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Olive-backed Woodcreeper Xiphorhynchus triangularis Scientific name definitions

Curtis A. Marantz, Alexandre Aleixo, Louis R. Bevier, and Michael A. Patten
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated January 1, 2003

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Originally Appeared in

HBW Alive

Introduction

Olive-backed Woodcreeper is an arboreal songbird of the subtropical zone of northern Andean forests. It is found from Venezuela south to Bolivia in forest and edge habitat from 1000 to 2500 meters in elevation. It is olive-brown above with a stout, fairly straight bill, rufous olive wings and tail, and dull brown head and underparts marked with buffy spots. The greatest diversity of Xiphorhynchus woodcreepers is in the lowlands; Olive-backed is unusual in the genus for being restricted to montane forests. A typical woodcreeper in behavior, it forages either alone or in mixed species flocks by hitching around on tree trunks and limbs, and is typically quiet.

Field Identification

19·5–25 cm; male 40–52 g, female 32–48 g (57 g when laying). Medium-sized woodcreeper with bill slightly decurved and about as long as head is wide. Nominate race has narrow buffy-white eyering and supercilium standing out against finely streaked face; crown and nape blackish-brown with elongate spots of pale buff; back, wing-coverts and most of rump bright olive to brownish-olive, upper back with scattered spot-like streaks of buff; uppertail-coverts cinnamon to rufous-chestnut; remiges with inner webs cinnamon to rufous-chestnut but outer webs bright olive (rufous in wings relatively inconspicuous), tips of primaries dusky; tail dark rufous-chestnut; throat buffy-white, feathers with blackish-brown margins producing heavily scaled appearance (especially on lower throat); dark olive below, slightly paler than above, breast heavily spotted buffy whitish, spots becoming longer and more triangular towards belly, flanks largely unmarked, undertail-coverts finely streaked; underwing-coverts ochraceous; iris dark brown; upper mandible horn-black on culmen and base, whitish to bluish-ivory along side, lower mandible grey with paler spots on side (extent of black and whitish on bill may vary geographically); legs and feet blue-grey to grey with slight olive cast. Distinguished from “aequatorialis group” of X. erythropygius mainly by more olive upperparts; more boldly spotted crown; paler and more rufous rump, wings and tail; paler throat and breast with scaly instead of spotted pattern; uniformly darker bill. Female is slightly smaller than male. Juvenile is duller than adult, with smaller spots on breast. Race hylodromus is closely similar to nominate, but brighter olive-brown above, secondaries darker and less reddish, throat paler with finer scaling, underparts lighter, more greenish-olive, and more heavily spotted; bangsi is also like nominate, but upperparts more rufescent (less olive) with rufous extending onto rump, crown spots larger, back more distinctly streaked, throat more whitish with fringes more olive (less blackish), spots below smaller and not extending to belly (which is narrowly streaked), undertail-coverts more finely streaked and more rufescent, bill mostly whitish with black restricted to base and tip of upper mandible; intermedius is intermediate between nominate and bangsi, being slightly browner above than nominate, and with underparts paler and browner.

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.

Sister-species to X. erythropygius (1), and sometimes regarded as conspecific; treatment as separate species supported by molecular evidence, vocalizations, apparent lack of intergradation, and elevational replacement where ranges approach (at most, very limited sympatry on W slope of Andes in SW Colombia and W Ecuador). Proposed race distinctus (W Andes of Colombia) included in nominate; hylodromus differs only slightly from nominate, but is geographically disjunct; intermedius intergrades in SE Peru with bangsi, from which it may not be reliably distinguishable. Four subspecies recognized.

Subspecies

SUBSPECIES

Xiphorhynchus triangularis hylodromus Scientific name definitions

Distribution

coastal and interior mountains of N Venezuela (Andes in Trujillo and SE Lara, Yaracuy E to Miranda and Distrito Federal).
SUBSPECIES

Xiphorhynchus triangularis triangularis Scientific name definitions

Xiphorhynchus triangularis triangularis
X. t. triangularis

Distribution

Andes of W Venezuela (Zulia, SW Táchira, Mérida), Colombia (W, C and E cordilleras except in W Nariño), E Ecuador and N Peru (N of R Marañón).
SUBSPECIES

Xiphorhynchus triangularis intermedius Scientific name definitions

Distribution

E slope of Andes of C and SE Peru (Pasco, Junín, Cuzco).
SUBSPECIES

Xiphorhynchus triangularis bangsi Scientific name definitions

Xiphorhynchus triangularis bangsi
X. t. bangsi

Distribution

E Andean slopes from SE Peru S to C Bolivia (La Paz, Cochabamba, 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

Primarily evergreen forest in middle elevations of Andes. Most common in humid and very humid montane evergreen forest and cloudforest; at upper elevations sometimes in slightly stunted forest. Largely in interior of mature forest, but sometimes in older second growth or forest edge. Chiefly upper tropical and subtropical zones at 1000–2400 m; occasionally to 2700 m in Colombia and Peru, and down to 800 m in W Colombia and to 400 m on E slope of Andes in SE Colombia and Bolivia.

Movement

Apparently resident.

Diet and Foraging

Diet not described in detail; presumably mostly insectivorous. Forages primarily by hitching up trunks, moss-covered branches and large vines, from mid-levels to subcanopy, but sometimes into canopy or closer to ground (mostly 2·5–13 m). Like most members of genus appears to forage largely by inspecting clumps of moss, less often by gleaning prey from bark surface, or probing into bark crevices and epiphytes. Forages singly or in pairs, occasionally small groups, sometimes with mixed-species flocks; presence in flocks at some sites positively correlated with that of Lineated Foliage-gleaner (Syndactyla subalaris). Hitches up trunks, branches and large vines, from mid-levels to subcanopy, sometimes into canopy, or at times closer to ground, mostly at 2·5–13 m; seeks food mainly on moss-covered branches. Appears to forage largely by gleaning prey from bark surface or by probing into bark crevices and epiphytes; methods seemingly as for most members of genus.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Poorly known, apparently rather quiet. Song a series of hard notes that accelerates then slows, “we we we-we-we-we-we-WE-WE-We-we-wa”; faint song, often given repeatedly, a weak and somewhat nasal series that accelerates into a slow trill, “quee, quee QUEE-que-que’e’e’e’e”. Call most often described as penetrating downslurred “keeweeeeu” or shorter “wheeer” whistle with slightly nasal ending, sometimes interspersed with a string of semi-musical notes; another call a soft series c. 1 second long of c. 15 notes, “wik-ti-ti-ti-…-ti-tew”.

Breeding

Season Apr–Jun in N Venezuela; in Colombia, birds in breeding condition in Apr–Jun in W & C Andes, and both a breeding-condition bird in Sept and a juvenile also in Sept in E Andes; a laying female was in body moult in mid-Apr, as were birds in mid-Sept and mid-Dec (Colombia). No other information available.

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife LC Least Concern
Not globally threatened. Uncommon to fairly common in montane forests throughout its range. Largely restricted to mature forest, and therefore believed to be highly sensitive to human disturbance. An indicator species for montane evergreen forest in upper tropical zone of C Andes.
Distribution of the Olive-backed Woodcreeper - Range Map
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Distribution of the Olive-backed Woodcreeper

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Recommended Citation

Marantz, C. A., A. Aleixo, L. R. Bevier, and M. A. Patten (2020). Olive-backed Woodcreeper (Xiphorhynchus triangularis), 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.olbwoo1.01
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