Great Xenops

Overview

The great xenops (Megaxenops parnaguae) is a bird in the ovenbird family Furnariidae that is endemic to eastern Brazil. It is the only member of its genus and is currently listed as Least Concern by the IUCN.

Identification

• Measures 15 to 16 cm in length with a heavy, wedge-shaped, slightly upturned bill.
• Features a light orange-rufous face with blackish markings around the eye, a pale cinnamon-buff forehead, and unmarked bright rufous upperparts.
• Underparts are mostly light orange-rufous with white throat and malar areas; legs and feet are dark gray to black.
• Produces a long, very high, loud, and nervous song consisting of chattering or liquid 'toc-toc-' and 'Wic-wic' notes that rise and fall with sudden crescendos.

Habitat

Found in a diagonal band across eastern Brazil from Piauí and Ceará southwest through Tocantins and Bahia into Minas Gerais and Goiás. It inhabits the caatinga ecoregion as well as semi-humid woodlands and forests within it, ranging in elevation from 200 to 1,100 m.

Diet

Feeds on adult and larval arthropods, including various insects and spiders. It forages alone, in pairs, or in mixed-species feeding flocks, working along branches and searching live and dead leaves and bark, sometimes pulling or prying off bark without using its tail for support.

Did you know?

The great xenops is the only member of its genus and is only very distantly related to other xenops, instead being sister to two species of genus Philydor. It demonstrates resilience by tolerating a certain degree of habitat degradation, including disturbance, heavy grazing, and burnt areas.