The Bolivian recurvebill is a bird species in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Bolivia and Peru.
Region
Andean foothills of Peru and Bolivia
Typical Environment
Occurs in humid foothill and lower montane forests with extensive bamboo (especially Guadua) in the Bolivian Yungas and adjacent southeastern Peru. It favors dense bamboo thickets along forest edges, river margins, landslides, and secondary growth within otherwise tall forest. The species is highly patchy, tracking bamboo stands that can appear and disappear over years. Typically keeps to the shaded understory and mid-understory, moving methodically through tangles and bamboo culms.
Altitude Range
300–1700 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
A bamboo specialist of the Andean foothills, the Bolivian recurvebill uses its distinctive strongly upcurved bill to pry and probe inside Guadua bamboo for hidden prey. It has a patchy distribution tied to the boom-and-bust cycle of bamboo stands, so it may be locally common where bamboo is abundant and absent elsewhere. It is one of only two recurvebills, the other being the Peruvian recurvebill. Habitat loss and the clearing of bamboo thickets are the main threats.
Temperament
skulking and methodical
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats through dense understory
Social Behavior
Usually found singly or in pairs, sometimes in small family groups, and frequently joins mixed-species flocks that work bamboo thickets. Territorial calls are given from low perches within bamboo. Nesting is poorly documented but, like many furnariids, both parents are believed to participate in building, incubation, and feeding.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Vocalizations are a series of sharp, metallic ticks and chipping notes that may accelerate into a dry rattle. Calls are often delivered from within dense bamboo and can be hard to localize.
Plumage
Warm rufous-brown upperparts with slightly brighter cinnamon wings and tail; underparts buffy with fine, diffuse streaking on the throat and upper breast. A pale buff supercilium contrasts with a dusky face. The long, slender bill is markedly upcurved and often pale horn in tone.
Diet
Primarily takes arthropods such as beetles, orthopterans, spiders, and larvae concealed in bamboo internodes, dead leaves, and culm sheaths. It uses its recurved bill to pry, probe, and lever fibers and to split open dried plant material. Occasionally gleans small invertebrates from vines and fallen tangles and may rarely take small fruits.
Preferred Environment
Feeds in dense Guadua bamboo stands along forest edges, riverbanks, and disturbed gaps within humid foothill forest. Often forages 1–4 meters above ground, moving along bamboo culms and inside leaf-sheath layers.
