Oilbird Birds of Loja
The Oilbird Steatornis caripensis.
. Urban Birds of the Park, Gardens, and Sourrounding areas of the city of Loja – Ecuador. 44 bird species . Illustrated by Pablo Andrade. Work supported by Jan Hinloopen.
Distribution
Mostly 700 – 2400 m.
Oilbird Steatornis caripensis Birds of Loja.-
Scarce and local in canopy and borders of foothill and montane forest and woodland on both slopes, occasionally out into lowlands ( mainly not far from Andes). Found mainly at its roosts in caves and deeply shaded ravines, but most of these are remote.
In the Loja City has been recorded rarely in parks and gardens probably feeding in some fruit trees.
Description.
43 – 47 cm (17.18.5 “)
The Oilbird has Heavy hooked bill pale purplish horn; rictal bristles prominent (thoughtheir function seems uncertain in a fruiteating bird); eyes reflect bright red (but are dark brown); pinkish legs set unusually far forward. Rufous brown above with a few large black-encircled white spots on wings. Paler and less rufescent brown below with large diamond-shaped white spots. wings long and quite pointed; long graduated tail brown narrowly barred black and rufous.
Habits.
Roosts by day in caves, at some of which numbers can be very large; also uses very narrow shady ravines into which little or no light penetrates. Rest on ledges, hunching forward on breast and shuffling about at one´s approach, sometimes flushing and circling aroud inside the cave but never actually leaving during daylight hours. Birds stream out at dusk, often flying long distances to feed on large fruits of various forest trees ( palms and laureaceae), plucking them while hovering.
Voice.
Often noisy, specially at colonies, also at night when feeding.
Information taken from the book Birds Of Ecuador of Robert Ridgely
and Paul Greenfield