Bird Guide

Band-tailed Hornero vs Pale-legged Hornero

Band-tailed Hornero (Furnarius figulus)

Band-tailed Hornero

Furnarius figulus

Small28 gForest

The band-tailed hornero is 15 to 16 cm (5.9 to 6.3 in) long and weighs about 28 g (0.99 oz). It is a small hornero with a long and nearly straight bill. The sexes' plumages are alike. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a wide white supercilium, dingy rufous lores, a dark stripe through the eye, dull rufous ear coverts, and a tawny buff malar area. Their crown is chestnut-rufous and their back, rump, and uppertail coverts a slightly paler chestnut-rufous. Their tail is also chestnut-rufous, with brownish black tips on the inner webs of its feathers. Voice: The band-tailed hornero's song is a "series of 3-20 high, very loud staccato notes 'djip-djip--' " that decelerate and descend in pitch. One call is a "harsh 'djeep-djeep--' "; others are "chibit, chep" and "kwee-eh". Pairs often sing in duet.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Under the same moon... · CC BY 2.0
Pale-legged Hornero (Furnarius leucopus)

Pale-legged Hornero

Furnarius leucopus

Small55 gShrubland

The pale-legged hornero is 15 to 18 cm (5.9 to 7.1 in) long and weighs about 37 to 49 g (1.3 to 1.7 oz). It is a medium-sized hornero with a long and nearly straight bill. The sexes' plumages are alike. Adults of the nominate subspecies F. l. leucopus have a wide whitish supercilium, brownish gray ear coverts, and a tawny-rufous malar area. Their crown is dark rufescent brown. Their back, rump, and uppertail coverts average bright orange rufous but vary between tawny rufous and rufous amber. Their tail is chestnut. Voice: The pale-legged hornero's song is a "long series of loud, explosive, piercing, staccato notes, which decelerates and descends in pitch...rendered PIPIPI'PI'pi'pi-pi-pi-pi-pi pee pee pu". Its calls are "a loud, rich, scratchy or reedy chet or kyeek, or a descending cheeop".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Pale-legged Hornero
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Call · Morona-Santiago: e-slope Cord. de Cutucú: Uuntsuants, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: André Ribeiro Cardoso · CC BY 4.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Band-tailed Hornero and Pale-legged Hornero.