Streak-headed Woodcreeper

The Streak-headed Woodcreeper, Lepidocolaptes souleyetii, is a passerine bird belonging to the subfamily Dendrocolaptinae within the ovenbird family Furnariidae. This slim, medium-sized woodcreeper is notable for its longish, slender, and decurved bill, measuring 19 to 21 cm in length and weighing between 23 to 31 grams.

Identification Tips

Adults of the nominate subspecies, L. s. souleyetii, exhibit a face adorned with thin whitish buff and dark brown streaks, with more pronounced streaking on the sides of the neck. They possess a whitish buff supercilium and eyering, while their crown and nape are dark brown with bold whitish buff streaks. The back and wing coverts range from rufous-olive to cinnamon-brown, and the flight feathers, rump, and tail are cinnamon-rufous to rufous-chestnut. The underparts are grayish olive to buffy brown with distinctive black-edged whitish buff streaks.

Habitat

The Streak-headed Woodcreeper inhabits a variety of wooded landscapes, from deciduous and humid forests to gallery forests, secondary forests, plantations, and even open areas with scattered trees. It can also be found in mangroves and arid scrublands.

Distribution

This species is distributed across a broad range, from Mexico, Central America, and Trinidad to Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela.

Behaviour

The Streak-headed Woodcreeper is a year-round resident that forages mostly alone or in pairs, adeptly hitching up trunks and branches in search of prey. It does not typically join mixed-species feeding flocks.

Song & Calls

The woodcreeper's song is a melodious, descending trill, while its calls include a harsher, rattling trill, a soft plaintive pyuu, and a loud, rapidly quavering, descending pee'i'i'u.

Breeding

During the breeding season, these birds form pairs and usually nest in tree cavities, lining them with wood chips and bark pieces. They lay clutches of two eggs, with both parents sharing incubation duties and nestling care.

Similar Species

Subspecies of the Streak-headed Woodcreeper vary in plumage and size, with differences in the width of streaks, coloration, and bill length.

Diet and Feeding

The diet is primarily composed of non-flying arthropods, with occasional invertebrates such as crabs and small fruits. The woodcreeper forages by flaking bark and probing into crevices and moss clumps.

Conservation status

The IUCN has classified the Streak-headed Woodcreeper as Least Concern. It has a large range and an estimated population of at least 500,000 mature individuals. The species is common throughout most of its range and tolerates human-altered environments well.