Birds of Ecuador - Xiphorhynchus


Elegant Woodcreeper (Xiphorhynchus elegans ornatus) Puerto Nariño, Amazonas, Colombia
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.

Note buff leaf-like spots on chest with dark borders. Not also slightly curved, thin bill. 20 cm. (medium sized woodcreeper). Found in different lowland habitat types.


Spotted Woodcreeper (Xiphorhynchus erythropygius aequatorialis) Milpe Bird Sanctuary, Los Bancos, Ecuador
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.


Spotted Woodcreeper (Xiphorhynchus erythropygius) Farallones National Park, Colombia
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.

Note unspotted crown and spotted throat compared to similar Olive-backed Woodcreeper, which has a spotted crown (reliable) and scaled pattern on throat (hard to be sure about) (HBW). Spots are buffer than on Olive-backed, and generally found slightly lower than Olive-backed at around 300-1000m.
From back.


Buff-throated Woodcreeper (Xiphorhynchus guttatus guttatoides) Amacayacu National Park, Amazonas, Colombia
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.

A common and large woodcreeper split from the Cocoa Woodcreeper, and vocally similar.
Alt. photo


Black-striped Woodcreeper (Xiphorhynchus lachrymosus alarum) Bahia Solano, Choco, Colombia Note dark mantle. Medium to large thin woodcreeper.
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.


Striped Woodcreeper (Xiphorhynchus obsoletus notatus) Inírida, Guainía, Colombia
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.


Striped Woodcreeper (Xiphorhynchus obsoletus palliatus) Puerto Nariño, Amazonas, Colombia
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.

A medium-sized woodcreeper common in lowlands, and occasionally also seen outside of the forest. Easy to confuse with other species. Note thick, straight, short, flesh-colored bill, teardrops on the back and stripes on the front.
Photo of back and throat.


Ocellated Woodcreeper (Xiphorhynchus ocellatus napensis) Reserva Natural La Isla Escondida, Orito, Putumayo, Colombia
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.


Ocellated Woodcreeper (Xiphorhynchus ocellatus perplexus) Manoa, Pando, Bolivia
Photograph by Joe Tobias © All Rights Reserved.


Ocellated Woodcreeper (Xiphorhynchus ocellatus napensis) Reserva Natural La Isla Escondida, Orito, Putumayo, Colombia
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.


Ocellated Woodcreeper (Xiphorhynchus ocellatus) Puerto Nariño, Amazonas, Colombia
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.

This Amazon basin species is now rejoined to include the Tschudi's Woodcreeper found in the foothills. Note straighter bill than Tschudi's, and vocal differences. A long thin medium to large sized woodcreeper with some straight lines on front and back, and a white to buff throat. Bill is thin and almost straight (some variation across range). It is believed this species complex has several species, and that there will be taxonomic changes in the future.


Olive-backed Woodcreeper (Xiphorhynchus triangularis triangularis) Versalles, Colombia
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.

Medium sized woodcreeper Found from 1200-2500m in Andean forests. Note spotted crown and scaled throat pattern compared to similar Spotted Woodcreeper, which has a unspotted crown and spotted throat (HBW).