Chafing thimelias [1] ( lat. Micromacronus ) is a genus of passerine birds from the cysticola family. Endemic to the Philippines . 2 types are described:
- Micromacronus leytensis Amadon, 1962 . The species is known from the islands of Leyte , Biliran and Samar [2] .
- Micromacronus sordidus Ripley & Rabor, 1968 . Known from the island of Mindanao [3] . It was originally described as a subspecies of the previous species ( Micromacronus leytensis sordidus ) [4] , and in 2006 it was isolated as a separate species [5] .
| Foam Thymelia |
| Scientific classification |
|---|
| No rank : | Bilateral symmetrical |
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| International scientific name |
|---|
Micromacronus Amadon , 1962 |
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Representatives of both species live in mountain evergreen forests. They are found in small flocks [2] [3] . Very small birds: in M. leytensis, the wing length is about 40 mm, and the body length (with tail feathers) is about 80 mm; in M. sordidus, the wing length is about 40-50 mm ; body weight - 5-6 g [6] [4] .
M. leytensis has a bright olive green color on top and a bright yellow bottom; white feathers cover the back and the beginning of the tail. Beak is black, eyes are red [6] . M. sordidus is more dull in color (hence the specific name: lat. Sordidus - “dirty”) and somewhat larger. There is no bright yellow in color; the color above is more dull and gray than M. leytensis ; the color below is yellowish gray or olive green. and the “eyebrow” area are gray-green (yellow in M. leytensis ). The beak of M. sordidus is lighter, especially at the base, and thinner than that of M. leytensis [4] [5] .
The genus was described in 1962 [6] and placed in the Thimelian family. The name is associated with the alleged proximity to the genus Macronus and a much smaller body size. In 2012, molecular data showed that Micromacronus belongs to cysticols [7] [8] .