Northern Barred Woodcreeper

Overview

The northern barred woodcreeper (Dendrocolaptes sanctithomae) is a sub-oscine passerine bird in the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is classified as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN, although its population is believed to be decreasing. The species is distributed across Central America and parts of northern South America.

Identification

• A slim, large woodcreeper measuring 25 to 29 cm in length, with a long tail and a medium-length straight bill.
• Plumage features a cinnamon-brown face with fine barring, black lores, and rich rufescent forehead, crown, and nape.
• Underparts are golden to cinnamon-buff with narrow, well-defined black barring, while the back and wing coverts are olive-brown.
• Males possess a shaggy crest; the song consists of a series of loud whistles that rise at the end, described as 'téw-wee, téw-wee, téw-weea'.

Habitat

Found from southern Mexico through Central America to Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador, the bird primarily inhabits humid tall evergreen forest. It also occurs in gallery forest, semi-deciduous forest, mangroves, and occasionally cloudforest or pine-oak woodlands. It favours the forest interior but is regular at edges, in mature secondary forest, and in plantations near natural forest, mostly at elevations below 1,000 m.

Diet

The bird forages mostly by following army ant swarms to feed on prey disturbed by the ants, typically perching on near-vertical trunks and making short flights to pick prey from the ground, trunks, vines, and foliage. Its diet consists mostly of arthropods, including insects, spiders, centipedes, and scorpions, and also includes small vertebrates like lizards.

Did you know?

The northern barred woodcreeper is sensitive to forest fragmentation and requires a relatively large home range, making it unlikely to colonise new areas across barriers of unsuitable habitat.