Ocellated woodcreeper explained

The ocellated woodcreeper (Xiphorhynchus ocellatus) is a species of bird in the subfamily Dendrocolaptinae of the ovenbird family Furnariidae.[1] It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.[2]

Taxonomy and systematics

The ocellated woodcreeper's taxonomy is unsettled. The South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society (SACC) and the Clements taxonomy have long treated it as a species with seven subspecies.[3] [4] The International Ornithological Committee (IOC) formerly treated it as a species with four subspecies; the other three were treated as Tschudi's woodcreeper (X. chunchotambo). In July 2023 the IOC lumped Tschudi's into the ocellated woodcreeper, resulting in the same treatment as that of the SACC and Clements.[5]

The seven subspecies recognized by these taxonomic systems are:[3] [4] [1]

However, BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) considers only X. o. perplexus and X. o. ocellatus as the ocellated woodcreeper. It retains X. o. napensis, X. o. chunchotambo, and X. o. brevirostris as Tschudi's woodcreepr and treatsX. o. lineatocapilla and X. o. beauperthuysii as the line-crowned woodcreeper.[6]

This article follows the single species, seven-subspecies, model.

Description

The ocellated woodcreeper is 20to long and weighs 24to. It is a slim, medium-sized woodcreeper with a long and nearly straight bill. The sexes are alike. Adults of the nominate subspecies X. o. ocellatus have a dark brown crown and nape with fine buff streaks on the crown. Their back is plain reddish brown to olive-brown, their rump and wings cinnamon-rufous, and their tail a darker cinnamon-rufous. Their throat is deep buff with darker edges to the feathers. Their underparts are olive-brown that becomes more rufescent on the undertail coverts. Their upper breast has large buff "teardrops" with weak darker borders, their lower breast has weak buff streaks, and their belly is unmarked. Their iris is dark brown, their bill blackish with a pale gray mandible, and their legs and feet gray. Juveniles are similar to adults but with heavier markings on their underparts.[7]

The other subspecies of the ocellated woodcreeper differ from the nominate and each other thus:[7]

Distribution and habitat

The subspecies of the ocellated woodcreeper are found thus:[1] [7]

The ocellated woodcreeper primarily inhabits evergreen forest. Most of the subspecies favor terra firme forest and are also found in várzea, other seasonally flooded forest types, and wooded swamps. The three "Tschudi's" subspecies are found in terra firme but are more common in montane forest and cloudforest. All prefer the interior of mature forest but also occur at its edges and in secondary forest. The species mostly occurs at elevations below 500m (1,600feet) but reaches 1800m (5,900feet) in the Andes.[7] [8] [9] [10]

Behavior

Movement

The ocellated woodcreeper is a year-round resident throughout its range.[7]

Feeding

The ocellated woodcreeper's diet has not been fully described but is believed to be primarily arthropods. Single birds and pairs frequently join mixed-species foraging flocks and occasionally follow army ant swarms. The species hitches up trunks and along branches, mostly from the forest's understory to its sub-canopy. It takes most of its prey from bark, by picking and probing. It also sometimes probes vegetation like epiphytes.[7] [8] [9]

Breeding

Essentially nothing is known about the ocellated woodcreeper's breeding biology.[7]

Vocalization

The ocellated woodcreeper sings mostly at dawn and dusk, and usually gives only a few songs then. Its song varies geographically.[7] For instance, in eastern Ecuador it is "a fast series of nasal notes...'whe-whe-whe-whe-whe-chéchécheow' ".[9] In much of Brazil it is a "short, fast, descending, rattling series of notes"[10] and in other parts "a rapid trill...'re-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-eet' "[7] . In Peru it is "a quiet, accelerating series...e.g. 'hee-ee-ee-i’i’i’i’i’i’ chee’ee’ee tree’ee’ee tree’ee’ee' ".[7] The species also has a wide variety of calls.[7]

Status

The IUCN follows HBW taxonomy and so has separately assessed the ocellated sensu stricto, "line-crowned", and "Tschudi's" woodcreepers. All three are assessed as being of Least Concern. They have large to very large ranges, but their population sizes are not known and all are believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats to any of them have been identified.[11] [12] The species appears to be fairly common to common in most of its range but is "believed to be highly sensitive to loss and fragmentation of forest".[7]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ovenbirds, woodcreepers . IOC World Bird List . v 13.2 . Gill . Frank . Frank Gill (ornithologist) . Donsker . David . Rasmussen . Pamela . Pamela Rasmussen . July 2023 . July 31, 2023 .
  2. Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, G. Del-Rio, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 31 May 2023. Species Lists of Birds for South American Countries and Territories. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCCountryLists.htm retrieved May 31, 2023
  3. Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, G. Del-Rio, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 31 May 2023. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved May 31, 2023
  4. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ retrieved November 10, 2022
  5. Web site: Ovenbirds, woodcreepers . IOC World Bird List . v 13.2 . Gill . Frank . Frank Gill (ornithologist) . Donsker . David . Rasmussen . Pamela . Pamela Rasmussen . July 2023 . July 31, 2023 .
  6. HBW and BirdLife International (2022) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 7. Available at: https://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v7_Dec22.zip retrieved December 13, 2022
  7. Marantz, C. A., J. del Hoyo, N. Collar, A. Aleixo, L. R. Bevier, G. M. Kirwan, and M. A. Patten (2020). Ocellated Woodcreeper (Xiphorhynchus ocellatus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, B. K. Keeney, P. G. Rodewald, and T. S. Schulenberg, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.ocewoo1.01 retrieved August 13, 2023
  8. Book: McMullan . Miles . Donegan . Thomas M. . Quevedo . Alonso . Field Guide to the Birds of Colombia . ProAves . 2010 . Bogotá . 126 . 978-0-9827615-0-2 .
  9. Book: Ridgely . Robert S. . Greenfield . Paul J. . The Birds of Ecuador: Field Guide . Cornell University Press . II. 2001 . Ithaca . 384–385 . 978-0-8014-8721-7 .
  10. Book: van Perlo, Ber. A Field Guide to the Birds of Brazil . Oxford University Press . 2009 . New York . 204 . 978-0-19-530155-7 .
  11. BirdLife International . 2017 . Line-crowned Woodcreeper Xiphorhynchus beauperthuysii . 2017 . e.T103669951A112377362 . 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T103669951A112377362.en . 13 August 2023.
  12. BirdLife International . 2017 . Tschudi's Woodcreeper Xiphorhynchus chunchotambo . 2017 . e.T103670009A112378014 . 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T103670009A112378014.en . 13 August 2023.

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