Bird Guide

Buff-breasted Earthcreeper vs Scale-throated Earthcreeper

Buff-breasted Earthcreeper (Upucerthia validirostris)

Buff-breasted Earthcreeper

Upucerthia validirostris

Small34 gGrassland

The buff-breasted earthcreeper is 17 to 21 cm (6.7 to 8.3 in) long and weighs 30 to 45 g (1.1 to 1.6 oz). It is a medium-sized earthcreeper with a long and strongly decurved bill. The sexes' plumages are alike. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a pale buffish white supercilium. Their crown, nape, back, rump, and uppertail coverts are dull brownish gray. Their tail is dark brown with increasing amounts of rufous from the central to the outer feathers. Their wings are mostly the same brownish gray as the back but with much rufous at the base of the primaries. Voice: The buff-breasted earthcreeper is not highly vocal. The nominate subspecies' song is "a long dry trill of c. 10 or more 'tyik' notes" and its call "a low 'chwit' ". The song of the other two subspecies is "a rich irregular trill 'drrrrrr…' lasting one to > 10 seconds, rising and then falling in pitch, accelerating and then decelerating". Their call is "a metallic 'click' or 'tyi-ík' ".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Buff-breasted Earthcreeper
Recorded by Belén y Diego · Uncertain · Valle Colorado, Valle Grande, Jujuy, Argentina · CC0
Photo: Ron Knight from Seaford, East Sussex, United Kingdom · CC BY 2.0
Scale-throated Earthcreeper (Upucerthia dumetaria)

Scale-throated Earthcreeper

Upucerthia dumetaria

Small49 gShrubland

The scale-throated earthcreeper is 20 to 22 cm (7.9 to 8.7 in) long and weighs 37 to 55.5 g (1.3 to 2.0 oz). It is a large earthcreeper with a long and very decurved bill. The sexes' plumages are alike. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a whitish supercilium on an otherwise grayish white and dark grayish brown face. Their crown is a dull dark grayish brown with some fainter mottling. Their nape, back, rump, and uppertail coverts are uniform dull brownish gray. Voice: The scale-throated earthcreeper often sings from the top of a bush. Its song is " 'chippy, chippy, chippy, chip' or 'pli-pli-pli-pli-pli...' increasing slightly in pitch and sometimes descending towards the end". Its calls include "a wheezy 'keet' or squeaky-sounding 'keep',...and sharp, dry 'dzit' ".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Tomás Tamagno · 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: Buff-breasted Earthcreeper and Scale-throated Earthcreeper.