Cinnamon-throated woodcreeper facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Cinnamon-throated woodcreeper |
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Dendrexetastes
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rufigula
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The cinnamon-throated woodcreeper (Dendrexetastes rufigula) is a cool bird found in South America. It's a type of passerine bird, which means it's a perching bird. It belongs to the Furnariidae family, often called the ovenbird family. You can find this bird in countries like Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
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About the Cinnamon-throated Woodcreeper
The cinnamon-throated woodcreeper is special because it's the only bird in its group, called Dendrexetastes. Scientists have found four different types, or subspecies, of this bird:
- D. r. devillei
- D. r. rufigula
- D. r. moniliger
- D. r. paraensis
One type, D. r. devillei, was once thought to be a separate species. But its calls are very similar to the others. This woodcreeper is closely related to another bird called the long-billed woodcreeper.
What Does This Bird Look Like?
The cinnamon-throated woodcreeper is one of the bigger woodcreepers. It has a strong body, short wings, and a short, thick beak. The tip of its beak is slightly hooked. These birds are about 22.5 to 27 centimeters (9 to 11 inches) long. Males usually weigh between 64 and 74 grams (2.3 to 2.6 ounces). Females are a bit heavier, weighing 66 to 77 grams (2.3 to 2.7 ounces). Both male and female birds look very similar.
The most common type, D. r. rufigula, has mostly medium brown feathers on its upper body. Its head is a bit lighter. Its wings, rump, and tail feathers are a reddish-brown color. You might see some faint whitish stripes on its neck and upper back. Its belly is usually a lighter, cinnamon-brown color. Its throat is a bright, rusty-orange color. Its chest has wide, whitish stripes with black edges. These stripes can go up to the sides of its neck. Sometimes, it has faint darker stripes on its lower belly.
Its eyes can be red or light brown. Its beak can be horn-gray, bluish, or dull yellowish-green. Its legs and feet are usually slate gray, greenish-gray, or bluish-black.
Differences in Subspecies
- D. r. devillei has fainter patterns than the main type. It has very light stripes on its chest and no stripes on its neck. It also doesn't have stripes on its belly.
- D. r. paraensis looks a lot like the main type. But it has a clear white stripe above its eye. Its chest and neck stripes are also more rounded.
- D. r. moniliger is not as bright or reddish as the other types. However, it has bolder stripes on its chest and neck.
Where Do They Live?
The different types of cinnamon-throated woodcreepers live in various parts of South America:
- D. r. devillei lives in western Amazonia. This includes central Colombia, eastern Ecuador, and eastern Peru. It also extends into Brazil and northern Bolivia.
- D. r. rufigula is found in northeastern Amazonia. This area stretches from eastern Venezuela through the Guianas. It also covers northern Brazil, from the Rio Negro to the Atlantic Ocean.
- D. r. moniliger lives in Amazonian Brazil, south of the Amazon River. It's found between the Rio Madeira and the Rio Tocantins, going south to Mato Grosso.
- D. r. paraensis is also in Amazonian Brazil, south of the Amazon. It lives east of the Rio Tocantins.
These birds mostly live in humid forests. They like both terra firme (dry land forest) and várzea (flooded forest). In the Guianas, they often live in forests on sand ridges and in savannas. They prefer palm forests, the edges of evergreen forests, and older secondary forests. They don't usually go deep into primary forests. You can also often find them on river islands. They usually live below 500 meters (1,600 feet) in elevation. But sometimes, they are found as high as 950 meters (3,100 feet) in the Andes mountains.
How Do They Behave?
Staying in One Place
The cinnamon-throated woodcreeper stays in the same area all year round. It does not migrate.
What Do They Eat?
This bird often looks for food alone. It also joins mixed-species feeding flocks with other birds. It sometimes forages in pairs. It climbs up tree trunks and branches from the middle of the forest to the very top. It also searches among living and dead leaves and epiphytes (plants that grow on other plants). We don't know exactly what they eat, but it seems to be mostly arthropods (like insects) and some fruit.
How Do They Raise Their Young?
We don't know much about when the cinnamon-throated woodcreeper breeds. In the Guianas, they seem to breed during the dry season. They build their nests in holes in trees. These holes can be natural or made by woodpeckers. Sometimes, they even nest in thatched roofs! A female usually lays two or three eggs. We don't know how long the eggs take to hatch or when the young birds leave the nest. We also don't know much about how the parents care for their chicks.
What Do They Sound Like?
The cinnamon-throated woodcreeper sings mostly at dawn and dusk. One person described its song as "a fast series of loud rattled notes." It starts by going higher in pitch and then goes lower and fades away at the end. It "always ends with a distinctive lower-pitched 'tchew' or 'trreew' note." Another person said it sounds like a "very high loud series of ringing notes, almost like a trill."
Is This Bird Safe?
The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has said the cinnamon-throated woodcreeper is a species of "Least Concern." This means it's not currently in danger of disappearing. It lives across a very large area. Even though we don't know its exact population size, scientists believe it is stable. There are no immediate threats that have been found.
This bird is considered "uncommon to common" in different places. It's often heard more than it's seen, which makes it hard to count them accurately. It is thought to be "highly sensitive to habitat modification." This means it can disappear from forests that have been selectively logged (where only some trees are cut down).
