The Alagoas foliage-gleaner (''Philydor novaesi'') is an extinct
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 generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...
in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Furnariidae. It was
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to Brazil.
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Taxonomy and systematics
The Alagoas foliage-gleaner was first collected in 1979 at Murici in Alagoas
Alagoas () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco (N and NW); Sergipe (S); Bahia (SW); and the Atlantic Ocean (E). Its capital is ...
and was formally described in 1983. Based on its morphology
Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to:
Disciplines
*Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts
*Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...
and observed behavior it was placed in genus ''Philydor''. It and the very similar black-capped foliage-gleaner (''P. atricapillus'') are treated as a superspecies
In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...
.[Teixeira, D. M., and L. P. Gonzaga (1983). Um novo Furnariidae do nordeste do Brasil: ''Philydor novaesi'' sp. nov. (Aves, Passeriformes). Boletim do Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Série Zoologia 124:1–22.]
The Alagoas foliage-gleaner's specific epithet
In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...
commemorates the Brazilian ornithologist Fernando da Costa Novaes.[Sharpe, C. J., C. O. Gussoni, J. V. Remsen, Jr., and G. M. Kirwan (2022). Alagoas Foliage-gleaner (''Philydor novaesi''), version 2.0. In Birds of the World (B. K. Keeney, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.alfgle1.02 retrieved August 28, 2023]
Observational history
The Alagoas foliage-gleaner was discovered in 1979 in Murici, Alagoas. Between then and 2009 at least five further sightings came from that site; one was of four individuals and the others of one each. In 2003 up to four were seen at a second site, the private preserve RPPN Frei Caneca in Pernambuco
Pernambuco ( , , ) is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.5 million people as of 2024, it is the List of Brazilian states by population, ...
, about north of Murici. There was one undocumented sighting at a private preserve adjoining Frei Caneca in 2004. Sightings, some accompanied by photographs and sound recordings, continued at Frei Caneca until 2011. The last documented sighting of the species was there on September 13, 2011, when the bird was video recorded. The last apparent sighting was also at Frei Caneca, in April 2012, but it was not documented.[
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Description
The Alagoas foliage-gleaner's dimensions and weights were recorded from three male and one female specimens, all adults. The four ranged from long. The males weighed and the female . The species' plumage was described from the specimens, photographs, and sight records. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a pale buff eyering and supercilium
The supercilium is a plumage feature found on the heads of some bird species. It is a stripe which runs from the base of the bird's beak above its eye, finishing somewhere towards the rear of the bird's head.Dunn and Alderfer (2006), p. 10 Also k ...
, a blackish-brown band behind the eye, dull buffy rufous lores, and pale buff ear coverts
A covert feather or tectrix on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts (or ''tectrices''), which cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail.
Ear coverts
The ear coverts are small feathers behind t ...
with a blackish-brown band below them. Their crown is dark brown with faint spots on the forehead and faint streaks in its center. Their back is dull rufous-brown, their rump slightly more rufous, and their uppertail coverts an even brighter rufous. Their tail is bright rufous. Their wings are dark rufous-brown with darker coverts and dark