Scrub greenlet
| Scrub greenlet | |
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| Species: | H. flavipes
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| Binomial name | |
| Hylophilus flavipes (Lafresnaye, 1845)
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The scrub greenlet or scrub vireo, (Hylophilus flavipes) is a small passerine bird in the vireo family. It breeds in Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela and Tobago.
It is a bird of forest edges and savanna which builds a deep cup nest suspended from a tree branch. The typical clutch is three white eggs, which are marked with brown.
The adult scrub greenlet is 11.5 cm long and weighs 13 g. It is mainly green on the upperparts, with brighter wings and rump, and an olive-brown head with very weak supercilium and yellowish eyering. The underparts are yellow, the bill is mainly dark and the legs are pale. The call is a long series of notes, weary-weary-weary-weary, interspersed with churrs and squeaks.
The race H. f. insularis is a large, strong-billed form with a brown iris endemic to Tobago. Other races differ in underpart tone.
Scrub greenlets feed on insects and spiders taken from the upper and middle levels of tree foliage. They also eat berries, especially before migration.
References
- ffrench, Richard (1991). A Guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago (2nd ed.). Comstock Publishing. ISBN 0-8014-9792-2.
- Hilty, Steven L (2003). Birds of Venezuela. London: Christopher Helm. ISBN 0-7136-6418-5.
- A guide to the birds of Costa Rica by Stiles and Skutch ISBN 0-8014-9600-4