Guianan Woodcreeper

Overview

The Guianan woodcreeper (Lepidocolaptes albolineatus), also known as the lineated woodcreeper, is a small bird in the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, though its population is believed to be decreasing.

Identification

• Length 17–19 cm with a slim, decurved bill.
• Plumage includes a dusky brown face and crown with fine buff spots, a dark russet-brown back, and rufous-chestnut wings and tail with blackish tips on the primaries.
• Underparts are grayish to olive-brown with bold, blackish-edged, pale buff or creamy white streaks.
• Song is a soft trill that rises and falls in pitch, trailing off after 20–40 notes over 2–3 seconds.

Habitat

Found in northern Amazonia across eastern Venezuela, the Guianas, and northern Brazil north of the Amazon River. It primarily inhabits the interior and edges of tall primary forest and mature secondary forest, favouring terra firme and floodplain forest. It generally occurs below 1,000 m but is occasionally found up to 1,800 m in Venezuela.

Diet

The diet consists primarily of arthropods, which are foraged by hitching along branches, often on the underside in the sub-canopy and canopy. Prey is usually taken from the bark by picking, probing, and prying off flakes, and the bird often joins mixed-species feeding flocks.

Did you know?

Breeding occurs during the Guianan dry season from July to September, with only one known nest situated in a cavity near the top of a dead stump and lined with bark chips.