Pale-browed Treehunter

Overview

The pale-browed treehunter, Cichlocolaptes leucophrus, is a species of bird in the ovenbird family Furnariidae that is endemic to Brazil. It is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, although population sizes are unknown and believed to be decreasing due to habitat loss.

Identification

• Adults of the nominate subspecies measure about 22 cm, while the C. l. holti subspecies is smaller at approximately 18 cm.
• Both subspecies possess a long, dagger-like bill and a very dark iris.
• Plumage features a buffish white supercilium, a dark brown face with a band behind the eye, and rufescent brown back with blurry buff streaks.
• Vocalisations consist of loud, ringing 'reep' notes, sometimes mixed with chattering, and calls sounding like 'krip, shrip'.

Habitat

Inhabiting southeastern Brazil, this bird resides in humid lowland and montane evergreen forest. The nominate subspecies ranges from southern Bahia to Rio de Janeiro at elevations between sea level and 1,500 m, while C. l. holti spans São Paulo to northeastern Rio Grande do Sul up to 1,000 m.

Diet

The species feeds on arthropods, typically foraging in mixed-species flocks within the forest understory and subcanopy. It probes and gleans along larger limbs, with a strong preference for searching in bromeliads and other epiphytes, sometimes hanging upside-down to feed.

Did you know?

The taxonomy of the pale-browed treehunter remains unsettled, with some authorities treating it as a single species with two subspecies while others recognise the taxa as separate species.