Phacellodomus maculipectus
The Spot-breasted Thornbird (Phacellodomus maculipectus) is a medium-sized passerine, typically measuring 17-18 cm in length and weighing around 20-30 grams. Its plumage features rufous-brown upperparts, a distinct rufous crown, and a contrasting whitish throat. The underparts are buffy, heavily streaked and spotted with dark brown on the breast, giving the species its evocative name, while its pale iris provides a striking facial characteristic. As a member of the Furnariidae family, known a...
This species primarily inhabits subtropical and tropical moist lowland forests, dry forests, gallery forests, and scrubland, often found along forest edges and in savanna-like regions, typically from sea level up to 1500 meters.
The Spot-breasted Thornbird is primarily insectivorous, feeding on a variety of insects and other arthropods, which it gleans from foliage and branches.
Spot-breasted Thornbirds are diurnal birds, active from dawn to dusk, often foraging in pairs or small family groups. Their foraging strategy involves actively gleaning insects and other arthropods from foliage and branches, often moving swiftly through the undergrowth and lower canopy. They are ...
The Spot-breasted Thornbird is a resident species primarily found in central and eastern South America. Its breeding and year-round range encompasses southern Brazil, extending through states such as Mato Grosso do Sul, São Paulo, Paraná, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul. It is also widely d...
Least Concern
- The Spot-breasted Thornbird belongs to the ovenbird family (Furnariidae), renowned for their diverse and often complex nest structures, though it builds a hanging stick nest, not a 'mud oven'. - Its common name, 'thornbird', is derived from its habit of building large, thorny stick nests, which...