First description of the nest and eggs of Ceará Leaftosser Sclerurus cearensis, with a review of the breeding biology of genus Sclerurus

Abstract

Summary. Sclerurus is a genus of morphologically uniform, strict understorey, leaf litter specialists. We present the first description of the nest and eggs of Ceará Leaftosser S. cearensis from north-east Brazil and review breeding data for the genus. Based on three nests, the nest of S. cearensis was classified as cavity/with-tunnel/low cup, the type typical of the genus. The nests were excavated in banks at a mean height of 1.48 ± 0.22 m above ground. Tunnels measured 50.83 ± 4.25 cm and terminated in an expanded, globular chamber where a small cup of sticks harbours the two white eggs. Eggs at one nest measured 25.7 × 19.8 mm and 24.3 × 19.6 mm, and weighed 5.1 g and 4.5 g, respectively. Available breeding data for the genus Sclerurus are remarkably uniform in all aspects and match our observations of Ceará Leaftosser.