Western Woodhaunter
Automolus virgatus
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 series of hard nasal chips, and grating scold calls. Occurs from eastern Nicaragua to western Ecuador.
Identification
The western woodhaunter is 17 to 18 cm (6.7 to 7.1 in) long and weighs about 35 g (1.2 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 A. v. virgatus 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 blackish brown with golden-buff streaks that widen as they extend onto the blackish brown back. Their rump is dull rusty olivaceous brown, their uppertail coverts deep reddish cinnamon, and their tail a lighter cinnamon than the uppertail coverts. Their wings are dull cinnamon brown with brownish black on the flight feathers. Their chin and throat are pale fawn with faint brownish feather edges. Their breast is a deeper fawn with dusky feather edges. Their belly, flanks, and undertail coverts are olivaceous brown. Their iris is brown, their bill brownish black with some yellow on the mandible, and their legs and feet brown. Subspecies A. v. nicaraguae has blackish brown upperparts and slightly lighter underparts than the nominate. A. v. assimilis has a more reddish brown back than the nominate, a darker chestnut-rufous rump, uppertail coverts, and tail, and a strong olivaceous wash on the breast. A. v. cordobae has an unstreaked back and nearly unmarked underparts.
Taxonomy
At one time what is now the western woodhaunter was included in genus Hyloctistes but molecular phylogenetic studies showed that Hyloctistes is embedded within Automolus.<p>Even before the generic merger, the western woodhaunter's taxonomy was unsettled, and it remains so. Its four subspecies were included with two others in what was then called the striped woodhaunter (then H. subulatus, later A. subulatus). 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 for it. By late 2023 the International Ornithological Committee, BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW), and the Clements taxonomy 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 but both subcommittees note that some authors suggest it.<p>The four subspecies of the western woodhaunter are:
- Scientific name
- Automolus virgatus
- Authority
- (Lawrence, 1867)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Furnariidae
- Genus
- Automolus
Range and habitat
The subspecies of the western woodhaunter are found thus:<p>The western woodhaunter inhabits humid forest and woodlands in foothills and the lower montane zone. In elevation it mostly occurs below 1,100 m (3,600 ft), but locally reaches about 1,500 m (4,900 ft) in Costa Rica, Panama, and 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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