Chestnut-crowned Foliage-gleaner

Overview

The chestnut-crowned foliage-gleaner (Automolus rufipileatus) is a species of ovenbird found across mainland South America, excluding Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay. It is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, though its population is believed to be decreasing and its distribution is limited to riverine habitats.

Identification

• Body length of 18 to 19 cm with a weight of 31 to 38 g, featuring a dark reddish chestnut crown and rufescent brown face.
• Underparts are bright buff on the throat fading to pale buff-brown on the breast and belly, with dull brown sides and flanks.
• Eyes are yellow-orange to orange, with a blackish to olive-gray upper bill and silvery horn to grayish olive lower bill.
• Song consists of a run-together series of sharp, staccato notes dropping in pitch, described as 'd-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r' or a short 'kriiiiiiih' trill.

Habitat

Primarily inhabits riverside and várzea forest, with a strong preference for thickets of Guadua bamboo and Gynerium cane, though it also occurs locally in bamboo patches within terra firme forest. It ranges in elevation from sea level to 500 m, but may locally reach 1,300 m.

Diet

Feeds mostly on a variety of insects and spiders, with small tree frogs also recorded in its diet. It forages in pairs from the undergrowth to the mid-storey, acrobatically gleaning and pulling prey from debris and clumps of dead leaves.

Did you know?

Almost nothing is known about its breeding biology, with males found in breeding condition in February in Venezuela providing the only hint to its breeding season.