The black-billed scythebill is a species of bird in the subfamily Dendrocolaptinae of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is native to the Atlantic Forest.
Region
Atlantic Forest of eastern South America
Typical Environment
Occurs in humid evergreen and semi-evergreen Atlantic Forest, including foothill and montane forests, as well as older second growth with large trees and abundant epiphytes. It favors interiors and edges with dense vine tangles and bromeliads. Frequently forages on trunks, dead snags, large limbs, and within clusters of epiphytes. It can persist in fragmented landscapes if sufficient mature forest structure remains, but is most common in sizable, well-preserved tracts.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1500 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The black-billed scythebill is a specialized woodcreeper of the Atlantic Forest, using its long, strongly decurved black bill to probe bark crevices, vine tangles, and bromeliads for hidden prey. It often joins mixed-species flocks and moves methodically up trunks and along branches. Habitat loss and fragmentation of the Atlantic Forest affect its distribution, though it persists in many protected areas. Its quiet, thin whistles can make it easier to hear than to see.
Temperament
secretive and methodical
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats between trees
Social Behavior
Usually solitary or in pairs, often accompanying mixed-species flocks in the midstory and understory. Nests in natural cavities or old woodpecker holes, lining them with plant fibers. Pairs maintain territories and communicate with thin whistles and contact calls.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
A series of thin, clear whistles delivered in a slightly descending or even cadence. Calls include soft, high-pitched notes and brief trills, often given while foraging.
Plumage
Rufous-brown overall with fine buff streaking on the crown and mantle, plainer rufous underparts, and a rich rufous tail. Upperparts show subtle mottling and streaking; underparts typically more uniform.
Diet
Primarily arthropods such as beetles, ants, termites, spiders, and insect larvae. It probes bark fissures, dead wood, vine tangles, and bromeliads with its long bill to extract hidden prey. Occasionally captures small prey from foliage or snags and may take small vertebrates rarely.
Preferred Environment
Forages on trunks and large branches within mature or tall secondary forest, especially where epiphytes and mosses are abundant. Sometimes follows army ant swarms or joins mixed-species flocks to exploit disturbed insects.
