Straight-billed woodcreeper

Dendroplex picus

Photo by Flávio Mota (Flickr)

Common name:
straight-billed woodcreeper (en); arapaçu-de-bico-branco (pt); gimpar talapiot (fr); trepatroncos piquirrecto (es); spechtschnabel-baumsteiger (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Dendrocolaptidae

Range:
This species is found in central and northern South America, only east of the Andes, from Venezuela and Colombia south to Bolivia and Brazil as far south as Mato Grosso do Sul and Minas Gerais. It is also found in Trinidad and Tobago.

Size:
These birds are 20-22 cm long and weigh 42-45 g.

Habitat:
The straight-billed woodcreeper is mostly found in moist tropical forests, but also swamp forests, dry forests and savannas, mangroves, inland wetlands and also in plantations and second growths.

Diet:
They forage on the branches of trees and scrubs in search of various insects and other invertebrates.

Breeding:
Straight-billed woodcreepers nest in tree cavities. The female lays 2-3 eggs which are incubated by both sexes for 17 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 17-18 days after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and is described as common. The population is suspected to be increasing as ongoing habitat degradation is creating new areas of suitable habitat.