Tag Archives: Pardalotus cristatus Viellot

Calyptura cristata (Vieillot)

Kinglet Calyptura (Calyptura cristata)

The Kinglet Calyptura was described in 1818, it was originally thought to have been a member of the cotinga family (Cotingidae) but is now assigned to the tyrant flycatcher family (Tyrannidae).

The species was endemic to the Atlantic forest of southeastern Brazil, a region that now is almost completely deforested.

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The Kinglet Calyptura was thought to have gone extinct since its description but was rediscovered during the 1970s.

The species was last seen in October 1996 in the Serra dos Órgãos National Park in the state of Rio de Janeiro, it may just be surviving undiscovered because of its very small size but it more likely is now completely extinct.

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Depiction from: ‘ Jean-Emmanuel-Marie Le Maout; Louis Couailhac; Pierre Bernard: Le Jardin des Plantes 1842-76’

(public domain)

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edited: 30.10.2020