The cocoa woodcreeper (''Xiphorhynchus susurrans'') is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

in the subfamily

Dendrocolaptinae The woodcreepers (Dendrocolaptinae) comprise a subfamily of suboscine passerine birds endemic to the Neotropics. They have traditionally been considered a distinct family Dendrocolaptidae, but most authorities now place them as a subfamily of the ...

of the ovenbird

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Furnariidae. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.

Taxonomy and systematics

The cocoa woodcreeper was formerly included in the buff-throated woodcreeper (''X. guttatus'') but since the 1990s has been recognized as a separate species. The two form a

superspecies In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

Biogeography Biogeography is the study of the species distribution, distribution of species and ecosystems in geography, geographic space and through evolutionary history of life, geological time. Organisms and biological community (ecology), communities o ...

and molecular data suggest that the relationships among the subspecies of both deserve further study; some may be assigned to the wrong species or be species in their own right.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, G. Del-Rio, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 31 May 2023. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved May 31, 2023 The cocoa woodcreeper has these eight subspecies that fall into two groups:Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ retrieved November 10, 2022 * "Lawrence's" or "nana" group ** ''X. s. confinis'' (

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, 1903) ** ''X. s. costaricensis'' ( Ridgway, 1888) ** ''X. s. marginatus'' Griscom, 1927 ** ''X. s. nana'' (

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

, 1863) ** ''X. s. rosenbergi'' Bangs, 1910 * "Cocoa" or "susurrans" group ** ''X. s. jardinei'' (Dalmas, 1900) ** ''X. s. margaritae'' Phelps, Sr. & Phelps, Jr., 1949 ** ''X. s. susurrans'' (

Jardine Jardine is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Al Jardine (born 1942), member of the Beach Boys * Alexander Jardine (British Army officer) (died 1799), Scottish army officer and author * Alexander Jardine (Medal of Honor) (1874– ...

, 1847)

Description

The cocoa woodcreeper is long and weighs .Marantz, C. A. (2020). Cocoa Woodcreeper (''Xiphorhynchus susurrans''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.cocwoo1.01 retrieved July 1, 2023 It is a medium-sized member of genus ''Xiphorhynchus'', with a long, fairly heavy, slightly decurved bill. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the

nominate subspecies In biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics ( morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. ...

''X. s. susurrans'' have a mostly dusky face with buff streaks and a whitish

supercilium The supercilium is a plumage feature found on the heads of some bird species. It is a stripe which runs from the base of the bird's beak above its eye, finishing somewhere towards the rear of the bird's head.Dunn and Alderfer (2006), p. 10 Also k ...

. Their crown and nape are dark brown to blackish with longish buff spots that are streakier on the neck and nape. Their upper back and wing

coverts A covert feather or tectrix on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts (or ''tectrices''), which cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail. Ear coverts The ear coverts are small feathers behind t ...

are olive-brown to brown, with blackish-edged buff streaks on the back that narrow to nothing on the lower back. Their lower back, rump, tail, and flight feathers are rufous-chestnut, with dusky tips on the

primaries Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pri ...

. Their throat is whitish to pale buff with thin black scaling. Their breast, sides, and belly are reddish brown that becomes redder on the undertail coverts. Their underparts are grayish olive to buffy brown; their upper breast has dusky-edged buffy white spots that become thin streaks on the lower breast and disappear on the belly. Their undertail coverts are mostly unstreaked. Their underwing coverts are cinnamon. Their iris is dark brown, their bill mostly black with sometimes brownish gray in the middle of the

mandible In jawed vertebrates, the mandible (from the Latin ''mandibula'', 'for chewing'), lower jaw, or jawbone is a bone that makes up the lowerand typically more mobilecomponent of the mouth (the upper jaw being known as the maxilla). The jawbone i ...

, and their legs and feet dark blue-gray, greenish gray, or yellowish gray. Juveniles are overall darker than adults and have a shorter and blacker bill, less bold spots on the crown, and wider streaks on the underparts. The other subspecies of the cocoa woodcreeper differ from the nominate and each other thus: * "Cocoa" or "susurrans" group (typically spotted underparts) ** ''X. s. jardinei'', more

rufescent Rufous () is a color that may be described as reddish-brown or brownish-red, as of rust or oxidised iron. The first recorded use of ''rufous'' as a color name in English was in 1782. However, the color is also recorded earlier in 1527 as a dia ...

back, deeper buff throat and underparts ** ''X. s. margaritae'', spots rather than scaly pattern on the throat * "Lawrence's" or "nana" group (typically streaked underparts) ** ''X. s. nana'', deep buff throat, bold streaks rather than spots on the breast and belly ** ''X. s. confinis'', more whitish throat, weaker but more extensive streaks than ''nana'' ** ''X. s. costaricensis'', darker and deeper reddish back and rump, darker and more olive underparts, reduced streaking compared to ''nana'' ** ''X. s. marginatus'', darker chestnut wings and tail, larger dusky tips on primaries, brighter buff throat, blackish edges on crown and nape feathers ** ''X. s. rosenbergi'', much like ''nana'' with wider and more boldly edged breast streaks

