White-eared Solitaire

Overview

The Entomodestes leucotis is a species of bird in the family Turdidae found in Bolivia and Peru. It is assessed as Least Concern by the IUCN, though its population is believed to be decreasing.

Identification

• Adults measure 22 to 24 cm in length and weigh approximately 58 g, featuring a rich chestnut nape and upperparts with white in the carpal area and black underparts.
• Males possess a large white patch extending from the bill through the ear coverts on an otherwise black head, while females exhibit a browner crown and some brown on the underparts.
• The species has a red to brown iris, a black maxilla, a yellow mandible, and blackish legs and feet.
• The song consists of a single, ringing, even note repeated every 10 to 20 seconds, which sounds more musical in the north and flatter, buzzier, and more nasal in the south.

Habitat

Found on the eastern slope of the Andes from central Amazonas Department in northern Peru south into central Santa Cruz Department in Bolivia. The bird inhabits the interior and edges of humid montane forest and cloudforest, generally ranging from 1,500 to 2,800 m in elevation, though in Peru it is found from 1,200 to 2,900 m.

Diet

It feeds on fruits, insects, and seeds, foraging mostly in the forest's middle strata. The bird sometimes forages in loose groups and joins mixed-species feeding flocks.

Did you know?

The species was originally described in 1844 as Ptilogonys leucotis before being reassigned to the genus Entomodestes by Leonhard Stejneger in 1883.