The plain-winged woodcreeper or thrush-like woodcreeper (''Dendrocincla turdina'') is a sub-oscine

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...

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 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 Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.

Taxonomy and systematics

The plain-winged woodcreeper's taxonomy is unsettled. The

International Ornithological Committee The International Ornithologists' Union (IOU) is an international organization for the promotion of ornithology. It links basic and applied research and nurtures education and outreach activities. Specifically, the IOU organizes and funds global co ...

(IOC) and the

Clements taxonomy ''The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World'' is a book by Jim Clements which presents a list of the bird species of the world. The most recent printed version is the sixth edition (2007), but has been updated yearly, the last version in 202 ...

assign it two subspecies, the

nominate Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to a public office, or the bestowing of an honor or award. A collection of nominees narrowed from the full list of candidates is a short list. Political office In th ...

''D. t. turdina'' ( Lichtenstein, MHC, 1820) and ''D. t. taunayi'' (

Pinto Pinto is a Portuguese, Spanish, Jewish (Sephardic), and Italian surname. It is a high-frequency surname in all Portuguese-speaking countries and is also widely present in Spanish-speaking countries, Italy, India (especially in Mangalore, Karnata ...

, 1939).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

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

's ''

Handbook of the Birds of the World The ''Handbook of the Birds of the World'' (HBW) is a multi-volume series produced by the Spanish publishing house Lynx Edicions in partnership with BirdLife International. It is the first handbook to cover every known living species of bird. ...

'' (HBW) treats it as

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

and treats subspecies ''taunayi'' as a subspecies of the plain-brown woodcreeper (''D. fuliginosa'').HBW and BirdLife International (2022) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 7. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v7_Dec22.zip retrieved December 13, 2022 Previously both subspecies were widely considered subspecies of the plain-brown woodcreeper.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 30 January 2023. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved January 30, 2023 This article follows the two-subspecies model.

Description

The plain-winged woodcreeper is long and weighs . The species is a medium-sized member of its genus, with a short straight bill. The sexes have the same plumage but females are significantly smaller than males. The nominate subspecies is mostly olive-brown. Its crown has faint buff streaks, its throat is pale buff, and its flight feathers, uppertail

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 ...

, and most tail feathers are slightly rufescent. Its wing linings are ochraceous buff. Its iris is brown, its bill gray to blackish with often a paler

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 its legs and feet brown to gray. Subspecies ''D. t. taunayi'' has more prominent streaks on its crown but is otherwise like the nominate.Marantz, C. A., A. Aleixo, L. R. Bevier, M. A. Patten, and H. F. Greeney (2020). Plain-winged Woodcreeper (''Dendrocincla turdina''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, B. K. Keeney, P. G. Rodewald, and T. S. Schulenberg, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.plwwoo1.01 retrieved May 27, 2023

Distribution and habitat

The nominate subspecies of the plain-winged woodcreeper is found from Brazil's

Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

state south into northern

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...

and slightly into eastern Paraguay and northeastern Argentina's

Misiones Province Misiones (, ''Missions'') is one of the Provinces of Argentina, 23 provinces of Argentina, located in the northeastern corner of the country in the Mesopotamia, Argentina, Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by Paraguay to the northwest, Brazil ...

. Subspecies ''D. t. taunayi'' has a very limited range in northeastern Brazil's

Alagoas Alagoas () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco (N and NW); Sergipe (S); Bahia (SW); and the Atlantic Ocean (E). Its capital is ...

and

Pernambuco Pernambuco ( , , ) is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.5 million people as of 2024, it is the List of Brazilian states by population, ...

states. (Note that the map does not include this subspecies' range.) The species primarily inhabits humid lowland

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

and mature secondary forest. It also occurs in foothill

cloudforest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud cover, ...

and, in the ''

cerrado The Cerrado () is a vast ecoregion of Tropics, tropical savanna in central Brazil, being present in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Maranhão, Piauí, Bahia, Minas Gerais, São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Paraná ...

'',

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 ...

. It favors the forest interior but also occurs at its edges. In elevation it reaches but is mostly found lower.

Behavior

Movement

The plain-winged woodcreeper is a year-round resident in most of its range. There are few records in Rio Grande do Sul and Argentina during the austral winter, which suggests that the southernmost subpopulation is migratory.

Feeding

The plain-winged woodcreeper often follows swarms of

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 ...

s such as '' Eciton burchelli'' and ''

Labidus ''Labidus'' is a genus of New World army ants in the subfamily Dorylinae. The genus is known from the United States to Argentina. Species *''Labidus auropubens'' (Santschi, 1920) *''Labidus coecus'' (Latreille, 1802) *''Labidus curvipes'' (Emery ...

praedator'' to capture prey disturbed by the ants. It often does so as part of a

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 ...

. Away from army ants, it also joins flocks led by the cinereous antshrike (''Thamnomanes caesius''). When attending ants it typically perches on a nearly vertical trunk up to about above the ground and sallies to pick prey from the ground, other trunks, foliage, and in mid-air. In a study in Paraguay and Argentina it often followed black capuchin monkeys (''Sapajus nigritus'') and other studies have seen it following

coati Coatis (from Tupí), also known as coatimundis (), are members of the family Procyonidae in the genera '' Nasua'' and '' Nasuella'' (comprising the subtribe Nasuina). They are diurnal mammals native to South America, Central America, Mexico, ...

s. Its 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 it has also been observed feeding bats and frogs to nestlings.

Breeding

The plain-winged woodcreeper's nesting season is not well defined but appears to include at least September to January. It nests on a bed of wood chips in a tree cavity. The clutch size is two eggs. The female alone incubates the eggs and cares for the nestlings. The incubation period is not known; fledging occurs about 27 days after hatch.

Vocalization

The song of the plain-winged woodcreeper's nominate subspecies is a "series...of very high 'keepkeepkeep---' notes, slightly undulating, fading, and crescendoing at random" that may last a minute or more. Subspecies ''D. t. taunayi''s song is "an extended series at much slower tempo, beginning quietly with harsh 'weck' notes, soon increasing in volume and with notes changing to 'wheep', before eventually trailing off". The species' calls include a " 'cha-a-a-a' rattle, 'chahh' hiss, and 'stauf' ".

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 ...

follows HBW taxonomy and so has not included subspecies ''D. t. taunayi'' in its evaluation of the plain-winged woodcreeper. It has assessed ''D. t. turdina'' as being of Least Concern, though its population size is not known and is believed to be decreasing. It "is considered highly sensitive to

habitat fragmentation Habitat fragmentation describes the emergence of discontinuities (fragmentation) in an organism's preferred environment (habitat), causing population fragmentation and ecosystem decay. Causes of habitat fragmentation include geological proces ...

and human disturbance in at least parts of its range, and is likely to have suffered declines owing to deforestation". It "remains fairly common to common in extensive tracts that still exist in heBrazilian part of tsrange." Subspecies ''D. t. taunayi'' "can be fairly common in what little forest remains within its limited range." It is rare to uncommon in Argentina, Paraguay, and Rio Grande do Sul.