Hoffmanns's Woodcreeper Dendrocolaptes hoffmannsi Scientific name definitions

Named for a German naturalist who collected in Peru and Brazil in the first decade of the 20th century, Hoffmanns’s Woodcreeper is endemic to southern Amazonian Brazil, where it is confined to the Madeira-Tapajós interfluvium. This species is a relatively large and long-tailed woodcreeper, which is best distinguished from the relevant subspecies of Amazonian Barred-Woodcreeper (Dendrocolaptes certhia) by its more rufous crown, black bill, and finely streaked breast, as well as by song. It occurs in tall terra firme forest, usually the interior, although the species will venture into clearings. Hoffmanns’s Woodcreeper seems to breed in the last third of the year, and it associates with mixed-species flocks, as well as attending army ant swarms, where it sometimes competes for food with various antbirds. The diet is probably mainly arthropods, although more observations are required.

28–29 cm; male 78·5–86 g, female 74–89 g. Large but relatively slim woodcreeper with long tail, laterally compressed, straight bill of medium length. Adult has dark buffy face with indistinct scaling, diffuse supercilium; strongly rufescent forehead and crown, blending to rufous-brown on nape and back, and cinnamon-rufous to rufous-chestnut on wings, rump and tail, crown feathers with obscure buffy shaft streaks and obvious black tips (producing weakly barred pattern), back with a few, fine shaft streaks but upperparts and wings largely unmarked; primary tips dusky; throat and underparts dull buffy with olive cast, tending more towards ochraceous on belly, breast with faint buffy shaft streaks (usually fine), belly and flanks barred narrowly and inconspicuously with dusky; underwing-coverts ochraceous buff; iris light grey to brown; bill dusky grey to black, lower mandible sometimes paler; legs and feet grey. Distinguished from race concolor of D. certhia mainly by rufous cap, black bill, fine streaking on breast. Sexes similar. Juvenile is more reddish above, more ochraceous below, with tendency towards dark spotting along edges of breast feathers resulting in subtle mix of streaking and barring; some birds more boldly streaked below, possibly reflecting immaturity.

S Amazonian Brazil, S of Amazon, from R Madeira E to R Tapajós and its headwaters at R Juruena, S at least to Rondônia and SW Mato Grosso (S limit of range unclear). Alleged records farther E (to lower R Xingu) appear to refer to mislabelled specimens.

Humid forest, both terra firme and on floodplains. Generally in interior of primary forest, but visits edges and possibly also older second growth. Amazonian lowlands, to c. 300 m.

Resident.

Diet undescribed; presumably mostly arthropods. Regular attendant at army-ant swarms, and probably associates at least at times with mixed-species flocks. Forages primarily from understory to subcanopy. Brief observations suggest that diet and foraging behaviour over ants are similar to those of D. picumnus; most observations over swarms have involved single individuals. Waits on large vertical trunks, at heights below 2 m, for prey flushed by ants; takes items largely by sallying to palm fronds and leaves, less frequently to ground, trunks, vines or mid-air; gleans prey from same substrates slightly less frequently. Competes with large antbirds (Thamnophilidae) when near ground, where forages somewhat less frequently than does D. picumnus near Manaus, Brazil (in absence of large antbird competitors). Occasionally supplanted by more aggressive Xiphorhynchus guttatus, and, in turn, attacks the smaller Dendrocincla. Away from ant swarms, remains relatively high up (6–13 m in one study) and on large trunks. That gleaning may be more important in this species than in some congeners suggested by its comparatively slimmer bill relative to those of most others.

Song, given chiefly at dawn, but probably also at dusk, from perch high in forest, a rolling series of c. 20 similar notes on roughly same pitch, very like that of D. picumnus but possibly shorter in total duration. Various calls described as “wh’kai”, “kaihh-jeep” and snarling.

Based on birds recorded in breeding condition, season probably Sept–Nov during late dry season and early wet season; one nest found in Sept 2009 was in cavity in trunk of a dead tree c. 18 m above the ground, and one bird was taking bark flakes into it (2 Whittaker, A., Kirwan, G.M. and Thompson, J.C. (2010). First nest descriptions for Hoffmanns’s Woodcreeper Dendrocolaptes hoffmannsi and Snow-capped Manakin Lepidothrix nattereri. Cotinga. 32: 123–124. Close ); a juvenile female collected in early Nov, and a juvenile with a yellow gape observed with an adult in March (3 Whittaker, A. (2009). Pousada Rio Roosevelt: a provisional avifaunal inventory in south-western Amazonian Brazil, with information on life history, new distributional data and comments on taxonomy. Cotinga 31:23–46. Close ). No other information.

VULNERABLE. Previously considered not threatened. A rarely seen and little-known species. Uncommon to fairly common at some sites, but possibly local; occurs in a region that is ornithologically poorly known. Does not range so far S as do many endemics of the Madeira/Tapajós region; S limit of range unknown, but unrecorded in Bolivia. Recent observations mainly from two sites: Borba, on R Madeira, and Amazonia National Park, on R Tapajós, but is probably widespread in area between the lower reaches of these two rivers. Believed to be highly sensitive to human disturbance. An indicator of tropical lowland evergreen forest in S Amazonia.