Ruddy Woodcreeper
Dendrocincla homochroa
Uncommon, medium-sized woodcreeper of humid tropical forest; rarely seen away from army ant swarms. Found singly or in twos and threes, often with Tawny-winged and Northern Barred Woodcreepers at army ant swarms. Mainly perches upright on slender trunks fairly low to the ground, less often at middle levels; often rather sluggish. Overall bright ruddy plumage in combination with behavior is distinctive; also note the pale grayish eyering. Usually rather quiet; at times gives plaintive mew calls and a chipping rattled song.
Identification
The ruddy woodcreeper is 17.5 to 20.5 cm (6.9 to 8.1 in) long. Males weigh 34 to 45 g (1.2 to 1.6 oz) and females 27 to 39 g (0.95 to 1.4 oz). The species is a medium-sized member of its genus, with a straight bill, a short tail, and a large head with a ruffled nape. The sexes have the same plumage. The nominate subspecies has dark rufous to chestnut-brown upperparts with a brighter reddish crown. Its wings, uppertail coverts, and tail are rufous chestnut. The tips of its primaries are dusky. It has grayish lores and eyering and a cinnamon-buff to tawny-ochraceous throat. Its underparts are rufous brown with a paler belly and more rufous undertail coverts. Its underwing coverts are pale rufous. Its iris is reddish brown to pale chestnut-brown and its legs and feet pale grayish to grayish brown. Its bill is highly variable; it can be dusky brownish, grayish, dull pinkish with a blackish tip, or all black.<p>Subspecies D. h. acedesta is larger, darker, and more olive than the nominate and its throat and belly are not as pale. D. h. ruficeps is slightly larger than acedesta, has a heavier bill, and is slightly paler overall. D. h. meridionalis has a darker chestnut crown and darker and more olive-brown upperparts than the other three subspecies.
Taxonomy
The ruddy woodcreeper has these four subspecies:<p>Subspecies D. h. acedesta has sometimes been merged into the nominate D. h. homochroa.
- Scientific name
- Dendrocincla homochroa
- Authority
- (Sclater, PL, 1860)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Furnariidae
- Genus
- Dendrocincla
Range and habitat
The subspecies of the ruddy woodcreeper are found thus:<p>The ruddy woodcreeper inhabits a variety of forest landscapes including lowland deciduous forest, rainforest, cloudforest, and gallery forest. It favors the interior of mature primary and secondary forest but also occurs at their edges, in younger secondary forest, and in semi-open areas with some trees. It is generally a bird of lowlands and foothills. At the northernmost edge of its range it occurs at elevations between 1,300 and 1,550 m (4,300 and 5,100 ft). In northern Central America it occurs as high as 1,650 m (5,400 ft) but is most common between 300 and 1,200 m (1,000 and 3,900 ft). In Costa Rica it mostly occurs between 500 and 1,200 m (1,600 and 3,900 ft) and in Panama between 300 and 900 m (1,000 and 3,000 ft). It is typically below 1,500 m (4,900 ft) in Colombia and below 450 m (1,500 ft) in Venezuela.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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