Lafresnaye's Woodcreeper
Encyclopedia
The Lafresnaye's Woodcreeper (Xiphorhynchus guttatoides) is a resident passerine
bird
found in tropical South America
in the western and southern Amazon
and adjacent sections of the Cerrado
. It is often considered a subspecies
of the Buff-throated Woodcreeper
, but this combined "species" would be polyphyletic. It includes the Dusky-billed Woodcreeper (Xiphorhynchus guttatoides eytoni), which sometimes is considered a separate species (see Taxonomy).
is, together with Buff-throated Woodcreeper
, the largest member of the genus Xiphorhynchus
. The wings and tail are rufous. The head, mantle and underparts are olive-brown streaked buff
(subspecies X. g. guttatoides and X. g. dorbignyanus) or whitish (X. g. eytoni, X. g. gracilirostris and X. g. vicinalis). The bill is long, slightly decurved, and hooked at the tip. The bill is mainly pale horn (X. g. guttatoides and X. g. dorbignyanus) or blackish (X. g. eytoni, X. g. gracilirostris and X. g. vicinalis).
s, which feeds on ant
s and other insect
s and spider
s. It feeds low in trees, usually alone, but groups will follow columns of army ant
s. The species builds a bark-lined nest in a tree hole or hollow stump and lays two white eggs.
is highly complex. It has often been considered a subspecies of the Buff-throated Woodcreeper, but molecular data indicates that this species is closer the Cocoa Woodcreeper
than it is to Lafresnaye's Woodcreeper. Alternatively, the eytoni group (incl. vicinalis and gracilirostris) has been considered a separate species, the Dusky-billed Woodcreeper (Xiphorhynchus (guttatoides) eytoni), but, despite its different looks, it is better considered a subspecies of the Lafresnaye's Woodcreeper.
Biogeography
and molecular data suggest that the relationship between these taxa and the Buff-throated Woodcreeper deserves further study.
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
found in tropical South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
in the western and southern Amazon
Amazon Basin
The Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries that drains an area of about , or roughly 40 percent of South America. The basin is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela...
and adjacent sections of the Cerrado
Cerrado
The Cerrado, is a vast tropical savanna ecoregion of Brazil, particularly in the states of Gioas and Minas Gerais...
. It is often considered a subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
of the Buff-throated Woodcreeper
Buff-throated Woodcreeper
The Buff-throated Woodcreeper is a resident passerine bird found in tropical South America in the Guiana Shield and disjunctly in the northern Atlantic Forest. It formerly included the Cocoa Woodcreeper and the Lafresnaye's Woodcreeper as subspecies...
, but this combined "species" would be polyphyletic. It includes the Dusky-billed Woodcreeper (Xiphorhynchus guttatoides eytoni), which sometimes is considered a separate species (see Taxonomy).
Description
With a total length of 25–28 cm (10–11 in), this woodcreeperWoodcreeper
The woodcreepers comprise a subfamily of sub-oscine passerine birds endemic to the Neotropics. They have traditionally been considered a distinct family Dendrocolaptidae, but most authorities now place them as a subfamily of the ovenbirds...
is, together with Buff-throated Woodcreeper
Buff-throated Woodcreeper
The Buff-throated Woodcreeper is a resident passerine bird found in tropical South America in the Guiana Shield and disjunctly in the northern Atlantic Forest. It formerly included the Cocoa Woodcreeper and the Lafresnaye's Woodcreeper as subspecies...
, the largest member of the genus Xiphorhynchus
Xiphorhynchus
Xiphorhynchus is a genus of bird in the woodcreeper subfamily . Its monophyly requires confirmation.It contains the following species:* Lesser Woodcreeper, Xiphorhynchus fuscus - formerly in Lepidocolaptes...
. The wings and tail are rufous. The head, mantle and underparts are olive-brown streaked buff
Buff (colour)
Buff is a pale yellow-brown colour that got its name from the colour of buff leather.Displayed on the right is the colour buff.EtymologyAccording to the Oxford English Dictionary, buff as a descriptor of a colour was first used in the London Gazette of 1686, describing a uniform to be "A Red Coat...
