Bird Guide

Elegant Woodcreeper vs Ocellated Woodcreeper

Elegant Woodcreeper (Xiphorhynchus elegans)

Elegant Woodcreeper

Xiphorhynchus elegans

Small35 gForest

The elegant woodcreeper is a medium-sized member of its genus, with a longish, slim, nearly straight bill. The species is 18 to 22.5 cm (7.1 to 8.9 in) long; males weigh 31 to 38 g (1.1 to 1.3 oz) and females 29 to 35 g (1.0 to 1.2 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies X. e. elegans have a blackish brown face with bold buff streaks, whitish lores, and a pale supercilium. Their crown and nape are dark olive-brown with small buff spots with blackish edges that are streakier on the nape. Voice: The elegant woodcreeper sings mostly at dawn and dusk. One song is "a descending series of c. 30 ringing whistles that begins softly and slows at end, 'whit, whit, wit, wit, wit...wit, wit, wee, wee, wee, wit, wit, wit, wit, wew'." Another is ""tchip-tchip-tchip-tchip-thcup-tchup, tucweu, tchweu.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Elegant Woodcreeper
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Call, calls · Pastaza: Kapawi area, left bank Río Pastaza, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: David F. Belmonte · CC BY 4.0
Ocellated Woodcreeper (Xiphorhynchus ocellatus)

Ocellated Woodcreeper

Xiphorhynchus ocellatus

Small37 gForest

The ocellated woodcreeper is 20 to 24.5 cm (7.9 to 9.6 in) long and weighs 24 to 42 g (0.85 to 1.5 oz). It is a slim, medium-sized woodcreeper with a long and nearly straight bill. The sexes are alike. Adults of the nominate subspecies X. o. ocellatus have a dark brown crown and nape with fine buff streaks on the crown. Their back is plain reddish brown to olive-brown, their rump and wings cinnamon-rufous, and their tail a darker cinnamon-rufous. Their throat is deep buff with darker edges to the feathers. Their underparts are olive-brown that becomes more rufescent on the undertail coverts. Voice: The ocellated woodcreeper sings mostly at dawn and dusk, and usually gives only a few songs then. Its song varies geographically. For instance, in eastern Ecuador it is "a fast series of nasal notes...'whe-whe-whe-whe-whe-chéchécheow' ". In much of Brazil it is a "short, fast, descending, rattling series of notes" and in other parts "a rapid trill...'re-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-eet' ".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: David F. Belmonte · CC BY 4.0

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Elegant Woodcreeper and Ocellated Woodcreeper.