The white-throated woodcreeper is a species of bird in the subfamily Dendrocolaptinae of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.
Region
Atlantic Forest of eastern South America
Typical Environment
Occurs from eastern and southeastern Brazil south into eastern Paraguay and extreme northeastern Argentina (Misiones). It inhabits humid evergreen and semi-deciduous Atlantic Forest, preferring interiors of mature forest with large trees. Also uses gallery forests and well-structured secondary growth where large trunks and abundant epiphytes remain. Frequently forages on big tree boles and large limbs from the understory up to the mid-canopy.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1500 m
Climate Zone
Subtropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
A large woodcreeper of the Atlantic Forest, it uses its stiff tail as a prop while climbing trunks, much like a woodpecker. It often joins mixed-species feeding flocks and may occasionally attend army-ant swarms to snatch flushed prey. Its loud, ringing whistles carry far through mature forest. Habitat loss in the Atlantic Forest affects local populations.
An individual of the species preying on a frog in Santa Catarina, Brazil.
Temperament
solitary and territorial
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats between trunks
Social Behavior
Usually seen alone or in pairs, moving deliberately as it spirals up trunks and large branches. Pairs maintain territories year-round and nest in natural cavities or old woodpecker holes lined with wood chips. Often accompanies mixed-species flocks while foraging and may sporadically attend army-ant swarms.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Gives a series of loud, clear whistles that often descend slightly and carry far in forest. Calls include sharp notes and ringing phrases, delivered from mid to upper levels of tall trees.
Plumage
Warm brown to rufescent upperparts with faint streaking on head and mantle, rufous wings and tail, and a clean white throat grading to brownish underparts with fine streaking on the upper breast.
Diet
Primarily arthropods such as beetles, cockroaches, spiders, and larvae gleaned from bark and crevices. It probes into fissures, under loose bark, and among epiphytes for hidden prey. Occasionally takes small vertebrates or other invertebrates when available.
Preferred Environment
Feeds on large trunks and stout branches in mature or tall secondary forest, especially where epiphytes and mosses are abundant. Forages from near the ground up to mid-canopy, often on big, rough-barked trees along ridges and valley slopes.
