Oxyruncidae – Sharpbill

Oxyruncus has recently been placed in the family Oxyruncidae based on genomic DNA evidence (Harvey et al. 2020). It was formerly subsumed into Tityridae, or recognised as a separate family that also included Onychorhynchus, Myiobius, and Terenotriccus. However, recognition of Oxyruncidae is supported by the lack of a sister relationship with the Tityridae (Harvey et al. 2020), combined with the deep separation of Oxyruncus from Onychorhynchus, Myiobius, and Terenotriccus, and the lack of morphological or behavioural characters uniting them; the latter three genera are now placed in the family Onychorhynchidae.

A unique species with a patchy distribution from the mountainous areas of Costa Rica to Brazil. True to its name, the bill is sharply pointed. They are about 16cms in length with short legs and longish wings and tail. Both sexes are olive-green above and whitish or pale yellowish below with bold dark spotting. It inhabits the canopy of wet forest, sometimes on the forest edge and feeds on fruit and some invertebrates. The elongated nostrils are covered with a flap, as in the tapaculos, stopping any debris entering as its sharp bill probes the bark of trees. It has an orange erectile crest, black-spotted yellowish underparts and scaling on the head and neck, although the orange crown patch is difficult to see. The species is not well known, but seems to occur mostly in mature forest in foothills from around 700 to 1,700 m.

Sharpbill Oxyruncus cristatus – ©Nicolas Olejnik CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Often follows mixed-species flocks of ovenbirds, tanagers and cotingas. Can forage acrobatically hanging upside down from twigs to get insects and also perches upright for longer periods. Most easily detected by its strange song, a long descending whistle.

Breeding behaviour is polygamous and closely grouped males display in a lek. Females construct the nest, which is a small cup on a slender branch and feeds chicks with regurgitated food.