Chestnut-winged Foliage-gleaner

Overview

The chestnut-winged foliage-gleaner, scientifically known as Dendroma erythroptera, is a species of ovenbird found in South America. It is a largish furnariid that inhabits tropical lowland evergreen and flooded forests across Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.

Identification

• A medium-sized bird measuring 17 to 19 cm in length with dull brownish gray upperparts and a tawny eyering.
• Wings are rufous with black streaks, featuring dark chestnut primary coverts and dark rufous tail feathers.
• Underparts are light brownish with indistinct ochraceous tawny streaks on the breast, fading to a paler belly, with yellowish green legs.
• Song is described as a fast, buzzy, slightly accelerating, quavering or slightly descending trill lasting two to three seconds.

Habitat

This species resides in tropical lowland evergreen and flooded forests, favouring terra firme forest but also occurring in várzea forest. It is typically found at elevations up to 500 m, though locally it may be found as high as 1,200 m. Its range extends from southeastern Colombia south through eastern Ecuador and Peru into northeastern Bolivia and eastern Brazil, with additional populations in southern Venezuela and the Brazilian states of Pará and Maranhão.

Diet

The chestnut-winged foliage-gleaner feeds on arthropods, typically foraging in pairs or within mixed-species feeding flocks. It acrobatically gleans prey from live and dead leaves and sometimes twigs near the ends of branches, mostly within the forest's mid-storey to canopy.

Did you know?

Despite its common name suggesting a distinct wing pattern, the bird's taxonomy is unsettled, with different authorities placing it in the genera Dendroma or Philydor, and its population is believed to be decreasing despite no immediate threats being identified.