Ash-throated Casiornis Casiornis fuscus Scientific name definitions

Endemic to northeastern Brazil, the Ash-throated Casiornis is best distinguished from its congeneric the Rufous Casiornis (Casiornis rufus), with which there is some direct geographical overlap, by the overall less rufous upperparts, with obviously dark-centred wing coverts and a sandy-brown back. Virtually nothing has been published concerning the species’ ecology to date, although at least in the non-breeding season the Ash-throated Casiornis appears to join mixed-species flocks in the middle strata of dry deciduous and semi-deciduous forests, but it is also known from evergreen forests in Amazonia. The species is distributed from northern Minas Gerais to southern Pará, in the lower Amazon. Its status in the latter region is particularly poorly known, and some authors have speculated that the Ash-throated Casiornis is only a visitor in the austral winter to Amazonia.

NE Brazil S of Amazon, from lower R Tapajós E locally to Belém area and to Paraíba and Pernambuco, and S to NE Mato Grosso (upper R Xingu drainage), N Goiás and NW Minas Gerais.

Partial migrant: during the dry season, Apr–Oct, there is a marked westward expansion from the the semi-desert Caatinga biome and adjacent ecotones to Amazonia and the Cerrado biomes (1 Lees, A.C. (2016). Evidence for longitudinal migration by a ‘sedentary’ Brazilian flycatcher, the Ash-throated Casiornis. Journal of Ornithology. 87(3): 251–259. Close ).

Song is unknown. Call is a short, decisive "tsip!", repeated at intervals.

Virtually no published information, but an active nest was found in Jan in Piauí (2 Olmos, F., and C. Albano (2012). As aves da região do Parque Nacional Serra da Capivara (Piauí, Brasil). Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 20(3):173–187. Close ).

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Uncommon to locally fairly common. Not well known. Both caatinga and wooded cerrado subject to increasing human pressure, especially since roads were built in NE Brazil 30 years ago; these habitats are increasingly used for timber and cattle grazing, and are converted for agriculture and tree plantations; uncontrolled fires a problem. Recorded in Cavernas do Peruaçu National Park, in Minas Gerais, and Serra da Capivara National Park, in Piauí (2 Olmos, F., and C. Albano (2012). As aves da região do Parque Nacional Serra da Capivara (Piauí, Brasil). Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 20(3):173–187. Close ).