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Montane Foliage-gleaner Anabacerthia striaticollis Scientific name definitions

J. V. Remsen, Jr.
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated January 1, 2003

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Originally Appeared in

HBW Alive

Introduction

Montane Foliage-gleaner is a mid-elevation, arboreal furnariid of northern South America. Found from northern Venezuela south along the Andes to Bolivia, it inhabits canopy and edge habitat between 900 and 2300 meters in elevation. The species is dull rufous-brown above and ochre-brown below with a white throat, a pale white-buff eyering and postocular stripe, a short, stout, somewhat upswept bill, and a long, rufous tail. Montane Foliage-gleaner is a frequently seen species in many Andean forests, where it might quietly accompany mixed flocks in small numbers.

Field Identification

16–17 cm; 22–28 g. Medium-sized, rather plain furnariid with conspicuous face pattern, wedge-shaped bill. Nominate race has face mostly dark brown with some faint paler flecking and streaking, broad and conspicuous pale tawny-buff eyering and line behind eye; crown and uppermost back dull dark brown, hint of buff spotting along feather shafts, rest of back rich brown, uppertail-coverts slightly paler; wings mostly rich rufescent brown, slightly darker brown primary coverts; tail nearly square, rectrices with shafts slightly stiffened basally, slightly pointed tips, distal 1 mm or so lacking barbs (possibly through wear), rufous; chin, rear malar area and throat pale tawny-buff, dull brown flecking on throat; breast light brown with ill-defined buff streaks, these fading posteriorly; belly medium brown, flanks barely darker, tinged rufescent; iris brown to dark brown; bill greyish-horn to olive-grey, sometimes darker along culmen, lower mandible sometimes paler; tarsus and toes olive to yellowish-brown. Sexes alike. Juvenile has darker crown, more prominent eyering and supercilium, is generally more rufous. Race anxia has eyering, postocular stripe, throat and breast more yellowish-buff, uppertail-coverts bright rufous like tail; perijana is paler, back more yellowish-brown, throat yellowish, underparts more yellowish-olive, less brown; venezuelana differs from previous in greyer crown and auriculars, browner back, bright rufous uppertail-coverts, whitish throat, more greyish-brown breast and belly; montana is like nominate, but crown browner, contrasting less with back, back darker and more rufescent, tail darker, more chestnut, breast streaks more prominent, varies clinally, back redder in C Peru, specimens from Ayacucho more or less intermediate between this race and next; yungae is more reddish throughout, varies clinally, crown darker with faint dark spots (no streaks) and back darker red in Bolivia (Cochabamba) than in S Peru, specimens from La Paz intermediate.

Systematics History

Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.

Genetic data (1) do not support proposed sister relationship with A. variegaticeps, race temporalis of which sometimes included in present species. Race perijana perhaps restricted to E slope of Sierra de Perijá, as specimen from W slope indistinguishable from nominate (2); clarification required. Plumage variation in Andes appears to be clinal, redder-backed C Peruvian populations of montana approaching appearance of yungae, specimens from Ayacucho more or less intermediate, also specimens from Bolivia (Cochabamba) darker than those from S Peru and specimens from La Paz intermediate; quantitative analysis, including specimens from gaps in current samples, would likely reveal rather smooth clinal variation from S Colombia to Bolivia or, alternatively, a number of diagnosable populations that are currently without taxonomic recognition. Proposed race jelskii (from C Peru) is based on discoloured specimen of montana. Six subspecies recognized.

Subspecies

SUBSPECIES

Anabacerthia striaticollis striaticollis Scientific name definitions

Anabacerthia striaticollis striaticollis
A. s. striaticollis

Distribution

Andes of W Venezuela (Lara, Trujillo, NW Barinas, Táchira) and Colombia (all three ranges, except in Nariño).
SUBSPECIES

Anabacerthia striaticollis anxia Scientific name definitions

Anabacerthia striaticollis anxia
A. s. anxia

Distribution

Santa Marta Mts of N Colombia.
SUBSPECIES

Anabacerthia striaticollis perijana Scientific name definitions

Distribution

Sierra de Perijá of NW Venezuela and perhaps N Colombia.
SUBSPECIES

Anabacerthia striaticollis venezuelana Scientific name definitions

Distribution

mountains of NC Venezuela (Yaracuy, and Carabobo E to Distrito Federal, also interior range in Aragua and Miranda).
SUBSPECIES

Anabacerthia striaticollis montana Scientific name definitions

Distribution

E slope of Andes in SE Colombia (Nariño) S to C Peru (S to Junín).
SUBSPECIES

Anabacerthia striaticollis yungae Scientific name definitions

Anabacerthia striaticollis yungae
A. s. yungae

Distribution

Andes from S Peru (Cuzco, Puno) S to C Bolivia (E to W Santa Cruz).

Distribution

Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Habitat

Montane evergreen forest; mostly 900–2300 m, locally to 2600 m.

Movement

Resident.

Diet and Foraging

Arthropods. Forages singly or in pairs, usually in mixed-species flocks, from mid-storey to subcanopy. Clambers and hops along horizontal branches. Dead-leaf specialist. Gleans arthropods acrobatically from dead leaves, debris, epiphytes (including bromeliads), and mossy branches.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Song an accelerating, belaboured series of staccato, high-pitched, ticking, squeaky, dry “peck” or “tchik” notes, roughly on same pitch, sometimes descending slightly at end, sometimes ending abruptly, duration c. 5 seconds. Call a high, squeaky, sharp “chit” or “tchik”; also gives scratchy rattle.

Breeding

Presumably monogamous. Two nests described, placed in broken off stump of Bactris palm or dead tree, lined with lichens and moss. Clutch 2 eggs. No further information.

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife LC Least Concern
Not globally threatened. Fairly common to common. Occurs in several protected areas, including Henri Pittier and Guaramacal National Parks, in Venezuela; fairly common in Machu Picchu Historical Sanctuary, in Peru.
Distribution of the Montane Foliage-gleaner - Range Map
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Distribution of the Montane Foliage-gleaner

eBird and Macaulay Library

Recommended Citation

Remsen, Jr., J. V. (2020). Montane Foliage-gleaner (Anabacerthia striaticollis), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.mofgle1.01
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