Black-throated huet-huet

Pteroptochos tarnii

Photo by Jose Cañas (Flickr)

Common name:
black-throated huet-huet (en); huet-huet-de-garganta-preta (pt); tourco huet-huet (fr); hued-hued del sur (es); schwarzkehl-bürzelstelzer (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Rhinocryptidae

Range:
This species is found in Chile, from the Bío-Bío river down to Magallanes, and also in Andean slopes of western Argentina down to Patagonia.

Size:
These birds are 24-25 cm long and weigh 122-145 g.

Habitat:
The black-throated huet-huet is mostly found in moist temperate forests, particularly dense Notofagus dominated forests, but also in secondary forests and forest edges, scrublands, plantations, pastures and arable land. It is found from sea level up to an altitude of 1.500 m.

Diet:
They feed mostly on small insects and other invertebrates, but also some berries and seeds.

Breeding:
Black-throated huet-huets breed in September-February. The nest is an open cup made of soft grasses, which can be placed at the end of a burrow dug into a bank, under the roots of a fallen tree, or occasionally high up in a hollow tree. There the female lays 2 eggs which are incubated for 22 days. The chicks fledge 21 days after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a large breeding range and is described as fairly common. The population trend for this species cannot be determined based on the available information.