Red-billed woodcreeper facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Red-billed woodcreeper
Scientific classification
Genus:	Hylexetastes
Species:	perrotii

The red-billed woodcreeper is a cool bird found in the forests of South America. Its scientific name is Hylexetastes perrotii. It belongs to the bird family called Furnariidae, which includes ovenbirds.

You can find this bird in countries like Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela.

About the Red-billed Woodcreeper

What's in a Name?

Scientists sometimes have different ideas about how to group animals. For the red-billed woodcreeper, most experts agree it's a unique species. It's not usually mixed up with other similar birds.

What Does It Look Like?

The red-billed woodcreeper is one of the biggest birds in its group. It's quite strong and has a short tail. Its bill, or beak, is short but very thick.

These birds are about 25 to 30 centimeters (10 to 12 inches) long. Males usually weigh between 112 and 137.5 grams (4 to 4.8 ounces). Females are a bit heavier, weighing 110 to 145 grams (3.9 to 5.1 ounces).

Both male and female red-billed woodcreepers look alike. Their heads, backs, and wing feathers are a smoky brown or olive-brown color. Their lower back, wings, and tail are a bright reddish-brown. The tips of their main wing feathers are a bit darker.

They have white patches near their eyes, almost like a white mustache! Their throat is olive-brown with a lighter center. Their chest is grayish-brown, and their belly is a buffy brown.

Their eyes can be brown, reddish-brown, or red. Their bill is a pretty wine-red or brownish color. Their legs and feet are green or olive, sometimes with brown or gray.

Younger birds have faint stripes on their heads. They also have more reddish-brown colors and bars on their undersides. Their eyes are dark gray, and their bills are dusky or blackish.

Where Does It Live?

The red-billed woodcreeper lives in the northeastern part of the Amazon Basin. This area stretches from eastern Venezuela, through the Guianas, and into northern Brazil. It mostly lives north of the Amazon River.

This bird loves humid terra firme forests. These are forests on high, dry ground. It can also be found in forests along rivers, called gallery forests. Sometimes, it lives in forests that flood, known as várzea. In Suriname, it's even seen in savannas sometimes.

It prefers the deep parts of old, untouched forests. However, you might also spot it at the edges of these forests or in older secondary forests (forests that have grown back after being cut down). It only lives in low-lying areas.

Red-billed Woodcreeper Behavior

Movement and Home

The red-billed woodcreeper stays in the same area all year long. It doesn't migrate to different places.

What Does It Eat?

This bird mainly eats many different kinds of arthropods, like insects and spiders. It also eats small animals such as frogs and snakes.

Red-billed woodcreepers usually hunt alone or in pairs. They often follow army ant swarms. These ants stir up other insects, making them easy to catch! The woodcreeper also joins mixed-species feeding flocks, where different bird species hunt together.

They hunt by flying out from a branch to grab prey. When following ants, they stay fairly low to the ground. In other areas, they might hunt higher up in the trees. They have even been seen digging for food in rotten wood and termite nests.

Reproduction and Life Cycle

We don't know a lot about how red-billed woodcreepers raise their young. In Brazil, they seem to nest between June and September. In the Guianas, it's a bit later.

The few nests that have been found were in holes near the top of tree stumps. Scientists think they might lay only one egg, but this is not certain.

What Does It Sound Like?

The red-billed woodcreeper sings mostly at dawn and dusk. Sometimes, it sings during the day too. Its song is a loud, clear series of 2 to 6 whistles. It sounds like "kyuu-hee, kyuu-hee…" or "hoooooreet, hoooooreet, hoooreet, hooreet".

It also makes many different calls. Some sound like "screee-wip" or "nnyeah". Others are like "nyip, nyeek, nyeek, weeweweweip" or a growling "cag" sound. It can even make faint grunting noises like "whinh, whaih, whaih".

Status and Protection

The red-billed woodcreeper is not very well known. It's thought to be uncommon or rare throughout the places it lives. It seems to live in low numbers and needs large areas of forest for itself.

This bird is very sensitive to changes in its habitat. This means that if forests are cut down or changed, it can be hard for these birds to survive.