The band-tailed hornero, also known as wing-banded hornero, is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is endemic to Brazil.
Region
Eastern and Northeastern Brazil
Typical Environment
Occurs in semi-open landscapes including caatinga scrub, edges of cerrado, gallery woodlands, second growth, farmlands, and town parks and gardens. It favors areas with scattered trees, shrubs, and open ground for foraging. Often found along watercourses, road margins, and pasture edges. The species readily uses fence posts and buildings as nesting sites in human-altered settings.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1200 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
This hornero is famed for building an oven-like nest from mud and plant fibers, often on tree branches, fence posts, or human structures. Pairs maintain territories year-round and frequently perform loud duets. It adapts well to lightly disturbed habitats and is regularly seen in rural and suburban areas in eastern Brazil.
Temperament
solitary and territorial
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with low, direct flights
Social Behavior
Usually observed in territorial pairs that remain together year-round. Both sexes construct the characteristic mud "oven" nest and cooperate in incubation and chick rearing. Nests are placed on branches, stumps, posts, or man-made structures.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
A loud, ringing series of rattling notes often delivered as a duet, with the pair overlapping phrases. Calls are sharp and mechanical-sounding, carrying well across open country.
Plumage
Warm rufous-brown above with paler, buffy underparts and a whitish throat. Shows a contrasting pale band across the wing and a darker band toward the tail tip. Texture is smooth with minimal streaking, giving a clean, uniform look at distance.
Diet
Primarily takes ground-dwelling arthropods such as beetles, ants, termites, spiders, and other small invertebrates. It probes leaf litter and soil, and pecks at prey on bare ground. Occasionally supplements the diet with small seeds or other incidental plant matter.
Preferred Environment
Forages on open ground, along paths, road verges, pastures, and riverbanks. Often works edges of scrub and scattered trees where leaf litter and bare patches are common.
