The lesser greenlet (''Pachysylvia decurtata'') is a small

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by th ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

in the

vireo The vireos make up a family, Vireonidae, of small to medium-sized passerine birds found in the New World (Canada to Argentina, including Bermuda and the West Indies) and Southeast Asia. "Vireo" is a Latin word referring to a green migratory bir ...

family. It breeds from northeastern

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

south to western

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar language, Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechuan ...

. This is a common species of lowlands and foothills up to altitude, where it inhabits forest canopy and edges, and the crowns of trees in tall second growth or semi-open areas. The nest is a deep cup of dead leaves and spiderwebs attached by the rim to branches high in a tree. The normal clutch is two brown-marked white eggs. The adult lesser greenlet is in length and weighs . It has olive-green upperparts and a pale grey head with a white eye ring. The underparts are white with a yellow tinge to the breast and some olive on the flanks. Young birds are duller and brown above, and have a buff tone to the sides of the head and the breast. There are two races. Nominate ''H. d. decurtatus'' which breeds from central

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

southwards has a green crown to the head, and grey-crowned ''H. d. minor'' occupies the northern part of the bird's range. The latter subspecies was formerly given species status as the Grey-crowned Greenlet (''H. minor'') but the two forms interbreed extensively in central Panama and are now considered to be conspecific. Lesser greenlets feed on

spider Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species d ...

s and

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s gleaned from tree foliage, They also eat small fruits and seeds. They will join

mixed-species feeding flock A mixed-species feeding flock, also termed a mixed-species foraging flock, mixed hunting party or informally bird wave, is a flock of usually insectivorous birds of different species that join each other and move together while foraging. These are ...

s, and often accompany

gnatcatcher The Gnatcatchers are a family of small passerine birds called Polioptilidae. The 21 species occur in North and South America (except for the far south and the high Andean regions). Most species of this mainly tropical and subtropical group are r ...

warblers Various Passeriformes (perching birds) are commonly referred to as warblers. They are not necessarily closely related to one another, but share some characteristics, such as being fairly small, vocal, and insectivorous. Sylvioid warblers T ...

and honeycreepers. The lesser greenlet has a nasal ' call and the song is a whistled ', slower and more melodious than that of the yellow-green vireo.

References

External links

* * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q2667725 lesser greenlet Birds of Central America Birds of the Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena lesser greenlet lesser greenlet

References

Further reading

External links