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Least Seedsnipe
Thinocorus rumicivorus

DESCRIPTION:
Least Seedsnipe
Agachona de Corbata
Thinocorus rumicivorus
Length: 180mm. Sexes unlike. Male: pale yellow bill with tip and operculum covering nostril brownish grey; iris dark brown; crown, nape and posterior part of neck reddish buff with blackish spots and streaks; forehead, sides of head, sides of neck and upper breast grey; chin white surrounded by black; black extends along the anterior part of neck as if wearing a tie, clearly separating the grey on upper breast from the rest of breast which is pure white; abdomen, lower flanks and undertail coverts pure white; sides of breast and upper flanks buff with blackish brown subterminal and white terminal bands. Back and scapulars reddish buff with blackish and whitish buff patterns imparting grouse-like appearance; uppertail coverts cinnamon buff with blackish and whitish patterns; central rectrices brown spotted whitish, lateral rectrices brown with whitish outer vexillum and terminal band. Lesser wing coverts brown margined whitish buff, median coverts with buff, brown and whitish buff grouse-like patterns, greater wing coverts brown with fine whitish buff margins; primary and secondary remiges greyish brown with whitish terminal band; axillaries blackish brown. Legs yellow.
Female similar to male but differs in coloration of head, neck and upper breast, which are ochraceous with blackish spots and streaks; chin is white sometimes framed by a black collar; remainder similar to male. Similar species: it may be confounded with the Grey- breasted Seedsnipe (Thinocorus orbignyianus), but the Least Seedsnipe is notably smaller and the male has a black “tie” on the breast; many females show a black collar surrounding the chin. Habitat and behaviour: it is found in pairs or small groups, somewhat scattered; confiding and tame, when threatened it ducks remaining quiet and if danger persists, it flies quickly a short distance; more often than not it may be seen perched on shrubs and bushes; although similar in habits to the other seedsnipes, the Least Seedsnipe is the commonest of all. It dwells in the Patagonian steppes, in bogs and close to pools and streams; it also inhabits the high Andean plateaus. The nest is built in a hollow on the ground concealed among stones and tussocks and lined with grasses, leaves and twigs. Eggs: up to four greenish or whitish with dark flecks all over but more deeply coloured on the thick end. Range: distributed along Patagonia from Neuquén and Río Negro to Tierra del Fuego and sporadically reaching Islas Malvinas; in winter it migrates northwards to Buenos Aires, Entre Ríos, south of Santa Fe, Córdoba, Mendoza and further north along the Andes to Bolivia; in Chile it is found from the Chilean Tierra del Fuego to Atacama. Resident populations in the Patagonian steppes from Neuquén to south of Santa Cruz belong to the race Thinocorus rumicivorus rumicivorus; population north of Isla Grande in Tierra del Fuego probably belong to the race Thinocorus rumicivorus bolivianus, the same applies to those that inhabit and move along the Andean region. The specimens sighted and collected in the north of Tierra del Fuego are larger than those found in the continental Patagonian region, the most outstanding features being that females have a black “tie” similar to that of males; however, due to lack of materials and information it cannot be concluded whether these specimens definitively belong to the race Thinocorus rumicivorus bolivianus or to some other morph of this species.
Illustrated Handbook of the Birds of Patagonia
Kindness: Kovacs Family
 
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Photographs: Mariano Diez Peña


Birding Patagonia • Birdwatcing in Bariloche, Patagonia, Argentina and Chile.
All Rights reserved. Reproduction of photographs is forbidden without permission from the authors.
Photographs on the website: Mariano Diez Peña