Abstract
A nest of Phylloscartes oustaleti (Sclater, 1887), collected in the state of Santa Catarina, southern Brazil, is described as an ovoid structure with a dome-shaped lateral entrance supported laterally by thin twigs of a shrub. Building material was slender plant fiber interwoven with strands of live moss, which was growing also on twigs around the nest, thus serving to camouflage it. Egg cup was lined by silky material, probably seed down. This nest was found on 13 December 2007 when an adult was spotted carrying food to the nest, located 2.3 m above ground on the edge of secondary forest. Only arthropods were identified in the provisioned food, including mainly insects, but also spiders. General features of this nest conform to those of the few other species of the genus whose nests are known. Available records of Oustalet's Tyrannulet nests are consistent with the previously postulated September to December breeding season for the species, although one record of a bird carrying nest material in early August suggests the breeding season may extend earlier. Detailed nest descriptions are needed from a larger number of species before intra- and interspecific variation in nesting can be adequately appreciated in evolutionary or purely taxonomic contexts in this genus.
Highlights
Phylloscartes oustaleti (Sclater, 1887) is a small bird (12 cm, 8 g) endemic to the Atlantic Forest in eastern Brazil, ranging from southern Bahia to eastern Santa Catarina, where it occurs in humid tropical and upper tropical forests, usually foraging with mixed-species flocks in canopy and subcanopy (Fitzpatrick 2004)
In the absence of a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis to allow a proper delimitation of the genus Phylloscartes, it has been treated as consisting of 15–23 species, with different authors including or not species of other related genera (Fitzpatrick 2004, Ridgely & Tudor 2009, Clements et al 2015)
Geographic coordinates taken at nest location, with a GPS receiver, were 26°17'20.8''S; 49°00'37.6''W (Datum WGS 84); elevation was 200 m a.s.l
Summary
Phylloscartes oustaleti (Sclater, 1887) is a small bird (12 cm, 8 g) endemic to the Atlantic Forest in eastern Brazil, ranging from southern Bahia to eastern Santa Catarina, where it occurs in humid tropical and upper tropical forests, usually foraging with mixed-species flocks in canopy and subcanopy (Fitzpatrick 2004). Nest description: the nest was a closed structure, with a dome-shaped lateral entrance situated slightly above the vertical midpoint of the nest opening directly into the nest chamber (Figure 2). We never observed the adult perching on the outside of the nest, either for delivering food or to collect fecal sacs.
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