Santa Marta Foliage-gleaner

Overview

The Santa Marta foliage-gleaner (Clibanornis rufipectus) is a vulnerable, monotypic species of bird in the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is strictly endemic to the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in northern Colombia.

Identification

• Adults possess a reddish brown face with slightly paler lores and a ring of bare blue skin around the eye.
• Medium brown crown and back, with wing coverts and flight feathers that are medium reddish brown with rufous edges.
• Dark chestnut tail, a pale rufous throat blending into a reddish brown breast, and a light rufescent brown lower breast and belly.
• Measures 17 to 20 cm in length with a black to grey maxilla and pinkish grey to dusky horn mandible.
• Calls consist of 'churrs' that are two- or three-noted while foraging, changing to three- to four-noted when in alarm.

Habitat

This species inhabits the undergrowth of semi-humid primary and secondary forests, as well as shade coffee plantations, with a preference for dark ravines. Its elevational range spans approximately 600 to 1,900 m.

Diet

Although not specifically detailed, its diet is assumed to consist of arthropods and small vertebrates. It typically forages alone or in pairs within dense vegetation close to the ground, taking prey mostly from dead leaves.

Did you know?

An active nest was discovered in February, but no details regarding the nest's structure were recorded, leaving its breeding biology largely a mystery.