Common Emeraldine
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For more information about emeraldines, see this post.
Common Emeraldine, Barbalaetus
cantor L 19-22 cm, WS 30 cm, Family:
Barbalaetidae
IUCN Conservation Status: Least concern (LC)
Description:
Medium
sized songbird with long tail and plump body and strong legs. Dull brown
upperparts, with slate gray shoulders, wings, and tail, and lighter gray
undersides. Slight whitish edging on wing feathers. Distinctive bright
iridescent green “beard” of throat feathers, unique to the emeraldine group,
present only in males. Females lack green beard, undersides faintly streaked,
juveniles like females but juvenile males will grow beard in patches. Very
similar in appearance to other emeraldines; gray cheeks and shoulders and white
eye-ring distinguish it from others in the group, especially in females.
Voice:
Frequent
singers, Common Emeraldines sing throughout the day. Song is a series of 3-4 buzzy
trills raising in pitch followed by a short, falling warble. Most common call
is a short, sharp tik. Females give a soft peep during breeding
and incubation, and males have a “dance call” given only during courtship which
is a short rattle.
Range and Habitat:
Common
throughout its range, found throughout most of Novasola except the grassland
interior, alpine zones, and Francis Islands. Prefers forest ecosystems with
tall canopy and dense understory, or forest edges. Will occasionally be seen in
meadows, scrubland or other open-canopy ecosystems. Avoids altitudes higher
than about 9,000 ft and areas without thick understory. They are more likely to
use feeders and suburban areas than other emeraldines.
Discussion:
The
widest ranging emeraldine, and the most numerous within its range, the Common
Emeraldine is typical of, and in fact the type species for, its genus Barbalaetus,
which in Latin translates to “joyous beard”. It is also the most common species in
its family, Barbalaetidae, which is found only on Novasola. The species
name cantor comes from the Latin for “song/singer”, and the species was
originally called the Song Emeraldine.
Comfortable
deep within thickets and camouflage under the cover of dense forest undergrowth
like all emeraldines, the Common Emeraldine can be difficult to spot. They are
most easily observed during the spring when males sing to attract mates and
defend territories, as they sing frequently and consistently throughout all
hours of the day from sunrise to sunset and often choose to do so from exposed
perches. Their vocalizations are staple sounds of Novasolan forests, and their
song is often the best way to distinguish them from other emeraldine species,
all of which are less vocal and sing buzzier songs less frequently.
In
the summer months, Common Emeraldine eat mostly invertebrates like beetles,
crickets, caterpillars, millipedes, spiders, and bees, while in the winter they
transition their diets to seeds like acorns and thistle and berries. Like other emeraldines they are mostly ground foragers and will hop along the ground
rummaging through leaf litter, however they can also be seen searching for food
under leaves in the sub-canopy or occasionally even in the canopy. Common
Emeraldines will forage higher in the forest structure than Farr’s or Yellow
Emeraldines, but still prefer to remain hidden in the brush.
Emeraldines are perhaps best known for their courtship displays and breeding behaviors. In
the spring, males will find a well-lit exposed branch near the ground from
which they sing to attract females. Before singing, males will clear the ground
around the perch of any leaves or twigs so that only dirt, moss, or needles are
present. Once a female has flown in, she will perch above the male so that she
faces down at him toward the ground and he holds himself almost upside-down and
in direct sunlight. The male then flairs his beard and moves his head from side
to size, making rattling sounds. If the female accepts, the two mate and find a
nest location. Both females and males help build the nest and rear young. To
build the nest, the pair will place twigs sticking up from the ground in a
ring, with one opening, then lash them together by weaving fibers like grasses
or animal hair through the spaces between and at the top where the twigs meet,
and finally, they will line the inside with more fibers. This resulting
tent-like or tipi structure, or feyadom, is usually about 12 inches tall and is distinctive, often confusing unknowing hikers who accidentally stumble upon them. Often young
couples, during their first mating season, or couples struggling to find new
territory, might use nests built by other emeraldines that remain standing from
previous years.
Emeraldines
are a distinct group of birds found only on Novasola. Their unique appearances
and talent for building elaborate nest structures make them fascinating birds to
observe and to study, and they are often compared to the bowerbirds of Oceania.
Richard Reichwald was the first person to describe them scientifically, and he
started first with the Common Emeraldine.
“Regret
must be the company of any person so luckless to depart the Fastwaters without
having been witness to the nature of the emeraldine. His want for privacy among
thorns and thickets proves adversarial to all but the most dedicated sportsman,
but his bounty when discovered is unquestionably worthwhile.
The
Emeraldine, like his name might suggest, is a brilliant drop of emerald gold against
the fallen leaves of the forest floor upon which he bounces about his business,
overturning the detritus in search of arthropod prey. The Emeraldine’s pace is one
of diligence and method, not moving from one bush to the next until it is
satisfied no more work can be done there, or until reasonably threatened by an
intruder’s approach. Those short, hurried flights between patches of
undergrowth are perhaps the best time to spot them outside courtship.
…
As
spring arrives to Novasola, the male Song Emeraldine begins his search for a
stage. His aim is to find an upright woody stem separate and away from tangles,
clear of distracting side branches or vegetation cover, that sees direct
sunlight. Once satisfied with his perch, he begins his song: a raspy series of
crescendos elevating in pitch quickly cut short by a hasty but melodious
phrase. Should his voice draw the attention of a female, she will perch above
him, parallel to him on the same branch, as he will hold himself parallel to
the ground. Facing each other, the male flairs out his emerald feathers and
begins the dance. The motions are themselves simple, a saying back and forth,
side to side, hoping to catch sunlight with his gorget, and should the female
be impressed they will together travel to a safer, less exposed parcel to begin
construction.
Emeraldines are among the greatest engineers on the island, human company not excluded. So
expertly built are their nests that most white settlers who have found them
thought not that they belonged to a drab little bird but instead to elves,
nymphs, or fairies. Indeed, the Song Emeraldine’s tipi of sticks and grass,
often rising to half the height of a man’s knee, is a stunning example of
architecture that one cannot help but marvel at God’s Creation and question
what sort of divine design had passed over the animal kingdom to produce only
these few isolated species in the farthest corner of the conquered world.” – Native
Birds of Novasola, 1912
“In preparation for this journey I have read the accounts of countless outdoorsmen and explorers and prospectors who journeyed out before me. A curious observation made by many was the description of small wooden tents littering the forest undergrowth. Often these unexplained structures have been attributed to one form of mythical beast or creature of fantasy. It was with great surprise, then, when last night I stumbled upon one myself, and found its inhabitants still inside. A pair of emeraldines shot out once I approached within a meter of the nest, and soon after the male began his chorus of aggressive song.” – Expedition log, May 10, 1902
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| A typical Common Emeraldine nest structure consists of twigs placed in a tent or tipi like structure woven together with plant fibers and animal hair. Illustration provided by the Museum of Novasola. |