suspended nest Piprites perched on a horizontal 3 and 7 June. By 30 May, the structure’7, which reference lacks branch c.7 m above ground. The structure had been significantly a primary source1,3. In contrast, bird was carrying nesting material enlarged, with a mossy cup clearly a nest reported from south-east and remained motionless long visible in the cavity (Fig. 1), but a Brazil was described as an open enough to permit observation check of the nest’s contents on 31 cup supported by a narrow branch through a 32 × 60 telescope. May revealed it to be empty. The below a bank3. Thus, the precise We confirmed the identification structure appeared undisturbed nest structure is controversial. based on the bird’s small size, two during a check through a telescope The nest of the closely related, but prominent wingbars, short tail, on 3 June, but on 7 June, when allopatric, Grey-headed Piprites P. stubby bill, distinct eye-ring, and climbing the tree again, we found the nest destroyed with all of the material pulled from the hollow and some moss on nearby branches. During the following days we heard the species singing in the vicinity, but made no further direct observations. The nest was placed c.7 m above ground in the shallow cavity of an Aspidosperma carapanauba, a fairly common and widespread tree in the study area. The irregularly shaped boles of A. carapanauba trees provide many small cavities. The nest consisted of moss shaped into a cup and placed solidly on the floor of the cavity, not suspended, filling the entire hole. The cavity had a vertical depth of c.12 cm and horizontal depth of 7 cm. A large proportion of the nest was visible at the entrance, which measured 4 cm wide × 20 cm tall. Figure 1. Wing-barred Piprites Piprites chloris nest, possibly still under construction, The nest had a total depth of 15 in a cavity formed by the irregularly shaped bole of an Aspidosperma carapanauba, cm with the cup measuring 5 cm Cristalino Jungle Lodge, Mato Grosso, Brazil, 3 June 2013 (Stephan Lorenz) deep and 4 cm wide. The material

67 Cotinga 36 Short Communications appeared to consist exclusively of Acknowledgements edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline. moss with no discernible lining, We are grateful to Vitoria da Riva html (accessed 1 September indicating that the nest may still Carvalho for continued support 2013). have been under construction on of scientific work at Cristalino 7. Snow, D. W. (2004) Family 31 May. It is possible that the bird Jungle Lodge. We also thank Pipridae (manakins). In: was in the process of constructing Terry Reis and Claudia Cavazos del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. a spherical nest, similar to that for support in the field and Alex & Christie, D. A. (eds.) of Black-capped Piprites1. After da Riva Carvalho and the staff Handbook of the birds of the the nest had been destroyed, at Cristalino Jungle Lodge for world, 9. Barcelona: Lynx presumably by a predator or their assistance. Comments by Edicions. competitor, all of the material had K. Cockle greatly improved this 8. Snow, D. W. (1979) Family been removed from the cavity. We manuscript. Pipridae. In: Traylor, M. A. are unsure if eggs were present (ed.) Check-list of the birds at the time it was destroyed or References of the world, 8. Cambridge, whether an incubating bird would 1. Cockle, K., Maders, C., Di MA: Museum of Comparative have been visible from the ground Santo, G. & Bodrati, A. Zoology, Harvard University on 3 June. We speculate that (2008) The Black-capped Press. a predator discovered the eggs Piprites Piprites pileata 9. Stotz, D. F., Fitzpatrick, J. W., immediately after they had been builds a spherical moss nest. Parker, T. A. & Moskovits, D. laid or pulled the nest material Cotinga 29: 166–168. K. (1996) Neotropical birds: from the cavity searching for eggs. 2. Gill, F. & Donsker, D. (eds.) ecology and conservation. We encourage future field (2013) IOC world bird Chicago: University of workers to search for Wing-barred list (version 3.4). www. Chicago Press. Piprites nests and gather worldbirdnames.org 10. Tello, J. G., Moyle, R. G., additional data on natural history (accessed 1 September 2013). Marchese, D. J. & Cracraft, and breeding behaviour. Our 3. Kirwan, G. M. & Green, J. (2009) Phylogeny and observation provides further G. (2012) Cotingas and phylogenetic classification clues into nest construction and manakins. Princeton, NJ: of the tyrant flycatchers, placement, and may direct future Princeton University Press. cotingas, manakins and their work concerning possible nest 4. Ohlson J. I., Irestedt, M., allies (Aves: ). location and phenology. Our Ericson, P. G. P. & Fjeldså, Cladistics 25: 429–467. observation supports the reference J. (2013) Phylogeny and to the species nesting in a cavity7, classification of the New Stephan Lorenz but contrasts with the description World suboscines (Aves, San Jacinto College, 5800 Uvalde of an open cup on a branch3. In Passeriformes). Zootaxa Road, Houston, TX 77049, USA. addition, placement in a cavity 3613: 1–35. E-mail: [email protected]. differs from the only known Black- 5. van Perlo, B. (2009) Birds of Joelson T. Toldeo capped Piprites nest, a loosely Brazil. New York: Oxford Cristalino Jungle Lodge, Av. constructed sphere of moss in University Press. Perimetral Oeste, 2001, Alta a tree fork 1. Piprites may be 6. Remsen, J. V., Cadena, C. D., Floresta, MT, Brazil. flexible in terms of nest site and Jaramillo, A., Nores, M., Pacheco, J. F., Pérez-Emán, construction, making it of interest Received 4 September 2013; final J., Robbins, M. B., Stiles F. to locate additional nests of all revision accepted 21 December G., Stotz, D. F. & Zimmer three species. 2013; published online 10 March K. J. (2013) A classification 2014 of the bird species of South America. www.museum.lsu.

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