| Buff-breasted earthcreeper | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Furnariidae |
| Genus: | Upucerthia |
| Species: | U. validirostris |
| Binomial name | |
| Upucerthia validirostris (Burmeister, 1861) | |
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The buff-breasted earthcreeper (Upucerthia validirostris) is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. [2]
The buff-breasted earthcreeper has three subspecies, the nominate U. v. validirostris (Burmeister, 1861), U. v. saturata (Carriker, 1933), and U. v. jelskii (Cabanis, 1874). [2] Before a 2013 publication, the buff-breasted earthcreeper was credited with an additional subspecies, and U. v. jelskii was treated as a separate species, the "plain-breasted" earthcreeper, with U. v. saturata as a subspecies of it. The paper resulted in the "collapse" of the two species with five subspecies into the current one-species, three-subspecies, model. [3] Some authors suggest that further study is needed. [4]
The buff-breasted earthcreeper is 17 to 21 cm (6.7 to 8.3 in) long and weighs 30 to 45 g (1.1 to 1.6 oz). It is a medium-sized earthcreeper with a long and strongly decurved bill. The sexes' plumages are alike. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a pale buffish white supercilium. Their crown, nape, back, rump, and uppertail coverts are dull brownish gray. Their tail is dark brown with increasing amounts of rufous from the central to the outer feathers. Their wings are mostly the same brownish gray as the back but with much rufous at the base of the primaries. Their throat is grayish white with brownish specks, their upper breast grayish white with a brownish scaly appearance, and their lower breast, belly, and undertail coverts plain light buffish. Their iris is dark brown, their bill blackish with a paler base, and their legs and feet blackish to dark brown. Juveniles are similar to adults but with more conspicuous markings on the breast. Subspecies U. v. jelskii has a smaller, shorter bill and less rufous in the wings than the nominate. U. v. saturata is much like jelskii but has grayer underparts. [4]
Subspecies U. v. jelskii of the buff-breasted earthcreeper has by far the widest distribution. It is found in the Andes from Peru's Department of Lima south into Chile's Tarapacá Region and through western Bolivia into far northwestern Argentina's Jujuy Province. U. v. saturata is found in the western Andes of central Peru between the departments of Ancash and Pasco. The nominate U. v. validirostris is found in northwestern Argentina from Salta Province south to Mendoza Province and east into western Córdoba Province. [4]
The buff-breasted earthcreeper inhabits puna grassland and arid montane scrublands. Within those landscapes if favors dry ravines with dense scrub and rocky and shrubby slopes; it shuns level ground. [4]
The buff-breasted earthcreeper is a year-round resident throughout its range. [4]
The buff-breasted earthcreeper feeds on adult and larval arthropods. It usually forages singly but sometimes in pairs, probing in the ground and gleaning from it. [4]
The buff-breasted earthcreeper breeds in the austral summer, generally between November and March with some regional variation. It is assumed to be monogamous. It nests in a chamber at the end of a burrow in an earthen bank and sometimes in a crevice in rocks. It lines the nest chamber with grasses. The clutch size is two eggs. The incubation period, time to fledging, and details of parental care are not known. [4]
The buff-breasted earthcreeper is not highly vocal. The nominate subspecies' song is "a long dry trill of c. 10 or more 'tyik' notes" and its call "a low 'chwit' ". The song of the other two subspecies is "a rich irregular trill 'drrrrrr…' lasting one to > 10 seconds, rising and then falling in pitch, accelerating and then decelerating". Their call is "a metallic 'click' or 'tyi-ík' ". [4]
The IUCN has assessed the buff-breasted earthcreeper as being of Least Concern. It has a very large range but its population size is not known and is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified. [1] It is considered rare to locally fairly common. Its habitat is "reasonably safe from anthropogenic disturbances, except overgrazing by livestock". [4]
The common miner is a passerine bird in the subfamily Sclerurinae, the leaftossers and miners, of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Peru, and Uruguay.
The streak-throated canastero is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Bolivia and Peru.
The scribble-tailed canastero is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru.
The cordilleran canastero is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru.
The rusty-fronted canastero is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is endemic to Peru.
The canyon canastero is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Chile and Peru.
The slender-billed miner is a species of bird in the subfamily Sclerurinae, the leaftossers and miners, of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru.
The Andean tit-spinetail is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
The streak-fronted thornbird is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru.
The buff-fronted foliage-gleaner is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.
Azara's spinetail is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
The white-throated earthcreeper is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Chile and Peru.
The rock earthcreeper is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina and Bolivia, and as a vagrant in Chile.
The Chaco earthcreeper is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay, and as a vagrant in Brazil.
The scale-throated earthcreeper is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, and possibly Uruguay.
The Bolivian earthcreeper is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina and Bolivia.
The plain-breasted earthcreeper is a bird in the family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland and subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland. It has been lumped together with the buff-breasted earthcreeper based on song, continuous song, duet, and call.
The striated earthcreeper is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is endemic to Peru.
The slender-billed xenops is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
The Patagonian forest earthcreeper, also known as the forest earthcreeper, is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina and Chile.
