Andean solitaire

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Species of bird

title: "Andean solitaire" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["myadestes", "birds-of-the-andes", "birds-of-the-northern-andes", "birds-described-in-1840", "taxonomy-articles-created-by-polbot"] description: "Species of bird" topic_path: "general/myadestes" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andean_solitaire" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Species of bird ::

| image = Myadestes_ralloides_75757649.jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = | genus = Myadestes | species = ralloides | authority = (D'Orbigny, 1840) | synonyms = | range_map = Myadestes ralloides map.svg

The Andean solitaire (Myadestes ralloides) is a species of bird in the family Turdidae, the thrushes. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.

Taxonomy and systematics

The Andean solitaire was originally described in 1840 as Muscipeta ralloides.{{cite book | last=d'Orbigny |first=Alcide | date= 1835–1844 | title=Voyage dans l’Amérique méridionale: (le Brésil, la république orientale de l’Uruguay, la République argentine, la Patagonie, la république du Chili, la république de Bolivia, la république du Pérou), exécuté pendant les années 1826, 1827, 1828, 1829, 1830, 1831, 1832, et 1833 | publisher=Chez Pitois-Levrault et ce., libraires-éditeurs, rue de la Harpe, no. 81 | volume=4 |page=322 |language=Latin, French | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/49453439 |access-date=30 January 2026 }} It was later reassigned to its present genus Myadestes that had been erected in 1838.

The Andean solitaire has these four subspecies:

A genetic study published in 2007 determined that some of the subspecies may deserve full species status. Based on that study and vocal differences, the Clements taxonomy recognizes three groups within the species: M. r. plumbeiceps and M. r. ralloides as single-species "groups" and M. r. candelae plus M. r. venezuelensis as the third group.

Description

The Andean solitaire is 17 to long and weighs 25.5 to. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies M. r. ralloides have a dull grayish olive crown and black lores on an otherwise dull medium gray face. Their back, rump, and uppertail coverts are reddish brown. Their wings are reddish brown with dark tips on the primary coverts and dark bases on the secondaries. Their tail is reddish brown with white inner webs on the outer feathers. Their underparts are dull medium gray. They have a dusky bill and pale brown legs. Juveniles are similar to adults but with pale buff spots on the upperparts and dark stippling on the underparts.

Subspecies M. r. plumbeiceps has richer brown upperparts than the nominate with a gray crown and a dark yellow base to the mandible. M. r. candelae has a dark tawny crown and upperparts and a darker gray breast than the nominate. M. r. venezuelensis is a brighter tawnier brown above than the nominate, with a gray forehead, a brown crown, more olive flanks, and yellowish legs.

Distribution and habitat

The Andean solitaire has a disjunct distribution throughout the Andes. The subspecies are found thus:

The Andean solitaire inhabits humid forest in the foothills and mountains and also mature secondary forest. It appears to favor ravines and mountain streams.

Behavior

Movement

The Andean solitaire is primarily a year-round resident though some wandering has been documented.

Feeding

The Andean solitaire feeds on insects and fruit. It forages mostly in the forest's lower to mid-levels. It plucks fruit while perched or with aerial sallies from a perch; insects are plucked from vegetation with a sally and taken in mid-air. Though it does not follow mixed-species feeding flocks it does share fruiting trees with other species. It attends army ant swarms but stays in the undergrowth rather than on the ground when doing so.

Breeding

The Andean solitaire's breeding season has not been fully defined but appears to span from February to June and perhaps to August. It builds a cup nest of moss lined with rootlets on a log or an earthen bank. The clutch is two eggs that are white or creamy white with reddish brown speckles. The incubation period, time to fledging, and details of parental care are not known.

Vocalization

The Andean solitaire sings from a hidden perch high in a tree, and mostly at dawn and dusk. The songs differ among the subspecies. On the Andes' western slope it is a "leisurely, loud, lilting series of well-spaced phrases consisting of pure, flute-like liquid notes, sometimes interspersed with more guttural, gurgling ones, tliii… liidl-ii… turdelii… triilii… lur-lur… iii-uuu…". In Venezuela it sings "clear halting phrases, of pipelike purity, often separated by extended pauses, lee-day...lur-lur...see-see...eee-ooo, ee-oh-lay...lur-lur-lur, and so on". That song has been likened to that of a red-eyed vireo (Vireo olivaceus) though somewhat thinner and more ringing. The southernmost subspecies M. r. ralloides sings "a rusty, squeaky series of thin whistled phrases, often descending". Its calls include a "throaty, wheezy downslurred whistling clang" and when alarmed or stressed, a "rraou".

Status

The IUCN has assessed the Andean solitaire as being of Least Concern. It has a very large range; its population size is not known and is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified. It is considered common in Venezuela, fairly common in Colombia, "widespread and often common" in Ecuador, and fairly common in Peru.

References

References

  1. BirdLife International. (2024). "Andean Solitaire ''Myadestes ralloides''".
  2. (March 2025). "Thrushes".
  3. During the middle of the twentieth century several authors treated what are now the Andean solitaire, the [[black-faced solitaire]] (''M. malanops''), and [[varied solitaire]] (''M. coloratus'') as [[conspecific]]. They are not well differentiated and form a [[superspecies]].Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, D. F. Lane, L, N. Naka, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 29 November 2025. A classification of the bird species of South America. South American Classification Committee associated with the International Ornithologists' Union. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved 30 November 2025
  4. Miller, M.J., Bermingham, E. and Ricklefs, R.E. (2007). "Historical biogeography of the New World solitaires (''Myadestes'' spp.)". ''Auk'' 124(3): 868–885.
  5. Boesman, P. (2016). "Notes on the vocalizations of Andean Solitaire (''Myadestes ralloides'')". HBW Alive Ornithological Note 435. In: ''Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive''. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
  6. Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, M. Smith, and C. L. Wood. 2025. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2025. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ retrieved 3 November 2025
  7. Collar, N. (2020). Andean Solitaire (''Myadestes ralloides''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.andsol1.01 retrieved 30 January 2026
  8. Schulenberg, T.S.. (2010). "Birds of Peru". Princeton University Press.
  9. Hilty, Steven L.. (2003). "Birds of Venezuela". Princeton University Press.
  10. In elevation it ranges mostly between {{convert. 900. and. 2800. m. ft. 4500. m. ft. 350. and. 2800. m. ft. -2. 1000. and. 2500. m. ft. 1200. and. 2900. m. ft. 600. m. ft. "Field Guide to the Birds of Colombia". Fundación ProAves. (2010)
  11. Ridgely, Robert S.. (2001). "The Birds of Ecuador: Field Guide". Cornell University Press.

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