Western Woodhaunter

The western woodhaunter (''Automolus virgatus'') is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.

Taxonomy and systematics

At one time what is now the western woodhaunter was included in genus ''Hyloctistes'' but molecular phylogenetic studies showed that ''Hyloctistes'' is embedded within ''Automolus''.

Even before the generic merger, the western woodhaunter's taxonomy was unsettled, and it remains so. Its four subspecies were included with two others in what was then called the striped woodhaunter (then ''H. subulatus'', later ''A. subulatus''). In the early twenty-first century several authors split the four Central American and western South American subspecies from the striped woodhaunter and named the new species the western woodhaunter (then ''H. virgatus'', now ''A. virgatus''). They gave the remaining two subspecies the English name eastern woodhaunter and by the principle of priority retained the binomial ''A. subulatus'' for it.Greeney, H. F., J. V. Remsen, Jr., and P. F. D. Boesman (2022). Striped Woodhaunter (''Automolus subulatus''), version 2.0. In Birds of the World (B. K. Keeney, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.strwoo1.02 retrieved September 7, 2023 By late 2023 the International Ornithological Committee, BirdLife International's ''Handbook of the Birds of the World'' (HBW), and the Clements taxonomy adopted the split, though HBW calls ''A. subulatus'' the Amazonian woodhaunter.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: https://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v7_Dec22.zip retrieved December 13, 2022Clements, J. F., P.C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2023. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2023. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ retrieved October 28, 2023 The North and South American Classification Committees of the American Ornithological Society (AOS) have not adopted the split but both subcommittees note that some authors suggest it.Chesser, R. T., S. M. Billerman, K. J. Burns, C. Cicero, J. L. Dunn, B. E. Hern ndez-Ba os, R. A. Jim nez, A. W. Kratter, N. A. Mason, P. C. Rasmussen, J. V. Remsen, Jr., and K. Winker. 2023. Check-list of North American Birds (online). American Ornithological Society. https://checklist.americanornithology.org/taxa/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 28 September 2023. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved October 20, 2023

The four subspecies of the western woodhaunter are:

* ''A. v. nicaraguae'' (Miller, W. & Griscom, 1925)
* ''A. v. virgatus'' ( Lawrence, 1867)
* ''A. v. assimilis'' von Berlepsch & Taczanowski, 1884
* ''A. v. cordobae'' ( Meyer de Schauensee, 1960)

Description

The western woodhaunter is long and weighs about . It is a fairly large member of its genus and has a shortish and heavy bill. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies ''A. v. virgatus'' have a mostly dark brownish face with golden-buff streaks, a pale eyering and stripe behind the eye, and grizzled brownish and buff lores. Their crown is blackish brown with golden-buff streaks that widen as they extend onto the blackish brown back. Their rump is dull rusty olivaceous brown, their uppertail coverts deep reddish cinnamon, and their tail a lighter cinnamon than the uppertail coverts. Their wings are dull cinnamon brown with brownish black on the flight feathers. Their chin and throat are pale fawn with faint brownish feather edges. Their breast is a deeper fawn with dusky feather edges. Their belly, flanks, and undertail coverts are olivaceous brown. Their iris is brown, their bill brownish black with some yellow on the mandible, and their legs and feet brown. Subspecies ''A. v. nicaraguae'' has blackish brown upperparts and slightly lighter underparts than the nominate. ''A. v. assimilis'' has a more reddish brown back than the nominate, a darker chestnut-rufous rump, uppertail coverts, and tail, and a strong olivaceous wash on the breast. ''A. v. cordobae'' has an unstreaked back and nearly unmarked underparts.

Distribution and habitat

The subspecies of the western woodhaunter are found thus:

* ''A. v. nicaraguae'': southeastern Nicaragua with a few records in Honduras
* ''A. v. virgatus'': Costa Rica into Panama as far as Veraguas Province
* ''A. v. assimilis'': from Eastern Panama south through western Colombia and most of the length of western Ecuador
* ''A. v. cordobae'': northern Colombia's Córdoba, Antioquia, Bolívar, Santander, and Boyacá departments

The western woodhaunter inhabits humid forest and woodlands in foothills and the lower montane zone. In elevation it mostly occurs below , but locally reaches about in Costa Rica, Panama, and Ecuador.

Behavior

Movement

The western woodhaunter is a year-round resident throughout its range.

Feeding

The western woodhaunter's diet is not known in detail but includes arthropods and small vertebrates. It usually forages singly and usually as part of a mixed-species feeding flock, from the forest understory to its middle levels. It searches for prey along large branches and vines, gleaning and probing among dead leaves, epiphytes, palm fronds and other vegetation. It has been noted "burrowing" into clumps and flinging aside debris to reach prey.

Breeding

The western woodhaunter's breeding season has not been fully defined but includes at least December to February and may begin much earlier. It excavates a tunnel in an earthen bank and builds a shallow cup nest of leaf rachides in a chamber at its end. The clutch size, incubation period, and time to fledging are not known. Both parents incubate the clutch and provision nestlings.

Vocalization

The western woodhaunter's song is described as "a series of sharp nasal notes, 'keeu-keeu-keeu-keeu...', evenly pitched and paced" and its call as "a sharp 'squirp!' ". The song has also been rendered as "''kyip-kyip-kyip-kyip-kyip''" and the call as "''krrrk''".

Status

The IUCN has assessed the western woodhaunter as being of Least Concern. It has a large range, but its population size is not known and is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified. It occurs in a few protected areas.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q55112046

Automolus
Birds of Nicaragua
Birds of Panama
Birds of Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena
western woodhaunter