Grey-cheeked Nunlet

Overview

The grey-cheeked nunlet (Nonnula frontalis) is a species of near-passerine bird in the family Bucconidae. It is currently assessed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN, with a population estimated to be fewer than 50,000 mature individuals that is decreasing.

Identification

• Measuring 14 to 15 cm in length and weighing 14.5 to 19.5 g, it features a very dark chestnut crown and plain brown upperparts that are lighter on the rump.
• The face is mostly grey with a distinctive ring of bare red skin around the dark brown eye, while the tail is dark brown and nearly black near the tip.
• The chin, throat, breast, and flanks are rufous, and the belly is buffy; the bill is mostly blue-grey and the feet are dull brown or greenish-grey.
• Its song is described as a plaintive, measured series of up to 20 notes, sounding like 'weeip weeip, weeip...'

Habitat

Found in central Panama and north-central Colombia, the species inhabits moist to humid primary and secondary forest, gallery forest, and thickets, with a particular preference for woodlands along rivers. It usually forages in the lower levels of the forest but can be found up to the subcanopy, ranging in elevation from sea level to 1,000 m.

Diet

Although its feeding behaviour has not been fully documented, the grey-cheeked nunlet has been observed taking a variety of arthropod prey. It sometimes joins mixed-species foraging flocks to feed.

Did you know?

The grey-cheeked nunlet forms a superspecies with the rufous-capped nunlet and the chestnut-headed nunlet, and has been suggested to be conspecific with the rufous-capped nunlet as well as the brown nunlet.