White-chinned Woodcreeper

Overview

The white-chinned woodcreeper (Dendrocincla merula) is a medium-sized bird within the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is classified as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN, though its population is believed to be decreasing.

Identification

• Medium-sized bird measuring 16 to 21 cm in length with a shortish, straight bill.
• Mostly dark reddish brown upperparts, sometimes with a redder cast to the wings and tail, contrasting with a narrow white to yellowish vertical stripe on the chin and throat.
• A piercing call described as 'deet-eet-ee' or a song of 6-9 loud whistled notes such as 'kew, kew, kew, kew, kew, kewp' varies by subspecies.
• Legs and feet appear bluish, olive, gray, or brownish, while the bill is brownish to black.

Habitat

Native to the Amazon Basin, this species inhabits humid landscapes, primarily terra firme and floodplain forests. It is almost always found in the forest understory, generally at elevations below 300 m but reaching up to 600 m on western fringes of its range.

Diet

An obligate follower of army ant swarms, it typically perches on a branch or trunk near the ground to capture arthropod prey disturbed by the ants. It does not feed on the ants themselves but occasionally takes small vertebrates fleeing the swarm.

Did you know?

Like other obligate ant-followers, this species is highly sensitive to fragmentation and disturbance of mature forest, all but disappearing from fragments up to 100 ha in size.