Olive-backed Woodcreeper (Xiphorhynchus triangularis)

Identification & Behavior: ~22 cm (8.6 in). The Olive-backed Woodcreeper is olive-brown with a rufous tail. The sides of the neck, throat, breast and upper belly are spotted with buffy. The crown is finely streaked. The bill is straight and grayish. It forages in the mid-story and sub-canopy of humid montane forests often in the company of mixed species flocks. It overlaps with the Montane Woodcreeper, which has elongated streaks on the underparts and a whitish and slightly decurved bill. Also, see the unmarked and larger Tyrannnine Woodcreeper.

Status: The Olive-backed Woodcreeper is uncommon in montane forests of the east slope of the Andes at elevations ranging between 1000-2400 m. It also occurs in Co, Ec, and Bo.

Name in Spanish: Trepador de Dorso Olivo.

Sub-species: Olive-backed Woodcreeper (Xiphorhynchus triangularis triangularis), (Lafresnaye), 1842.  Andes of W Venezuela (Zulia, SW Táchira, Mérida), Colombia (W, C & E cordilleras except in W Nariño), E Ecuador and N Peru (N of R Marañón).
(Xiphorhynchus triangularis intermedius), Carriker, 1935.  Andes of C Peru (Pasco, Junín).
(Xiphorhynchus triangularis bangsi), Chapman, 1919.  E Andean slopes from SE Peru S to C Bolivia (La Paz, Cochabamba, W Santa Cruz), intergrades with intermedius in SE Peru.

Meaning of Name: Xiphorhynchus: Gr. xiphos= sword and rhunkhos= bill. triangularis: L. tres= three and angulus= angle. Triangularis, triangulum= triangular, triangle.

See more of the Family Furnariidae