The scale-throated earthcreeper or scaly-throated earthcreeper (''Upucerthia dumetaria'') 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

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, Chile and the

Altiplano The Altiplano (Spanish for "high plain"), Collao (Quechua and Aymara: Qullaw, meaning "place of the Qulla") or Andean Plateau, in west-central South America, is the most extensive high plateau on Earth outside Tibet. The plateau is located at the ...

; it winters in the Pampas and east of Córdoba. 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 ...

s are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland,

subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland Montane grasslands and shrublands is a biome defined by the World Wildlife Fund. The biome includes high elevation grasslands and shrublands around the world. The term "montane" in the name of the biome refers to "high elevation", rather than th ...

, and

subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland Montane grasslands and shrublands is a biome defined by the World Wildlife Fund. The biome includes high elevation grasslands and shrublands around the world. The term "montane" in the name of the biome refers to "high elevation", rather than th ...

. They build their nests at the end of tunnels measuring between one and two meters. These tunnels are almost exclusively based on slopes; however, rock crevices are occasionally used.
Scale-throated Earthcreeper It formerly included the

Patagonian forest earthcreeper The Patagonian forest earthcreeper (''Upucerthia saturatior''), also known as the forest earthcreeper, is a species of bird in the ovenbird family Furnariidae. The species was described in 1900 by W.E.D. Scott, but was listed as a subspecies of ...

(''U. saturatior'') as a

subspecies In biological classification, 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. Not all species ...

References

External links

Image at ADW
scale-throated earthcreeper Birds of Argentina Birds of the Puna grassland scale-throated earthcreeper Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Furnariidae-stub