Peruvian Treehunter

Overview

The Peruvian treehunter (Thripadectes scrutator), also known as the rufous-backed or buff-throated treehunter, is a robust bird in the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is a year-round resident found in the cloud forests and elfin forests of the eastern Andes in Peru and Bolivia.

Identification

• 23 to 24 cm long and 56 to 61 g in weight, featuring a heavy black bill.
• Blackish face with sharp buff streaks and lores that are blackish speckled with buff.
• Upper back is blackish with wide, diffuse buff streaks that fade into a rich brown lower back with faint rufous streaks.
• Song is a loud rattle of rapid notes described as 'tchu-tchu-tchu-tchu'TCHI'TCHI'TCHI'TCHI'TCHI'TCHI' tchu'tchu-tchu-tchu-tchu', and its call is a sharp, loud 'TCHIK'.

Habitat

Found along the eastern slopes of the Andes from northern Peru to Cochabamba Department in Bolivia, ranging from 2,450 to 3,500 m in elevation. It inhabits upper elevation cloudforest and elfin forest, favouring large, dense stands of Chusquea bamboo.

Diet

Feeds on arthropods, molluscs, and small vertebrates. It forages in dense undergrowth, typically within about 2 m of the ground, by probing and gleaning in moss and foliage along bamboo, tree limbs, and trunks. Usually forages alone, rarely joining mixed-species flocks.

Did you know?

Despite a stable population trend, its habitat is being cleared and fragmented at an alarming rate throughout its range, yet the specific effects of these anthropogenic changes on its thinly distributed populations remain unknown.