Moustached Woodcreeper
Xiphocolaptes falcirostris
Large, heavy-billed woodcreeper. Has rather unmarked plumage, but note the buffy eyebrow, moustachial stripe, and throat. No other woodcreeper within its range has such a large, strong bill. Inhabits deciduous dry forests and wooded caatinga. Song is a whining series of unmelodic notes, such as “nk-wiirh, week! weeer, weeer, weeur, weuur.”
Identification
The moustached woodcreeper is one of the largest members of its subfamily. It is heavy-bodied, with a shortish tail and a long thin bill. It is 28 to 32 cm (11 to 13 in) long and weighs about 110 g (3.9 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a brown face with a buffy supercilium, lores, and moustachial stripe. Their crown is cinnamon-brown to dark olive-brown with thin buff streaks. Their back is rufous-brown and their rump, wings, and tail are cinnamon-rufous. Their throat is pale buffy to whitish and their underparts light brown to cinnamon-buff. Their flanks have faint buffy streaks and their central belly has faint grayish brown bars. Their iris is dark reddish to brown, their maxilla dark gray to black, their mandible pale gray to horn colored, and their legs and feet olive-gray to dark gray. Juveniles are similar to adults with wider and blackish streaks on the belly and a dark mandible. Subspecies X. f. franciscanus compared to the nominate has on average a shorter tail and a longer bill, darker and more olive underparts, weaker streaks on the crown, and narrower streaks on the belly. The subspecies overlap in all characteristics.
Taxonomy
The moustached woodcreeper has two subspecies, the nominate X. f. falcirostris (Spix, 1824) and X. f. franciscanus (Snethlage, 1927). The latter has sometimes been treated as a separate species ("Snethlage's woodcreeper") and by at least one author as a subspecies of the white-throated woodcreeper (X. albicollis). Subspecies X. a. villanovae of the white-throated has sometimes been assigned to the moustached woodcreeper.
- Scientific name
- Xiphocolaptes falcirostris
- Authority
- (Spix, 1824)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Dendrocolaptidae
- Genus
- Xiphocolaptes
Range and habitat
The nominate subspecies of the moustached woodcreeper is found in northeastern Brazil, from eastern Maranhão, Piauí, and northwestern Bahia east as far as western Paraíba and central Pernambuco. It occurs only locally within that area. Subspecies X. f. franciscanus is found in eastern Brazil west of the São Francisco River in western Bahia and northern and northwestern Minas Gerais. The species inhabits deciduous and semi-deciduous woodland, wooded caatinga, and gallery forest. It favors the interior of intact and slightly altered forest, tending to stay in the tallest growth. It occasionally occurs at the edges of the forest. In elevation it mostly occurs below 500 m (1,600 ft) but reaches as high as 800 m (2,600 ft) at sites in the northern part of its range.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The moustached woodcreeper is a year-round resident throughout its range.<p>The moustached woodcreeper's diet is primarily insects, though it has been observed eating snails. It typically forages singly, in pairs, or in what are thought to be family groups; it shuns mixed-species feeding flocks. It is not known to follow army ant swarms. It mostly forages from the forest mid-level to the canopy but sometimes on the ground as well. It hitches along trunks and branches, probing cavities, bark, and especially bromeliads.<p>The moustached woodcreeper is thought to breed in the austral summer, roughly between October and December. No nest has been found, so the clutch size, incubation period, and time to fledging are not known. Both males and females have been found with brood patches, so both parents are thought to incubate eggs and care for nestlings.<p>The moustached woodcreeper's song is a "series of 4-7 double-notes, like 'wèèè-TJUH wèèè-TJUH - -'." The notes often gradually change to "Tu-Tjuh". Its call is a "whining, drawn-out 'wèèè-tuh' " with the "tuh" being "high and dry".
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Channel-billed Toucan
Ramphastos vitellinus
Large toucan, widespread across South American lowlands. Mostly black with a dark bill (although some populations have a yellow ridge on top of the bill). Significant plumage variation across range: throat color varies from white to orange; bare skin around eye varies from blue to red. In the western part of its range, appearance is very similar to White-throated Toucan, but note voice: a grating croak, not a clear yelp. Singles, pairs, or small flocks are found in the forest canopy, often around fruiting trees. Named for the groove along the upper part of the bill, which is difficult to see in the field.
Least Boobook
Ninox sumbaensis
A rufous-brown owl with yellow eyes, prominent white eyebrows, and mottled underparts. Juvenile reportedly redder-colored and plainer. Inhabits forested lower foothills, regularly in pairs. A recently described, little-known owl confined to Sumba. Smaller than Sumba Boobook, and separated by yellow eyes, lack of bands on the underparts, and markedly different voice. Song is a single “woop” note, often given as a duet. One sex calls with a higher pitch than the other.
Two-banded Warbler
Myiothlypis bivittata
Small, yellowish bird with a fine black bill and distinctive black stripes on head. Mostly green above and yellow below; has rufous or orange crown bordered by black, but crown color can be difficult to ascertain. Note olive eyebrow becoming yellow in front of eye, and bright pinkish-yellow legs. Inhabits dense understory of foothill forests along the eastern slope of the southern Andes and in the tepui region. Usually occurs in pairs or small family groups that forage actively for insects, often joining mixed-species flocks. Song in tepuis is a series of chips followed by a high-pitched, screeching note. In southern part of range, song is very different: a rich rollicking series of notes that may vaguely recall House Wren and is often given by pairs as a duet. In southern Andes, most similar to Golden-bellied Warbler but has olive (not entirely yellow) eyebrow; also similar to Golden-crowned Warbler but typically occurs at higher elevations and has olive (not whitish) eyebrow.
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