Black-striped Woodcreeper

The Black-striped Woodcreeper, Xiphorhynchus lachrymosus, is a medium-sized bird within the Dendrocolaptinae subfamily of the Furnariidae family. It boasts a longish, nearly straight bill with a slight droop at the tip, and exhibits a plumage pattern of pale buff and black streaks that is unique among its woodcreeper kin.

Identification Tips

Adults have a brownish-black face with buff streaks and a crown and nape adorned with buffy teardrop spots and wide streaks. Their back and scapulars share this brownish-black color with buff streaks, while the lower back, rump, and wings are dark cinnamon-rufous. The tail is a rich rufous-chestnut. The throat ranges from pale to deep buff, bordered by a thin black lower edge, and the breast and belly are pale buff with a scaly appearance on the former and streaks on the latter. The sides and flanks are grayish brown with faint streaks, and the underwing coverts are a deep ochraceous buff to tawny buff.

Habitat

This species is predominantly found in humid lowland forests, extending into mangroves in some areas. It prefers the interior of tall mature forests but is also seen at forest edges, gaps, older secondary forests, and occasionally in tree plantations.

Distribution

The Black-striped Woodcreeper is distributed across the Caribbean slope from eastern Nicaragua through Costa Rica and Panama, and on the Pacific slope from the Canal Zone through western Colombia into Ecuador. It is also found in Colombia's valleys of the Sinú, Cauca, and Magdalena rivers, extending east into Santander Department.

Behaviour

A year-round resident, the Black-striped Woodcreeper forages mostly alone, sometimes in pairs or family groups. It joins mixed-species feeding flocks less frequently than other woodcreepers, feeding in the canopy or lower when solitary. It is known to follow army ant swarms, capturing prey from leaves, trunks, and vines.

Song & Calls

The song of the Black-striped Woodcreeper is a soft, descending whinny composed of clear whistles that begin slowly, accelerate, and then slow at the end. Its calls include descending whistles with a laughing quality, a loud emphatic 'doweeet' or 'choo-reep' with an upward inflection, and a rapid series of sharp notes when agitated.

Breeding

Breeding occurs from March to June in Costa Rica and from February to May in Colombia. The species nests in tree or palm cavities, lining them with wood and bark chips. Clutch size is typically two, sometimes three eggs, but details on incubation and parental care are not well documented.

Similar Species

The Black-striped Woodcreeper's size and unique pattern of pale buff and black streaks distinguish it from other woodcreeper species.

Diet and Feeding

Its diet consists mainly of arthropods and occasionally small vertebrates like lizards. It forages by probing bark crevices, vine tangles, dead leaf clusters, bromeliads, and epiphytes, and occasionally sallies for flying prey.

Conservation Status

The IUCN has classified the Black-striped Woodcreeper as Least Concern. It has a large range and an estimated population of at least 50,000 mature individuals, though this number is believed to be decreasing. The species requires relatively continuous forest with tall trees and is moderately sensitive to forest fragmentation and human disturbance.