The white-chinned woodcreeper is a species of bird in subfamily Dendrocolaptinae of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
Region
Amazon Basin and Guiana Shield
Typical Environment
Occurs widely across lowland tropical rainforest from Venezuela, the Guianas, and Colombia south through Amazonian Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil to northern Bolivia. It favors mature terra firme forest but also uses várzea and tall secondary growth, especially in areas with large trees. Typically keeps to the forest interior from the understory to midstory, moving along trunks and thick branches. Frequently associates with army-ant swarms and occasionally joins mixed-species flocks.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1500 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
A largely ant-following woodcreeper, it often attends army-ant swarms to snatch flushed insects and other arthropods. Its small white chin patch is the key field mark, standing out against otherwise plain brown plumage. It forages by hitching up trunks and larger branches, probing bark crevices and dead leaf clusters. Despite being widespread, it can be inconspicuous inside dense, mature rainforest.
Temperament
solitary and secretive
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats between trunks; weak, slightly undulating
Social Behavior
Usually forages alone or in pairs inside dense forest, often following army-ant swarms to capture fleeing prey. Breeding is in tree cavities or natural holes; both sexes are thought to share incubation and chick-rearing duties. Territorial calls are given from midstory perches, but the bird is otherwise quiet and unobtrusive.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
A simple series of clear, mellow whistles, often descending slightly and repeated at intervals. Calls include soft chips and harsh notes given around ant swarms or when alarmed.
Plumage
Mostly plain brown to rufescent-brown with slightly warmer rufous wings and tail; throat subtly paler. The diagnostic feature is a small but distinct white patch on the chin, contrasting with the otherwise uniform face and underparts. Feathers are smooth, without heavy streaking or barring.
Diet
Primarily arthropods, including insects such as beetles, ants, orthopterans, and spiders; occasionally small vertebrates flushed by ant swarms. Gleans from bark, crevices, and dead leaf clusters, and sallies to the ground near ant swarms to seize prey. Opportunistic at mixed-species flocks but most efficient at army-ant swarms.
Preferred Environment
Interior of mature lowland rainforest, especially around large trees with complex bark and lianas. Often near army-ant swarm trails on the forest floor but forages from ground level up to the midstory. Also occurs in seasonally flooded forest and tall secondary growth when structure is suitable.
