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Western Woodhaunter | Automolus virgatus
Westelijke bosbladspeurder | Trepamusgo rayado
The Western Woodhaunter is a dark brown foliage-gleaner with fine pale streaks on the head, back and breast, found in the understorey and middle storey of humid foothill forest. It often searches epiphytes and hanging dead leaves for insects. In the guide area it lives in Costa Rica and Panama.
Voice
Mainly sharp, harsh calls that are often repeated.
Recording: Juan Freile — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · converted to mono · xeno-canto
Identification
16–17 cm. Upperparts dark olive-brown with fine buffy streaks on the crown, nape and upper back. Throat buffy, breast and belly olive-brown with narrow pale streaks. Tail rufous. Bill fairly long and straight.
Confusion species
Fawn-throated Foliage-gleaner Automolus cervinigularis and Chiriqui Foliage-gleaner Automolus exsertus are larger and plain, without the fine streaks. Lineated Foliage-gleaner Syndactyla subalaris is also streaked but lives mainly higher up in montane forest.
Habitat
Lower and middle storeys of humid evergreen foothill forest and the higher parts of lowland forest, also in ravines and along streams. Searches epiphytes, moss and clusters of dead leaves for insects and other invertebrates, usually in mixed flocks.
Where the bird is most at home, classified by the vegetation units of Mexico and Central America.
Range and movements
Costa Rica and Panama, mainly in the foothills. Outside the guide area in western Colombia and Ecuador.
- Resident
- dark = core range, pale = thinly spread
How and when to look
Most likely in mixed flocks in foothill forest; watch for a streaked foliage-gleaner probing dead leaves.
Conservation status
Not threatened. Uncommon and dependent on continuous foothill forest.
Scientific name
Automolus virgatus | (Lawrence, 1867) (GBIF: Hyloctistes subulatus)
Lawrence described the species in 1867 as Philydor virgatus; because it was later moved to another genus, the author and year stand in brackets. The genus Automolus was introduced in 1853 by Reichenbach. Automolus is Greek, from automolos 'deserter, defector'; why Reichenbach chose the name is unclear. virgatus is Latin for 'striped', after the fine streaking on the head and breast. The specimen the first description was based on came from Angostura, Costa Rica.