Tawny-throated Leaftosser

Overview

The tawny-throated leaftosser (Sclerurus mexicanus) is a tropical American bird in the ovenbird family Furnariidae, also known as the Middle American leaftosser. It is a year-round resident found discontinuously from Mexico to Panama.

Identification

• 15 to 17 cm long with a weight of 24 to 30 g; sexes are alike.
• Nominate subspecies has a dark reddish to chestnut brown head and upperparts, with a tawny-rufous throat and chest.
• Fairly long, slightly decurved bill with a dark maxilla and bicoloured mandible; legs and feet are dark brownish grey.
• Song consists of a descending series of 3-9 high-pitched, overslurred whistles, often starting with sharp notes and ending with short stuttering notes; principal call is a short, sharp, explosive single note.

Habitat

Generally inhabits moist subtropical and tropical lowland and submontane evergreen and semi-deciduous forest. Elevation ranges from sea level in Panama up to 2,200 m in Guatemala and Honduras. The species is patchily distributed within its broad range, from southeastern Mexico through Central America to Panama.

Diet

Forages mostly on the ground by hopping and flipping aside leaves to peck at leaf litter and rotting logs. Typically forages alone or in pairs, and does not join mixed-species foraging flocks. Diet consists primarily of invertebrates, including spiders, beetles, ants, roaches, and their larvae.

Did you know?

The species nests in a burrow in the ground, where it constructs a loose cup of dry twigs inside a chamber at the end of the tunnel.