White-throated Woodcreeper
Xiphocolaptes albicollis
Large woodcreeper with a relatively small head and a long, robust, and slightly decurved bill. Found in humid forests including Araucaria forest where it forages at all levels. Rufous-brown body with a pale face and throat, and buff streaking on the neck and crown. The breast is buffy with white streaks and the belly is barred. Sometimes found in association with army-ant swarms or mixed-species flocks. Loud, far-carrying song is a whine followed by a descending series of 4–6 disyllabic whistles.
Identification
The white-throated woodcreeper is one of the largest members of its subfamily. It is heavy-bodied, with a shortish tail and a long decurved bill. It is 27.5 to 33 cm (11 to 13 in) long and weighs 110 to 130 g (3.9 to 4.6 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a dark face with a whitish to pale buff supercilium and moustachial stripe. They have a dark stripe behind the eye and a blackish one on the cheek. Their forehead, crown, and nape are black with strong cream to buff streaks on the crown. Their back and wing coverts are brownish olive and their rump rusty chestnut; the upper back has faint light streaks. Their flight feathers have light chestnut inner webs, dark brown outer webs, and dusky tips. Their tail is dark chestnut with darker shafts on the feathers. Their throat is white to buffy white and their underparts olive-brown to tawny. Their breast and sides have bold pale buff to whitish streaks with dark edges, and their belly, thighs, and undertail coverts have distinct darker bars. Their iris is red to brown, their bill black (sometimes with a horn-colored mandible), and their legs and feet highly variable in color but generally dark. Juveniles are similar to adults with a shorter bill and rusty-yellow spots on the crown.<p>Subspecies X. a. villanovae is overall paler than the nominate, with a dark brown crown, a more obvious supercilium, weaker barring on the belly, and a shorter bill. X. a. bahiae is also paler than the nominate, but browner. Its crown is dark brown with tawny-rufous streaks, its breast streaks are without dark edges, and it has a few dusky spots instead of barring on the belly.
Taxonomy
The white-throated woodcreeper has three subspecies, the nominate X. a. albicollis (Vieillot, 1818), X. a. bahiae (Cory, 1919), and X. a. villanovae (Lima, 1920). X. a. villanovae has previously been treated as a separate species and also as a subspecies of the moustached woodcreeper (X. falcirostris). Subspecies franciscanus of the moustached woodcreeper has sometimes been treated as a subspecies of the white-throated.
- Scientific name
- Xiphocolaptes albicollis
- Authority
- (Vieillot, 1818)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Furnariidae
- Genus
- Xiphocolaptes
Range and habitat
The nominate subspecies of the white-throated woodcreeper is found in southeastern and southern Brazil from southern Bahia south into Rio Grande do Sul, through eastern Paraguay, and into Argentina as far as northeastern Corrientes Province. Subspecies X. a. villanovae is found only in a small area around Senhor do Bonfim in the northeast of Brazil's Bahia state. X. a. bahiae is found slightly more extensively in the Chapada Diamantina of eastern and central Bahia. The species is primarily a bird of the humid Atlantic Forest and also occurs in semi-deciduous forest and in gallery forest in cerrado. It favors the interior of primary forest but regularly occurs at its edges and in mature secondary forest. In elevation it is mostly found below 1,500 m (4,900 ft) but occurs as high as 2,000 m (6,600 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Hen Harrier
Circus cyaneus
Medium-sized harrier, flies with wings held in a V-shape, low over open fields and marshes, listening for rodents lurking below. Distinctive foraging behavior and conspicuous white patch on rump in all plumages. Five long primary ‘finger tips’ prominent in flight. Females and immatures are warm brown with streaky breasts. Adult male has plain mid-gray wings with black wingtips and paler belly.
Green-backed Whistler
Pachycephala albiventris
A fairly small bird of forest from the lowlands to middle elevations in the mountains. Olive-green on the head, back, wings, and tail. Gray on the chest with a slightly streaked throat, a whitish belly, and pale yellow under the base of the tail. Note the fairly thick bill. Similar to Ashy-breasted Flycatcher, but smaller, with a thicker bill. Song is a typical whistler-like melody including some explosive, upslurred “whip!” or downslurred “piuu!” notes.
Chilean Woodstar
Eulidia yarrellii
Tiny, highly endangered hummingbird found very locally in the desert of northern Chile. Favors native desert scrub in lowland valleys, but widely eliminated from most areas by intensive agriculture. Male most often detected by insectlike buzz made by wings in flight. Also perches conspicuously atop bushes and on wires; note diagnostic crossed tail feathers. Female similar to Peruvian Sheartail, but has shorter tail with pale rusty bases to outer feathers (hard to see).
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.