The grey-tailed piha (''Snowornis subalaris'') is a species of

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 family Cotingidae. It is found in

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

and

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

where its natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

is subtropical or tropical moist

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

Description

The grey-tailed piha grows to a length of about . Both sexes have a dull grey head with a narrow, pale yellow ring of bare skin surrounding the eye. The upper parts are olive-green with a greyish rump and a plain grey tail. The underparts are pale olive green with lighter streaks and a pale grey belly. The underwing coverts are pale yellow. This bird could be confused with the olivaceous piha (''Snowornis cryptolophus''), but it has a yellower belly and an olive rather than a grey tail.

Distribution and habitat

The grey-tailed piha occurs on the eastern slope of the Andes range, in southern Colombia, Ecuador and Peru at altitudes between about . It is generally a rare or uncommon bird and is found in the middle and lower parts of the canopy. It is an elusive bird, remaining still for long periods and blending in with the branches. It is usually solitary, but may occasionally join a mixed species foraging group. It feeds mainly on insects, but may also consume fruits, sometimes flying out from its perch, where it sits unmoving for long periods, to catch an insect in the air or hover to glean insects from foliage.

Status

Because of current and future deforestation in the Amazon Basin, the population is expected to decline by 25-30% over the next three generations, causing this species to be listed as

near threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as that may be vulnerable to Endangered species, endangerment in the ne ...

.http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=4494
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References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1921529 grey-tailed piha grey-tailed piha grey-tailed piha Taxonomy articles created by Polbot