(subspecies X. g. guttatoides and X. g. dorbignyanus) or whitish (X. g. eytoni, X. g. gracilirostris and X. g. vicinalis). The bill is long, slightly decurved, and hooked at the tip. The bill is mainly pale horn (X. g. guttatoides and X. g. dorbignyanus) or blackish (X. g. eytoni, X. g. gracilirostris and X. g. vicinalis).
Ecology
The Lafresnaye's Woodcreeper is restriced to forest and woodland. In its range, it is generally the commonest large woodcreeper. It is an insectivoreInsectivore
An insectivore is a type of carnivore with a diet that consists chiefly of insects and similar small creatures. An alternate term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of eating insects....
s, which feeds on ant
Ant
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
s and other insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s and spider
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
s. It feeds low in trees, usually alone, but groups will follow columns of army ant
Army ant
The name army ant is applied to over 200 ant species, in different lineages, due to their aggressive predatory foraging groups, known as "raids", in which huge numbers of ants forage simultaneously over a certain area, attacking prey en masse.Another shared feature is that, unlike most ant...
s. The species builds a bark-lined nest in a tree hole or hollow stump and lays two white eggs.
Taxonomy
The taxonomyTaxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
is highly complex. It has often been considered a subspecies of the Buff-throated Woodcreeper, but molecular data indicates that this species is closer the Cocoa Woodcreeper
Cocoa Woodcreeper
The Cocoa Woodcreeper is a passerine bird which breeds in tropical Central and South America in Trinidad, Tobago, northern Colombia and northern Venezuela. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the Buff-throated Woodcreeper .It is typically 23 cm long, and weighs 37 g...
than it is to Lafresnaye's Woodcreeper. Alternatively, the eytoni group (incl. vicinalis and gracilirostris) has been considered a separate species, the Dusky-billed Woodcreeper (Xiphorhynchus (guttatoides) eytoni), but, despite its different looks, it is better considered a subspecies of the Lafresnaye's Woodcreeper.
Biogeography
Biogeography
Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species , organisms, and ecosystems in space and through geological time. Organisms and biological communities vary in a highly regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude, elevation, isolation and habitat area...
and molecular data suggest that the relationship between these taxa and the Buff-throated Woodcreeper deserves further study.
Subspecies
- X. g. guttatoides (LafresnayeFrédéric de LafresnayeBaron Nöel Frédéric Armand André de Lafresnaye was a French ornithologist and collector.Lafresnaye was born into an aristocratic family at Chateau de La Fresnaye in Falaise, Normandy. He took an early interest in natural history, particularly entomology...
, 1850). From Rio Negro and Rio Madeira westward to the east slope of the AndesAndesThe Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
, north to southern ColombiaColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
and Venezuela, south to N. Bolivia and N. Mato GrossoMato GrossoMato Grosso is one of the states of Brazil, the third largest in area, located in the western part of the country.Neighboring states are Rondônia, Amazonas, Pará, Tocantins, Goiás and Mato Grosso do Sul. It also borders Bolivia to the southwest...
, BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. - X. g. dorbignyanus (Lafresnaye, 1850). N and E BoliviaBoliviaBolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
eastwards to C GoiásGoiásGoiás is a state of Brazil, located in the central part of the country. The name Goiás comes from the name of an indigenous community...
, Brazil. - X. g. eytoni P. L. SclaterPhilip SclaterPhilip Lutley Sclater was an English lawyer and zoologist. In zoology, he was an expert ornithologist, and identified the main zoogeographic regions of the world...
, 1854. Brazil: South of the Amazonas River, from Rio Tapajós to W. MaranhãoMaranhãoMaranhão is a northeastern state of Brazil. To the north lies the Atlantic Ocean. Maranhão is neighbored by the states of Piauí, Tocantins and Pará. The people of Maranhão have a distinctive accent...
. - X. g. vicinalis Todd, 1948. Brazil: South of the Amazon River from Rio Madeira east to Rio Tapajós.
- X. g. gracilirostris Pinto & Camargo, 1957. Brazil: Serra do Baturité, CearáCearáCeará is one of the 27 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is currently the 8th largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the main touristic destinations in Brazil. The state capital is the city of...
. Doubtfully distinct from eytoni.