Striated Earthcreeper

Overview

The striated earthcreeper is a species of bird in the ovenbird family Furnariidae, endemic to Peru. Classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, it is a large earthcreeper that has been genetically separated from the genus Upucerthia into its own genus, Geocerthia.

Identification

• Measures 18 to 20.5 cm in length and weighs 41 to 52 g, featuring a long, slightly decurved bill.
• Plumage is uniformly dull rufous on the wings and tail, with dark brown upperparts streaked with whitish buff on the crown and neck.
• Underparts are dull gray or olive brown with whitish buff streaks on the breast and belly, while the throat is dirty white with dusky scaling.
• Vocalisations include a harsh, slowing trill described as "kip kip trrrrrrrrr-r-r" and a single, drawn-out, wheezy "weeeee" call.

Habitat

Found in the Andes of northern, central, and southern Peru, ranging from the Department of Cajamarca to Huancavelica. It inhabits arid montane scrublands, rocky slopes with bushes, and Polylepis woodlands, typically between 3,000 and 4,600 m in elevation.

Diet

Arthropods form the major component of its diet. It forages singly or in pairs, primarily on the ground by probing, gleaning, and flicking aside leaf litter, or by probing bark crevices in Polylepis woodlands.

Did you know?

Despite living in the wild, this species has been observed nesting inside adobe walls, in addition to the burrows in pebbly earth banks where its only formally described nest was found.