WOODCREEPERS: Dendrocolaptidae

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Woodcreepers range in length from 5.5 to 14 inches (14 to 36 centimeters). They have a slender body and long rounded wings. Tails are long with feather shafts that are sharp and stiff. Woodcreepers have short legs and strong claws. Bill shape varies tremendously in the group. Some species have curved sickle-shaped bills while other species have short bills. Woodcreepers are generally brown, brownish olive, brownish red or brownish yellow in color. Many species have stripes, bands, or spots. Males and females are similar in coloration and general appearance.

GEOGRAPHIC RANGE

Woodcreepers are found throughout the Central American and South American tropics. They occur from southern Mexico to northern Argentina. The greatest species diversity of woodcreepers is found in tropical Amazonia, the Amazon River basin area.

HABITAT

Woodcreepers are found in many types of rainforests, montane (mountain) forests, and brush lands.

DIET

The diet of most woodcreepers includes insects, spiders, and other invertebrates, animals without a backbone. Some species may eat larger prey such as small lizards. A few species also eat small fruits. In some species, individuals forage, or look for food, in mixed-species flocks that include other species of birds. Most woodcreepers forage, look for food, in trees, searching for insects and other prey hidden in the bark of the trunk and branches or among the mosses, lichens, and other plants that grow on branches. Woodcreepers walk, or "creep" up the tree trunk looking for food. Once they reach the top of one tree, they fly to the base of another tree and begin to forage upwards again. The woodcreepers' stiff tails help support them as they ascend a tree. Some species are also able to catch insects mid-flight, and others are known for following army ants and catching prey that the ants have flushed out.

BEHAVIOR AND REPRODUCTION

Woodcreepers stay in their breeding area all year long. They do not migrate. Some species of woodcreepers live in male-female pairs all year long, while others are solitary except during the breeding season.

At night, woodcreepers generally roost in natural tree-cavities or old woodpecker holes, with each individual occupying a separate hole.

Woodcreepers sing primarily at dusk, often while they are feeding. Their songs are simple and clear, frequently made up of either soft trills or a series of loud, ringing tones.

Woodcreepers nest in holes in tree-trunks, sometimes those which were once used by woodpeckers. They build nests from small pieces of plant material. The female generally lays two or three white eggs. Eggs hatch in fifteen to twenty-one days. The young fledge, or grow the feathers needed to fly, in nineteen to twenty-three days. Older nestling and fledgling woodcreepers spend the nights in holes separate from the parents. Both parents participate in all phases of reproductive activity, including building the nest, incubating the eggs, and feeding the hatched young.

CAVITY NESTERS

Woodcreepers are one of many groups of birds known as cavity nesters, birds that nest in tree cavities, or holes. Tree cavities occur naturally or are purposely excavated, dug out. Species that excavate their own nest cavities are known as primary cavity nesters, and include groups such as woodpeckers. Woodcreepers, on the other hand, are secondary cavity nesters, species that are unable to excavate their own cavities. Secondary cavity nesters use either naturally occurring cavities or cavities that have been excavated by other species.

WOODCREEPERS AND PEOPLE

Woodcreepers, along with other tropical birds, attract tourists and birdwatchers to rainforest habitats. They have no other known impact on or importance to humans.

CONSERVATION STATUS

The moustached woodcreeper is considered Vulnerable, facing a high risk of extinction in the wild. It occupies areas of eastern Brazil, where populations have declined due primarily to large-scale logging and habitat destruction for farming. Another species, the greater scythebill, is considered Near Threatened, likely to qualify for a threatened category in the near future, because of habitat destruction. In addition, a number of other woodcreeper species have also suffered recent declines in numbers but are not yet considered in danger of extinction.

RED-BILLED SCYTHEBILL (Campylorhamphus trochilirostris): SPECIES ACCOUNT

Physical characteristics: The red-billed scythebill is one of the larger woodcreeper species, with a body 9.5 to 11 inches (24 to 28 centimeters) in length. It has a long tail and a long, slender, downwardly-curved bill. Its back and tail are brownish red in color, while the belly is a lighter cinnamon-brown shade. The head and throat are covered with brown and white streaks.

Geographic range: The red-billed scythebill has a wide range, occurring in portions of Panama, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and northern Argentina.

Habitat: The red-billed scythebill is one of the most widely-distributed woodcreeper species. It inhabits rainforests, forests, and forests in mountainous regions up to a height of 6,600 feet (2,000 meters).

Diet: Red-billed scythebills eat insects and other invertebrates by picking them off the trunks and branches of trees.

Behavior and reproduction: Red-billed scythebills are either solitary or found in pairs. While looking for food, they sometimes join flocks that include other bird species. Two or three eggs are laid in an abandoned woodpecker hole or other tree cavity. Both parents help incubate eggs and feed nestlings.

Red-billed scythebills and people: Red-billed scythebills are not known to have any special significance to humans.

Conservation status: The red-billed scythebill is not considered threatened. ∎

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Books:

Perrins, Christopher, ed. Firefly Encyclopedia of Birds. Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books, 2003.

Web sites:

"Dendrocolaptidae (Woodcreepers)." The Internet Bird Collection. http://www.hbw.com/ibc/phtml/familia.phtml?idFamilia=107 (accessed on April 25, 2004).

"Family Dendrocolaptidae (Woodcreepers)." Animal Diversity Web. http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/classification/Dendrocolaptidae.html#Dendrocolaptidae (accessed on April 25, 2004).

"Woodcreepers." Bird Families of the World, Cornell University. http://www.es.cornell.edu/winkler/botw/dendrocolaptidae.html (accessed on April 25, 2004).