Rufous-necked Foliage-gleaner
Syndactyla ruficollis
Relatively brightly-colored foliage-gleaner restricted to mountains and hills of southwestern Ecuador and northwestern Peru. It has an orange nape and sides of neck, a cinnamon tail, buffy eyebrow and throat, and buffy streaks on the underparts. Sexes look alike. Found in both dry and humid forest, including areas with abundant bamboo, and typically seen at lower to middle levels. Song is a harsh, scratchy “bouncing ball” series. Threatened by habitat loss.
Identification
The rufous-necked foliage-gleaner is 18 to 19 cm (7.1 to 7.5 in) long and weighs 29 to 39 g (1.0 to 1.4 oz). It is a largish furnariid with a less wedge-shaped bill than others of its genus. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have an orange-rufous supercilium that extends to the nape; a dark brownish band behind the eye; grizzled grayish, dark brownish, and buff lores and ear coverts; and an orange-rufous to ochraceous buff area below the eye. Their crown is dark rufescent brown and they have an ill-defined collar of rufous streaks and spots. Their back is rich rusty brown with long thin buff streaks, their rump a redder brown, and their uppertail coverts bright chestnut. Their tail is dark chestnut and their wings are rich rusty brown with slightly darker primary coverts. Their chin is pale tawny-ochraceous, their throat more intensely ochracous, their breast olivaceous-brown with blurry rufescent buff streaks, their belly medium olivaceous brown, their flanks a slightly darker brown with a rufescent tinge, and their undertail coverts dark rufous. Their iris is brown, their maxilla dark brown to blackish, their mandible pale brownish or pale grayish, and their legs and feet grayish olive or olive-greenish. Juveniles are generally duller overall than adults, with a duskier (less brownish) crown and some dark brown edges on the throat feathers.
Taxonomy
The rufous-necked foliage-gleaner was previously placed in genus Automolus but a 2011 publication showed that it belongs in Syndactyla. It and the lineated foliage-gleaner (S. subalaris) are sister species.<p>The rufous-necked foliage-gleaner is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Syndactyla ruficollis
- Authority
- (Taczanowski, 1884)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Furnariidae
- Genus
- Syndactyla
Range and habitat
The rufous-necked foliage-gleaner is found in coastal hills and the western slope of the Andes in Ecuador's El Oro and Loja provinces and in northwestern Peru as far south as the Department of Lambayeque. It inhabits montane evergreen forest and tropical deciduous woodlands, where it favors bamboo, streamsides, and shady ravines. In elevation it mostly ranges from 1,000 to 2,600 m (3,300 to 8,500 ft) but occurs occasionally as low as 400 m (1,300 ft) and as high as 2,900 m (9,500 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The rufous-necked foliage-gleaner is a year-round resident throughout its range.<p>The rufous-necked foliage-gleaner feeds mostly on arthropods. It typically forages singly or in pairs and readily joins mixed-species feeding flocks. It mostly forages from the forest's understory to its mid levels. It gleans and probes for its prey among debris, moss, bamboo stems, ferns, and bromeliads while hitching along branches and trunks. It occasionally forages in leaf litter on the ground.<p>The rufous-necked foliage-gleaner is thought to breed in the local wet season of January to May. Nothing else is known about its breeding biology.<p>The rufous-necked foliage-gleaner's song is "a harsh, nasal 'chick, chick, che-che, tirrrrrr', 2–3 seconds long, final note downward-inflected". Its contact call has been described as a "sharp, nasal 'ank' or 'chech' ".
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Greater Ground-Robin
Amalocichla sclateriana
A medium-sized, pittalike bird of sub-alpine forest floor. Brown head and upperparts extending to the sides of the chest, pale gray underparts, with whitish throat, center of the belly and sometimes some scalloping on the chest. Note the strong bill and long legs. Shy and difficult to see. Same general shape and habits as the Lesser Ground-Robin, but Greater occurs at higher elevations and is much larger. Much more often heard than seen. Very distinctive, short, whistled phrase sounding like ‘What do you think?’ with the last note upslurred.
Buff-sided Robin
Poecilodryas cerviniventris
Small round songbird found in heavy vegetation along creeks and thick wet forest, including bamboo clumps, of northern-central Australia. Brown above, pale below, with broad white supercilium, dark ear coverts, peachy-rufous flanks and undertail, and white markings in wing and tail. Usually carries tail cocked upright. Compare White-browed Robin, which is completely white underneath (and note range). Vocalizations include pleasant, repeated soft whistle (with 3-5 notes) and a sharper whistled call.
Violet-backed Hyliota
Hyliota violacea
Rather generic-looking mid-sized bird with a dark back and pale underparts. In good light, the upperparts show purple iridescence. Can show a small white patch at the top of the closed wing. Males are pale buff below, while females are orange. Found in humid forest, mostly around clearings and edge. Frequently joins mixed-species feeding flocks. Gives a short song of sweet whistles and a dry “tik” call, usually in flight. Distinguished from other hyliotas by the lack of large white patches in the wings.
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