Zimmer's Woodcreeper
Dendroplex kienerii
Medium-sized, slim woodcreeper with a longish tail and shortish bill. Note the whitish eyebrow. Has a streaked head and upper back. Breast streaks have a triangular shape and dark edges. Inhabits the interior of seasonally flooded forests and forests on river islands; forages at middle levels, often accompanying mixed-species flocks. Sings a fast trill: “tr’r’r’r’r’r’r’r’r’r’r.” The similar, commoner Straight-billed Woodcreeper has a straighter, paler, and thicker bill, shorter tail, and slower song.
Identification
Zimmer's woodcreeper is 21 to 24 cm (8.3 to 9.4 in) long and weighs 40 to 50 g (1.4 to 1.8 oz). It is a slim, medium-sized woodcreeper with a short bill whose culmen curves gently down to a sharp tip. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have whitish lores and supercilium on a blackish and white streaked face. Their crown is grayish brown with light buffy spots and blackish tips on the feathers. Their nape is lighter and browner with fuzzy streaks. Their back and wing coverts are dark brown to reddish brown with narrow streaks only on the upper back. Their rump is light rufous-chestnut. Their flight feathers and tail are darker rufous-chestnut, and their flight feathers have dusky blackish tips. Their throat is whitish with a trace of buffy and thin dusky streaking on the sides. Their breast is cinnamon-brown with buff triangular streaks that have blackish edges; the streaks disappear by the more rufescent belly. Their undertail coverts are rufescent with wide buffy streaks, and their underwing coverts are light ochraceous-buff. Their iris is light brown to dark brownish gray and is surrounded by a mustard-yellow eyering. Their bill is grayish horn to whitish with a dusky base to the maxilla. Their legs and feet are bluish gray to dull brownish slate. Juveniles are similar to adults but duller overall, with less distinct spots and streaks and a blackish bill.
Taxonomy
Zimmer's woodcreeper was originally described as Dendrornis kienerii. In 1934 Zimmer described what he believed was a new species, naming it Xiphorhynchus necopinus. By 2002 it was realized that the species was actually the earlier-described D. kienerii, so by the principle of priority, the specific epithet reverted to kienerii. In the 1950s genus Dendroplex had been merged into genus Xyphorhynchus but in the early 2000s it was resurrected for this species and the straight-billed woodcreeper (D. picus).<p>Zimmer's woodcreeper is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Dendroplex kienerii
- Authority
- (des Murs, 1856)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Furnariidae
- Genus
- Dendroplex
Range and habitat
Zimmer's woodcreeper is found along the Amazon River from extreme southeastern Colombia and northeastern Peru into Brazil to near the mouth of the Rio Tapajós, and also along major Amazon tributaries to the north and as far south as Rondônia. It almost exclusively inhabits seasonally flooded várzea and igapó forest along the rivers; it also inhabits river islands. It favors the interior of the forest but also occurs at its edges and in mature secondary forest. In elevation it generally reaches only about as high as 200 m (700 ft) but occurs up to 400 m (1,300 ft) in Colombia.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Large-billed Crow
Corvus macrorhynchos
A large crow that varies in size across its range; note its relatively long, daggerlike bill with curved top. Entirely black with a variable amount of glossiness. A frequent scavenger, feeding on carrion, leftover food from humans, and food stolen from other birds. Often gangs up to attack and chase other birds, especially raptors. Occurs in a wide range of habitats including woodlands, urban landscapes, agricultural fields, and open scrub forests. Call varies, generally a harsh or croaking crow.
Greater Lophorina
Lophorina latipennis
A fairly large bird of mid-montane forest, including disturbed areas with Casuarinas. Male, mainly black plumage with 2 remarkable erectile fans which are lifted up over the head during its display, metallic, blue-green, trapezium-shaped breast shield and patches above the eyes. Female has a gray-brown back with rufous flight feathers, barred underparts, a broad, black eye-stripe and white eye-brow. Female similar to female parotias, but is slightly smaller and has a dark eye. Female also similar to female Magnificent Bird-of-Paradise but is larger and has a black bill. The male’s yellow-green interior of the mouth is visible whilst it gives its piercing nasal screech.
Barred Dove
Geopelia maugeus
A small, long-tailed dove with extensive barring over its body. Pale gray head with distinctive orange eye-ring. Upperparts extensively barred brown; paler underside also strongly barred except for unbarred belly. Singles, pairs, and groups occur from sea level to the foothills. Forages on the ground or perches low in open habitats, lightly wooded areas, gardens, scrub, and plantations, often around villages. Unmistakable: the only small, long-tailed, extensively barred dove in range. Conspicuous high-pitched song is a disyllabic “wa-dloo” repeated often. Also gives a purring “grrrrrr” note.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.