Elegant woodcreeper facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Elegant woodcreeper |
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Xiphorhynchus
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elegans
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The elegant woodcreeper (Xiphorhynchus elegans) is a type of bird. It belongs to the Dendrocolaptinae group, which is part of the Furnariidae family. This family is also known as the ovenbird family. You can find this bird in countries like Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
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About the Elegant Woodcreeper
Different Types of Elegant Woodcreepers
Scientists group animals into different types. The elegant woodcreeper has five main types, called subspecies. These are like different versions of the same bird, often found in different places.
- X. e. buenavistae
- X. e. ornatus
- X. e. insignis
- X. e. juruanus
- X. e. elegans
Sometimes, experts thought the elegant woodcreeper and another bird, Spix's woodcreeper, were the same species. Also, some of these subspecies were once thought to be separate species.
What Does It Look Like?
The elegant woodcreeper is a medium-sized bird. It has a long, thin, and almost straight beak. These birds are about 18 to 22.5 centimeters (7 to 9 inches) long. Males usually weigh 31 to 38 grams (1.1 to 1.3 ounces). Females are a bit lighter, weighing 29 to 35 grams (1.0 to 1.2 ounces). Both male and female birds look very similar.
The main type, X. e. elegans, has a dark brownish-black face. It has clear, light streaks and a pale stripe above its eye. The top of its head and back of its neck are dark olive-brown. They have small, light spots with dark edges there. Its back is a lighter brown with tear-shaped spots.
Its wings, rump, and tail are a reddish-brown color. The feathers covering its wings have light stripes or spots. Its throat is a light, creamy white. Its chest and sides are grayish olive-brown. These areas have light, tear-shaped spots or V-shapes with dark edges. The lower belly is more yellowish-brown.
The bird's eyes can be light or dark brown. Its upper beak is dark brown or black. The lower beak is gray or bluish-gray with a brown tip. Its legs and feet are dark gray or bluish-gray. Young birds look like adults but are darker. They have fine streaks on their upper back.
Other subspecies have slight differences. For example, X. e. ornatus is warmer in color with bigger spots. X. e. insignis has plain wing feathers without streaks.
Where It Lives and What It Likes
Where to Find Them
The different types of elegant woodcreepers live in various parts of South America:
- X. e. buenavistae: Found in south-central Colombia, near the Rio Orinoco.
- X. e. ornatus: Lives in the northwestern Amazon Basin. This includes parts of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil.
- X. e. insignis: Found in east-central Peru.
- X. e. juruanus: Lives in the southwestern Amazon Basin. This covers eastern Peru, western Brazil, and northwestern Bolivia.
- X. e. elegans: Found in the southern Amazon Basin in Brazil and eastern Bolivia.
Their Home Environment
The elegant woodcreeper mostly lives in humid evergreen forests. It prefers forests on higher ground (called terra firme). It also likes forests that flood sometimes, known as várzea and igapó forests. You might also see it on river islands. In some southern areas, it lives in gallery forests within the cerrado grasslands.
These birds mostly stay inside the forest. However, they can also be seen at the edges of forests or in secondary forests (forests that have grown back). In most places, they live below 600 meters (2,000 feet) in elevation. But on the eastern slopes of the Andes mountains, they can be found up to 1,500 meters (4,900 feet) high.
How It Behaves
Staying in One Place
The elegant woodcreeper does not migrate. It stays in the same area all year round.
What It Eats and How It Finds Food
This bird mainly eats arthropods, which are creatures like insects and spiders. Sometimes, it also eats small animals with backbones. Elegant woodcreepers often join groups of different bird species that are looking for food together. They especially like groups led by Thamnomanes antshrikes.
They usually search for food from the ground up to about 10 meters (33 feet) high. But they can go as high as 20 meters (66 feet). They climb up and along tree trunks and branches. They find their food by picking it from bark cracks, dead leaves, plants growing on other plants (called epiphytes), and dead wood. Sometimes, they follow army ants. When they do, they mostly peck prey from tree trunks near the ground. They also fly out from a branch to catch insects in the air.
Breeding and Nests
The breeding season for the elegant woodcreeper is not fully known. It seems to be from August to October. These birds build their nests in holes in trees. Only one nest has been fully studied. It had two eggs. The eggs hatched after at least 16 days. The young birds left the nest after 18 to 19 days.
What Sounds It Makes
The elegant woodcreeper sings mostly at dawn and dusk. One of its songs is a series of about 30 clear whistles. It starts softly and slows down at the end. It sounds like "whit, whit, wit, wit, wit…wit, wit, wee, wee, wee, wit, wit, wit, wit, wew." Another song sounds like "tchip-tchip-tchip-tchip-thcup-tchup, tucweu, tchweu." Its calls include sharp "chip" notes followed by a whine, or a "3-noted 'tjictjicwuuuw'."
Its Conservation Status
The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has listed the elegant woodcreeper as a species of "Least Concern." This means it is not currently in danger of disappearing. However, its population size is not known, and it is thought to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been found.
The bird is considered fairly common in most of its range. But in Ecuador, it is rare or uncommon in some places. Since it depends on forests, losing or breaking up its forest home could be a big problem for this bird.
