Sira barbet | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Piciformes |
Family: | Capitonidae |
Genus: | Capito |
Species: | C. fitzpatricki
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Binomial name | |
Capito fitzpatricki Seeholzer, Winger, Harvey, Cáceres A & Weckstein, 2012[2]
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● collection localities | |
Synonyms | |
Capito wallacei fitzpatricki |
The Sira barbet (Capito fitzpatricki) is a bird in the family Capitonidae, the New World barbets. It is endemic to the Cerros del Sira of east-central Peru.[2]
The Sira barbet was discovered in 2008 and formally described in 2012.[2][3] The International Ornithological Committee (IOC) has accepted it as a valid species.[4] However, the South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society (AOS) and the Clements taxonomy list it as a subspecies of scarlet-banded barbet (Capito wallacei).[5][6] The Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Birds of the World acknowledges that the "Sira" form is significantly different from the nominate and suggests that it be accorded species rank.[7]
The bird's epithet commemorates John W. Fitzpatrick, an expert for the Peruan avifauna and director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.[2]
The Sira barbet is approximately 19.5 to 20 cm (7.7 to 7.9 in) long and weighs 70 to 79 g (2.5 to 2.8 oz). The adult male's crown and nape are crimson. It has a band of white, fairly wide at the shoulders tapering to the tail; the rest of the upperparts are black. It has a broad white supercilium and a black "mask". The rest of its face, throat, neck, and upper chest are white. A broad crimson band crosses the chest and extends along the flanks where it meets a variable amount of black or gray. The rest of the underparts are white. The female's plumage has minor differences from the male's.[7] The Sira barbet is distinguished from the scarlet-banded barbet by differences in morphology and plumage, particularly the color on the bird's flanks, lower back and thighs, and it has a wider, darker scarlet breast band.[2] DNA sequencing was also used to confirm the Sira barbet's status as a distinct species.[3]
The Sira barbet is found only on the eastern slope of the southern Cerros del Sira, Ucayali Department, Peru. Eight specimens were collected from the upper Río Shinipo 10°31′48″S 74°07′12″W / 10.53000°S 74.12000°W and Río Tzipani valleys 10°41′24″S 74°05′56″W / 10.69000°S 74.09889°W, and a further two at Quebrada Quirapokiari 10°25′12″S 74°09′00″W / 10.42000°S 74.15000°W in July 2011.[2] Its range is sympatric and syntopic with that of the gilded barbet, and coincides with the boundary and sections of the Sira Communal Reserve.[2]
It primarily inhabits the highest stratum of tall (up to 30 m (98 ft)) montane forest with arboreal epiphytes and moss above a sparsely vegetated understory. It is also found in shorter forest with a thicker understory. In elevation it ranges as high as 1,700 m (5,600 ft) but is mostly found between 950 and 1,250 m (3,120 and 4,100 ft).[2][7]
The Sira barbet forages in the forest canopy and subcanopy. It was observed in pairs, small groups of the same species, and in mixed-species foraging flocks. It feeds primarily on fruits and takes small numbers of insects as well.[2][7]
No information has been published.
The Sira barbet has a low-pitched purred song. More commonly it emits a Tityra-like grunt. It also makes quiet low-pitched groans and clucks from roost cavities.[2]
The IUCN has assessed the Sira barbet as Near Threatened. "This species has a very small known range, within which the population is thought to be small...[but] is not thought to be under any immediate threat".[1]