Eastern Woodhaunter
Automolus subulatus
This fairly small brown bird is a shy forest-dwelling species; it is usually seen in the lower or middle levels of the forest interior. Most similar to foliage-gleaners, which can be very similar in plumage. Look for the woodhaunter’s blurry buffy streaking on the head and breast, rather long straight bill, and lack of a pale eyebrow. Does not climb up tree trunks like a woodcreeper, but forages by hopping around tangles, mosses, and vines, rummaging around looking for invertebrates. Most often seen singly or in pairs, sometimes accompanying mixed-species flocks. Listen for two nasal whistles followed by a hard staccato trill. Occurs throughout western Amazonia.
Identification
The eastern woodhaunter is 17 to 18 cm (6.7 to 7.1 in) long and weighs about 25 to 38 g (0.88 to 1.3 oz). It is a fairly large member of its genus and has a shortish and heavy bill. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a mostly dark brownish face with golden-buff streaks, a pale eyering and stripe behind the eye, and grizzled brownish and buff lores. Their crown is dark brownish with golden-buff streaks that widen as they extend onto the rich dark brown upper back. Their lower back, rump, and uppertail coverts are chestnut. Their wings are mostly rufescent brown and their tail chestnut. Their chin is light buff brown with faint darker streaks that become more visible on the lower throat. Their breast is dull medium brown with wide, blurry, golden-buff streaks that fade before the rich tawny brown belly is reached. Their flanks are a darker brown. Their iris is dark brown, their maxilla black to dusky brown, their mandible paler yellowish or bluish gray, and their legs and feet slate gray to olive-gray. Juveniles have less distinct streaking overall and slightly paler underparts than adults. Subspecies A. s. lemae is overall more olivaceous than the nominate, including its back, breast, belly, and its streaking. It also has a more yellowish chin.
Taxonomy
At one time what is now the eastern woodhaunter was included in genus Hyloctistes but molecular phylogenetic studies showed that Hyloctistes is embedded within Automolus.<p>Even before the generic merger, the eastern woodhaunter's taxonomy was unsettled, and it remains so. Its two subspecies were included with four others in what was then called the striped woodhaunter. In the early twenty-first century several authors split the four Central American and western South American subspecies from the striped woodhaunter and named the new species the western woodhaunter (then H. virgatus, now A. virgatus). They gave the remaining two subspecies the English name "eastern woodhaunter" and by the principle of priority retained the binomial A. subulatus. By late 2023 the International Ornithological Committee, BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW), and the Clements taxonomy had adopted the split, though HBW calls A. subulatus the Amazonian woodhaunter. The North and South American Classification Committees of the American Ornithological Society (AOS) have not adopted the split though both subcommittees note that some authors suggest it.<p>The two subspecies of the eastern woodhaunter are the nominate A. s. subulatus (Spix, 1824) and A. s. lemae (Phelps & Phelps Jr, 1960).
- Scientific name
- Automolus subulatus
- Authority
- (Spix, 1824)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Furnariidae
- Genus
- Automolus
Range and habitat
The nominate subspecies of the eastern woodhaunter is found in southern Venezuela, southeastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador and Peru, northern Bolivia, and Brazil on both sides of the Amazon to the Rio Negro and beyond that south of the Amazon to Pará state. Subspecies A. s. lemae is found only in Sierra de Lema in the southeastern Venezuelan state of Bolívar. The nominate subspecies primarily inhabits tropical evergreen forest, both várzea and terra firme, and is also found in older secondary forest. A. s. lemae inhabits lower montane evergreen forest. In elevation it mostly occurs below 1,100 m (3,600 ft) but locally reaches 1,400 m (4,600 ft) in Peru and 1,700 m (5,600 ft) in Ecuador.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Yellow-billed Blue-Magpie
Urocissa flavirostris
The southwestern counterpart of the Red-billed Blue-Magpie, this colorful long-tailed corvid also forages in noisy flocks. Similar in coloration to Red-billed, but Yellow-billed is paler blue overall, with a small white patch at the back of the crown instead of an extensive white stripe, and a bright yellow bill instead of a scarlet one. Primarily found in Himalayan hill forest, with disjunct populations in northwestern Myanmar and northern Vietnam.
Broad-tailed Paradise-Whydah
Vidua obtusa
Lays its eggs in the nests of Orange-winged Pytilia. The distinctive breeding male has a long, broad tail. Non-breeding males and females are nondescript sparrow-like birds with striped heads and pale underparts. Found in broadleaf woodland, mainly miombo. Most records are of the conspicuous and easily identified breeding-plumaged males. Mimics the inconspicuous vocalizations of its host Orange-winged Pytilia. Breeding male is similar to Eastern Paradise-Whydah, but has a shorter and broader tail, and darker buff and rufous coloration on the nape and breast. Non-breeding male and female are very similar to Eastern, but have a paler bill and lack strong “comma” marks on the cheek. Also similar to female and non-breeding male indigobirds, but larger.
Amazonian Antpitta
Myrmothera berlepschi
Lowland rainforest antpitta of secondary growth. Typical antpitta shape, with long legs, almost no tail, and a plump body. Light brown above, white with diffuse brown streaking below, and a tawny wash on the face and breast. Lighter and more orangey than the similar Thrush-like Antpitta, which prefers more mature forest habitat. Does not have a strong facial pattern like other lowland antpittas. Secretive and difficult to see; listen for its song, a series of 3-5 loud “coop” notes.
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