| Tuftedcheek | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Streaked tuftedcheek (P. boissonneautii) | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Furnariidae |
| Genus: | Pseudocolaptes Reichenbach, 1853 |
| Type species | |
| Anabates auritus Streaked tuftedcheek Tschudi, 1844 | |
| Species | |
P. boissonneautii | |
Thetuftedcheeks are a genus,Pseudocolaptes, ofpasserine birds in theovenbird familyFurnariidae. They are found in the mountains of the tropicalNew World fromCosta Rica toBolivia.
The genusPseudocolaptes was introduced in 1853 by the German naturalistLudwig Reichenbach.[1] The name combines theAncient Greek ψεύδος (pseúdos), meaning "false", and κολάπτης (koláptēs), meaning "chiseller, pecker".[2]George Robert Gray designated thetype species in 1855 asAnabates auritusLichtenstein.[3][4] This taxon is now considered asubspecies of thestreaked tuftedcheek (Pseudocolaptes boissonneautii auritus) withJohann Jakob von Tschudi credited as the authority.[5]
The genus contains three species:[5]
These species are resident breeders in wet mountain forests with manyepiphytes, normally above 1500 m. The female lays one white egg in a thickly lined oldwoodpecker nest or other tree cavity. One parent, probably the female, incubates the single white egg for about 29 days to hatching.
The tuftedcheeks are 20–22 cm long weigh 48 g, and have long brightrufous tails, mainly brown upperparts, and a pale-streaked dark brown cap to the head. The feature that gives the group its English name is the tuft of buff or whitish feathers on each cheek. The throat is the same colour as the tufts.
The tuftedcheeks forage actively amongst mosses, vines,bromeliads and otherepiphytes forinsects,spiders, and even smallamphibians. They will join mixed feeding flocks in the middle levels of the mountain forests.
