Bird Guide

Sharp-billed Treehunter vs Tawny-throated Leaftosser

Sharp-billed Treehunter (Heliobletus contaminatus)

Sharp-billed Treehunter

Heliobletus contaminatus

Tiny14 gForest

The sharp-billed treehunter is 12 to 13 cm (4.7 to 5.1 in) long and weighs 13 to 15 g (0.46 to 0.53 oz). It has a short, pointed, and slightly downturned bill, and male and female plumages are alike. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a wide golden-buff supercilium, a blackish brown band behind the eye, dark brownish and ochraceous lores, and dull buff ear coverts. Their crown is blackish brown with wide golden-olive streaks. They have a buff partial collar. Their back, rump, and uppertail coverts are dull olive-brown with rufous tips on the coverts. Voice: The sharp-billed treehunter's song is "a short, harsh, metallic slow trill on one pitch, sometimes interspersed with squeaky notes or tinkling overtones". Its call is a soft "tick".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Miguel A. Paixão · CC BY 4.0
Tawny-throated Leaftosser (Sclerurus mexicanus)

Tawny-throated Leaftosser

Sclerurus mexicanus

Small25 gForest

The tawny-throated leaftosser is 15 to 17 cm (5.9 to 6.7 in) long and weighs 24 to 30 g (0.85 to 1.1 oz). The sexes are alike. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a dark reddish to chestnut brown head, upperparts, and tail, and chestnut rump and uppertail coverts. Their wings are darker brown than their back. Their throat and chest are tawny-rufous and the rest of their underparts similar to their back. Their fairly long and slightly decurved bill has a dark maxilla and a bicolored mandible. Their iris is brown and their legs and feet are dark brownish gray. Voice: The song of the tawny-throated leaftosser varies somewhat in pitch and number of notes between the subspecies, but is generally "a descending series of 3-9 fairly long high-pitched overslurred whistles Pseeer!-pseeer-pseer-pseer-pseer". It may start with "sharp spik! notes" and end with a "few stuttering short notes". Its principal call is a "short sharp explosive single note Tseek! or Skweek!".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Rajan Rao · CC BY 4.0

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Sharp-billed Treehunter and Tawny-throated Leaftosser.