Distribution and habitat

The subspecies of the cocoa woodcreeper are found thus: * ''X. s. confinis'', Caribbean slope of eastern Guatemala and northern Honduras * ''X. s. costaricensis'', Caribbean and Pacific slopes from southeastern Honduras through Nicaragua and Costa Rica into western Panama * ''X. s. marginatus'', Pacific slope of central Panama * ''X. s. nana'', Caribbean and Pacific slopes of eastern Panama, much of northern Colombia, and northern and western Venezuela * ''X. s. rosenbergi'', upper Cauca Valley in Colombia's Valle del Cauca Department * ''X. s. jardinei'', northeastern Venezuela * ''X. s. margaritae'',

Isla Margarita Margarita Island (, ) is the largest island in the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, situated off the north west coast of the country, in the Caribbean Sea. The capital city of Nueva Esparta, La Asunción, is located on the island. History ...

off the Venezuelan coast * ''X. s. susurrans'', Trinidad and Tobago, with one mainland record in Venezuela The cocoa woodcreeper mostly inhabits humid

evergreen forest An evergreen forest is a forest made up of evergreen trees. They occur across a wide range of climatic zones, and include trees such as conifers and holly in cold climates, eucalyptus, live oak, acacias, magnolia, and banksia in more temperate zo ...

. It favors landscapes like

gallery forest A gallery forest is one formed as a corridor along rivers or wetlands, projecting into landscapes that are otherwise only sparsely treed such as savannas, grasslands, or deserts. The gallery forest maintains a more temperate microclimate above th ...

, deciduous woodland, and the edges of

primary forest An old-growth forest or primary forest is a forest that has developed over a long period of time without Disturbance (ecology), disturbance. Due to this, old-growth forests exhibit unique ecological features. The Food and Agriculture Organizati ...

and mature

secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has regenerated through largely natural processes after human-caused Disturbance (ecology), disturbances, such as Logging, timber harvest or agriculture clearing, or ...

. It occurs less in the interior of primary forest, in young

, in plantations, and in open areas with scattered trees. It occurs in magroves along some coasts, and on Isla Margarita inhabits arid scrub. In elevation it mostly is found below but reaches in northern Central America, in Colombia, and occasionally in Venezuela.Chesser, R. T., S. M. Billerman, K. J. Burns, C. Cicero, J. L. Dunn, B. E. Hernández-Baños, R. A. Jiménez, A. W. Kratter, N. A. Mason, P. C. Rasmussen, J. V. Remsen, Jr., D. F. Stotz, and K. Winker. 2022. Check-list of North American Birds (online). American Ornithological Society. https://checklist.americanornithology.org/taxa

Behavior

Movement

The cocoa woodcreeper is a year-round resident throughout its range.

Feeding

The cocoa woodcreeper's diet is mostly

arthropod Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an arthropod exoskeleton, exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often Mineralization (biology), mineralised with calcium carbonate, a body with differentiated (Metam ...

s but also occasionally includes small vertebrates such as frogs and lizards. It usually forages by itself but does join

mixed-species feeding flock A mixed-species feeding flock, also termed a mixed-species foraging flock, mixed hunting party or informally bird wave, is a flock of usually insectivorous birds of different species that join each other and move together while foraging. These ar ...

s and follows

army ant The name army ant (or legionary ant or ''marabunta'') is applied to over 200 ant species in different lineages. Because of their aggressive predatory foraging groups, known as "raids", a huge number of ants forage simultaneously over a limited ...

swarms. With flocks it usually forages in the mid-level of the forest; when attending ants it forages much nearer the ground. Away from ants it hitches up trunks, often in a spiral, and along branches, often on their underside. Most prey is taken by gleaning from bark crevices and by probing dead leaves,

epiphyte An epiphyte is a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphyt ...

s, moss clumps, and knotholes. It sometimes pecks at rotting wood or flakes off bark. When attending ants, it gleans and sometimes makes sallies to the ground.

Breeding

The cocoa woodcreeper's breeding season varies somewhat geographically, but generally is within the northern spring and summer of May to August. It nests primarily in natural cavities but sometimes in human structures. It adds bits of bark, wood chips, and softer plant material to the cavity. The limited amount of observations show a clutch size is two eggs and incubation period of 19 to 20 days. The time to fledging is at least 17 days from hatch. It appears that only the female incubates eggs and cares for nestlings.

Vocalization

The cocoa woodcreeper is quite vocal; during the breeding seasons it sings for long periods at dawn and dusk and sometimes during much of the day. Its song is "a loud series of 7-20 (often 7-8) clear but upward-inflected whistles...either be on the same pitch or beginning fast and rising slightly, before fading and descending, e.g., ''ki, ki, kuee, kuee, whe, whew, whew, whew, whew''." It makes a "long call" of "steady rolling laughter on one pitch, but rising in volume toward middle and end, ''weet-weet-WEET-WEET-WEET-WEET-WEET-WEET-WEET-WEET''. Other calls include "''cheer''", "''pyewl''", "''chu''", and "''choe''".

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

has assessed the cocoa woodcreeper as being of Least Concern. It has a very large range and an estimated population of at least 500,000 mature individuals. The latter, however, is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified. It is considered fairly common to common in most of its range but uncommon to rare and local at higher elevations and in northern Central America. "At many sites it is reported to have a preference for forest edge and second growth, which indicates a relatively low sensitivity to human disturbance utis dependent, however, upon the presence of at least patchy forest."