The black-tailed leaftosser (''Sclerurus caudacutus'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

in the family Furnariidae. It is found in

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

, and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

is tropical moist lowland

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

Description

Leaftossers are small, plump, ground-dwelling birds with dark plumage and short legs and tails. The sexes are similar in the black-tailed leaftosser, and it grows to a length of about . The beak is long and straight, and the lower mandible is turned up at its tip. The head and upper parts of the body are a deep brown, the rump is chestnut-brown and the tail black. The throat is white, the feathers being edged with brown which gives the throat a scaled appearance, and the rest of the underparts are dark brown. Some other species of leaftossers overlap its range but it can be distinguished by the white throat; the

short-billed leaftosser The short-billed leaftosser (''Sclerurus rufigularis'') is a species of bird in the family Furnariidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitat is subtropical o ...

(''Sclerurus rufigularis'') has a short beak and reddish throat; the tawny-throated leaftosser (''Sclerurus mexicanus'') has a downwardly-curved beak and cinnamon throat; and the grey-throated leaftosser (''Sclerurus albigularis'') has a straight beak and a pale grey throat bordered by a cinnamon band. The voice of this bird is a series of loud "queet" sounds which first accelerates and then slows down and fades away.

Distribution and habitat

The black-tailed leaftosser is found in the tropical rainforests of South America to the east of the

Andes Mountains The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the List of mountain ranges#Mountain ranges by length, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range i ...

. Its range includes Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru and the northern tip of Bolivia. Its altitudinal range is up to about .

Ecology

Leaftossers are secretive birds that move through the undergrowth probing the leaf-litter with their long, slender beaks. They are difficult to observe but may be recognised by their calls, particularly at dawn and dusk when they are more vocal. They are usually found singly or in pairs, hopping on the ground and among fallen logs, flicking dead leaves to the side with their beaks. They feed on small invertebrates such as cockroach egg cases, beetles and their larvae, earthworms and ants, and one individual has been observed feeding on a fallen fruit.

Status

The

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has rated the conservation status of ''S. caudacutus'' as being of "

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

", because it has a very wide range and is common in some locations. However, its Amazon rainforest habitat is being degraded and it is likely that the total population of this bird is in slow decline.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q845231 black-tailed leaftosser Birds of the Amazon Basin Birds of the Guianas Birds of the Atlantic Forest black-tailed leaftosser Taxa named by Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot Taxonomy articles created by Polbot