Chestnut-throated huet-huet

The chestnut-throated huet-huet (Pteroptochos castaneus) is a large passerine bird of the family Rhinocryptidae. At an average mass of 165 grams (5.8 oz), it is, with the related black-throated huet-huet, the largest rhinocryptid and the third-heaviest tracheophone suboscine behind the giant and great antpittas.[2] It is a stockily-built bird, averaging 23 centimetres (9.1 in) in length[2] with a predominantly dark brown plumage except for a dark red throat and a pale buff bar on its wind – lacking in the Black-Throated species. For many decades intense debate existed as to whether these two were one species or two,[3] but molecular studies in the 1990s demonstrated that the two species had been separated since before the Patagonian Ice Sheet first formed in southern Chile.[4]

Chestnut-throated huet-huet

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Rhinocryptidae
Genus: Pteroptochos
Species:
P. castaneus
Binomial name
Pteroptochos castaneus
Philippi & Landbeck, 1864

The species is found in temperate forest of Nothofagus species and Austrocedrus chilensis[5] on the humid fringe of the Mediterranean climate zone of Chile, chiefly in Biobío, Maule and parts of O'Higgins Regions, and also in a small adjacent area of Neuquén Province in Argentina.

The species sometimes occurs in exotic Pinus radiata plantations, but only if there is a dense understory of shrubs, as it cannot move across habitat without dense understory as shown by a study of the fragmented Maulino forest.[6] The Chestnut-Throated Huet-Huet feeds on insects and their larvae, and also a substantial number of seeds and fruit,[7] which it digs for in the forest floor with its long claws. It may be important in the dispersal of certain forest plants.[8]

Breeding occurs in spring between September and December, but the burrows ordinarily used to nest are dug during the winter rainy season when the soil is loosest.[3] The burrows can be as much as 3 metres (9.8 ft) deep and contain two oval white eggs, which are very large for the bird's size, typically averaging 35.6 millimetres (1.4 in) long and 27.9 millimetres (1.1 in) wide with a mass of 14 grams (0.5 oz). It is believed both sexes incubate the eggs (as is usual for tracheophone suboscines), but the incubation period is not documented.

The huet-huets are well known for their vocalisations, and the song of the chestnut-throated huet-huet is a series of resonant “hoots”[9] that unlike its more southerly counterpart, is typically given as a duet between pairs.[2] The song is higher, softer and faster than the black-throated species,[9] and the call is a “wehk, wehk, wehk” given in alarm.

References
  1. BirdLife International (2012). "Pteroptochos castaneus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  2. del hoyo, Joseph; Elliott, Andrew and Christie, David; Handbook of the Birds of the World: Volume 8 – Broadbills to Tapaculos; p. 765. ISBN 9788487334504
  3. Johnson, Alfredo William; The Birds of Chile and Adjacent Regions of Argentina, Peru and Bolivia (volune II), pp. 201-210.
  4. Chesser, R. Terry; ‘Molecular Systematics of the Rhinocryptid Genus Pteroptochos’; The Condor, vol. 101, no. 2 (May 1999); pp. 439-446
  5. Meynard, Christine N.; Howell, Christine A. and Quinn, James F.; ‘Comparing alternative systematic conservation planning strategies against a politically driven conservation plan’; Biodiversity conservation, 18 (2009); pp. 3061-3083
  6. Vergara, Pablo M.; Simonetti, Javier A. (2006). "Abundance and movement of understory birds in a Maulino forest fragmented by pine plantations" (PDF). Biodiversity & Conservation. 15 (12): 3937–3947.
  7. Correa Rueda, Alejandro and Figueroa, Javier A.; ‘Observaciones de agresividad y territorialidad entre especies de Rhinocryptidae en un fragmento de bosque templado húmedo del sur de Chile’ (‘Observations of aggressiveness and territoriality among species of Rhinocryptidae in a rain forest fragment in Southern Chile’); Ornithologia Neotropical, 14 (2003); pp. 121-125
  8. del Hoyo, Elliott and Christie; Handbook of the Birds of the World (volume 8); p. 758
  9. Howell, Steve N.G. and Webb, Sophie; ‘Species status of the chestnut-throated huet-huet Pteroptochus castaneus’; Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club, vol. 115 (1995), pp. 171-177
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