Rusty-breasted Nunlet Nonnula rubecula Scientific name definitions

The geographically most widespread species of Nonnula, the Rusty-breasted Nunlet is, nonetheless, a rather infrequently seen bird over most of its range, in common with its congenerics. However, like other nunlets, it is generally unobtrusive species that does not sing frequently, and this undoubtedly affects our perceptions of its rarity. The Rusty-breasted Nunlet ranges across much of the northern half of Amazonia, and thereafter reappears in parts of the Atlantic Forest and adjacent biomes in the southeast of the continent. Its plumage is typical of the genus, being largely dull brown above and pale rufous below, with a pale supraloral perhaps the most striking feature, although as many as seven subspecies have been tentatively recognized; these generally differ in minor color changes.

14–16 cm; 17–20 g. Whitish band from nasal tufts joining white eyering; blackish moustachial line, white chin ; plain dark grey-brown upperparts  and sides of head, greyer crown, slightly more rufescent uppertail-coverts and wing-coverts, secondaries edged buffy-rufescent (in E Brazil paler and greyer above, especially crown  , lores rufous; in SE of range, much darker and browner overall, lores also rufous); tail square-tipped, rather graduated, dark brown (warmer brown in SE); throat to lower breast and flanks brown with rufescent tinge, abdomen grading to whitish (in E Brazil bright orange-rufous lower throat to mid-belly  , paler orange flanks, white central belly and vent  , silver-grey undertail); underwing-coverts buffy; bill mainly black; iris brown; feet blackish grey or brown. Immature duller, throat to breast drab pale brown, upperparts faintly edged rufescent, bill dark with pale tip. Races vary in structure and coloration, N races having longer, narrower bill with well-curved tip and paler gonys, shorter tail with contrasting silvery edgings, whereas E Brazilian races have short, broad, straighter bill with darker gonys, longer plain tail, and races N of Amazon with rufescent lores, S of Amazon paler and duller: tapanahoniensis  has prominent dark grey crown, cinnamon-tinged vent; <em>duidae</em> has rufous lores and chin; simulatrix darker-tailed than last, interfluvialis greyer; <em>simplex</em> drab, dark; cineracea paler, warmer brown underparts than last.

Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.

Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Found mainly in midstorey (but from ground level to canopy) of humid terra firme and (vine-bordered) várzea forest, and also second growth and forest edge with or without bamboo; mainly occurs in sandy-belt forest in Venezuela (but not white sand) (3 Hilty, S. L. (2003). Birds of Venezuela. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ); occupies scattered riverine woods in SE Brazil (Paraná). Locally occurs in lowlands up to 1000 m. In upper Amazonia excluded from igapó forest by N. amaurocephala.

Large arthropods reported, including beetles, crabs, stick insects  , katydids (Orthoptera) and insect larvae (4 Kirwan, G. M. (2009). Notes on the breeding ecology and seasonality of some Brazilian birds. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 17(2):121–136. Close ) up to 2·5 cm long. Sometimes briefly follows mixed-species flocks.

Vocalizes mainly around dawn and dusk, when usually affects the canopy (3 Hilty, S. L. (2003). Birds of Venezuela. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Song a mewing series of “weeip, weeip, weeip” notes (up to 20) (3 Hilty, S. L. (2003). Birds of Venezuela. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ) that rise in both pitch and volume (5 Schulenberg, T. S., D. F. Stotz, D. F. Lane, J. P. O’Neill, and T. A. Parker (2007). Birds of Peru. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA. Close ); repeated sharp “tick”; excited squealing in response to playback of N. frontalis.

Immature seen in Nov in lower Amazon and adults feeding two fledged young in early Dec in Minas Gerais (Brazil) (4 Kirwan, G. M. (2009). Notes on the breeding ecology and seasonality of some Brazilian birds. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 17(2):121–136. Close ). Nest in hole in bank or in tree; one of the pair with young was observed to enter arboreal termitarium c. 1·5 m above ground, but unclear if that was nest-site (4 Kirwan, G. M. (2009). Notes on the breeding ecology and seasonality of some Brazilian birds. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 17(2):121–136. Close ). No further details of nest, nor of clutch size or other aspects of breeding biology.

Not globally threatened. Widely reported as being rare, on basis of very low contact rates during fieldwork, but species is probably under-recorded owing to unobtrusive habits. Very few records in Guyana, all of them recent (6 Robbins, M.B., Braun, M.J., Milansky, C.M., Schmidt, B.K., Prince, W., Rice, N.H., Finch, D.W. and O’Shea; B.J. (2007). Avifauna of the upper Essequibo river and Acary mountains, Southern Guyana. Orn. Neotropical 18(3): 339-368. Close ), but fairly common in S Venezuela around Junglaven (3 Hilty, S. L. (2003). Birds of Venezuela. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Rare around Manaus and over much of Amazonia, but much more numerous in SE Brazil, where, for example, rather common in dry gallery forests in N Minas Gerais (4 Kirwan, G. M. (2009). Notes on the breeding ecology and seasonality of some Brazilian birds. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 17(2):121–136. Close ) and variably rare to common in Paraná, although much less common in adjacent Santa Catarina (7 Piacentini, V.Q., Ghizoni, I.R., Azevedo, M.A.G. and Kirwan, G.M. (2006). Sobre a distribuição de aves em Santa Catarina, Brasil, parte 1: registros relevantes para o estado ou inéditos para a Ilha de Santa Catarina. Cotinga 26: 25-31. In Portuguese. Close ), and range only recently extended to N Rio Grande do Sul (8 Meller, D.A., Barcellos dos Santos, M.F., Luz Soares, M. and Saviczki, A. (2011). O macuru Nonnula rubecula (Galbuliformes: Bucconidae) no Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Atualidades Orn.. 159: 22. Close ). Generally rare in Peru. Not uncommon around Sapucay, in Paraguay; occurs in several protected areas in that country, including Reserva Natural del Bosque Mbaracayú, La Golondrina Private Nature Reserve and Estancia Itabó Private Nature Reserve. Scarce in Argentina, occurs in Iguazú National Park. Only recently recorded in Ecuador, during 1990s, where occurs in Cuyabeno Reserve.