The plain-winged woodcreeper or thrush-like woodcreeper is a sub-oscine passerine bird in subfamily Dendrocolaptinae of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.
Region
Atlantic Forest of southeastern South America
Typical Environment
Occurs in humid evergreen and semi-deciduous forests of southeastern Brazil, eastern Paraguay, and northeastern Argentina (Misiones). It favors mature forest but also uses well-developed secondary growth, forest edges, and gullies with dense vine tangles. Typically forages in the understory to midstory, creeping along trunks, large branches, and lianas. Frequently follows army ant swarms and occasionally joins mixed-species flocks. Most common where continuous forest cover remains.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1700 m
Climate Zone
Subtropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Also known as the thrush-like woodcreeper, this species is a forest interior specialist of the Atlantic Forest. It often attends army ant swarms to snatch flushed arthropods and will forage methodically on trunks and large vines. It nests in natural cavities or old woodpecker holes. It can be confused with the Plain-brown Woodcreeper, but lacks wing markings and is tied to the Atlantic Forest range.
Temperament
shy and unobtrusive
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats between trunks; mostly creeps rather than flies long distances
Social Behavior
Usually solitary or in pairs, moving quietly through the understory and midstory. Monogamous, nesting in tree cavities or old woodpecker holes, with both sexes sharing incubation and care. Territorial during breeding but may tolerate other species while following ant swarms.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Delivers soft, plaintive whistles in short series, often descending slightly. Calls include mellow, spaced notes used to maintain contact in dense forest.
Plumage
Uniform warm-brown to olive-brown with plain, unmarked wings and a slightly rufescent tail; throat often a bit paler with faint mottling. Feathers sleek and smooth, lacking streaks or bars typical of many woodcreepers.
Diet
Primarily consumes arthropods such as beetles, ants, spiders, and orthopterans. Occasionally takes small vertebrates like tiny frogs or lizards when available. Captures prey by gleaning from bark, probing crevices, and sallying to grab flushed insects at ant swarms.
Preferred Environment
Feeds on trunks, large branches, and vine tangles in shaded interior forest. Common around army ant swarms and sometimes at mixed-species foraging flocks. Uses midstory edges and bamboo thickets when available.
