White-eyed Foliage-gleaner

Overview

The white-eyed foliage-gleaner (Automolus leucophthalmus) is a species of bird in the ovenbird family Furnariidae found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. It is assessed as being of Least Concern by the IUCN Red List, although its population is believed to be decreasing.

Identification

• Length of 18 to 20 cm with a weight of 25 to 38 g and a notably heavy bill.
• Dark reddish brown crown with rufous streaks and a bright rufous tail; back blends to bright rufous uppertail coverts.
• Whitish iris and a white malar area contrasting with a dark brownish face.
• Song described as a fast, rhythmic, liquid or grating 'tlewtlew---', accompanied by high, sharp, nasal 'itew' calls.

Habitat

The species inhabits tropical evergreen forest and mature secondary forest, ranging in elevation from near sea level to about 1,000 m, though it locally reaches 1,400 m. The nominate subspecies is restricted to eastern Brazil's Bahia state, while A. l. sulphurascens ranges across south-central and southeastern Brazil, eastern Paraguay, and northeastern Argentina.

Diet

The bird feeds on a wide variety of arthropods, both adult and larval, with snails forming a minor part of its diet. It usually forages as part of a mixed-species feeding flock, staying low in dense growth in the forest's understory where it gleans and pulls prey from dead leaves, debris, and epiphytes.

Did you know?

The white-eyed foliage-gleaner builds a cup nest of plant stems and leaf rachides in a chamber at the end of a tunnel it excavates in an earthen bank. Despite extensive deforestation reducing its habitat, the species persists in small and degraded forest fragments, appearing reasonably tolerant of second growth.