The greater scythebill is a Near Threatened species of suboscine passerine bird in the subfamily Dendrocolaptinae of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
Region
Northern Andes
Typical Environment
Occurs on humid montane slopes and cloud forests of Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, mainly on the Andean east (and some west) slopes. It favors mature forest with abundant epiphytes, mossy substrates, and dense stands of Chusquea bamboo. Often uses forest interiors, ravines, and steep slopes where large trees and lianas provide vertical foraging surfaces. It occasionally visits forest edges but is most frequent in intact or lightly disturbed habitats.
Altitude Range
800–2500 m
Climate Zone
Highland
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The greater scythebill’s long, sickle-shaped bill is specialized for probing into bamboo culms, moss, and epiphytes to extract hidden arthropods. It inhabits humid Andean cloud forests and is often detected by its plaintive, descending whistles rather than seen. The species is sensitive to forest fragmentation and the loss of montane bamboo, contributing to conservation concern.
Temperament
shy and secretive
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Usually solitary or in pairs, often accompanying mixed-species flocks moving through mid-elevation cloud forest. Forages by hitching up trunks and along bamboo and lianas, probing crevices and leaf bases. Nests are presumed in tree cavities or similar sheltered sites, as in other woodcreepers, with both sexes likely involved in care.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Gives a series of clear, descending whistles that carry through the forest, often delivered from mid-canopy perches. Calls are thin, plaintive notes given intermittently while foraging.
Plumage
Mostly warm rufous-brown woodcreeper with fine buffy streaking on the crown and nape and a paler, lightly streaked throat; upperparts and tail are rich rufous with subtle darker tones.
Diet
Feeds primarily on arthropods such as beetles, spiders, and insect larvae extracted from bark crevices, bamboo internodes, bromeliads, and moss mats. The long, decurved bill allows deep probing into tight spaces inaccessible to most birds. Occasionally takes other small invertebrates and rarely small vertebrates.
Preferred Environment
Forages on moss-laden trunks, branches, and vines within mature cloud forest, and extensively within dense Chusquea bamboo stands. Frequently explores epiphyte-laden substrates and fallen logs in shaded, humid microhabitats.
