Rufous-rumped Foliage-gleaner (Philydor erythrocercum)

Identification & Behavior: ~16.5 cm (6.4 in). The Rufous-rumped Foliage-gleaner has olive-brown upperparts with a variable amount of rufous on the lower rump. The tail is rufous. The throat is pale-buff grading to brownish towards the rest of the underparts. It has a distinctive buffy (subflavum and Lyra) or rufous (ochrogaster) eye-ring and superciliary. The ochrogaster subspecies of the east slope of the Andes and foothills has a warmer plumage. The lowland subspecies forage in the understory of the forest while the ochrogaster subspecies forages in the canopy and sub-canopy of montane forest. The very similar Rufous-tailed Foliage-gleaner has yellow-buff supercilium, streaks on the sides of the head, and throat. Perhaps more importantly, the Rufous-tailed Foliage-gleaner forages in the canopy of the forest.

Status: The Rufous-rumped Foliage-gleaner is uncommon in the understory of terra firme forest and the canopy and sub-canopy of the montane forest where it is known to range to elevations of up to 1700 m. It also occurs in Co, Ec, Br, and Bo.

Name in Spanish: Limpia-Follaje de Lomo Rufo.

Sub-species: Rufous-rumped Foliage-gleaner (Philydor erythrocercum subfulvum), P. L. Sclater, 1862.  S Colombia (S from W Meta), E Ecuador and N Peru (N of R Amazon, W of R Ucayali).
(Philydor erythrocercum ochrogaster), Hellmayr, 1917.  Andes from C Peru (S from Huánuco) S to NC Bolivia (S to Cochabamba, sight reports to NW Santa Cruz).
(Philydor erythrocercum lyra), Cherrie, 1916.  Amazonian E Peru (S of R Amazon, E of R Ucayali), Brazil (E, S of R Amazon, to N Maranhão, S to Mato Grosso) and N Bolivia (Pando, N Beni).

Meaning of Name: Philydor: Gr. phileo= to love and hudor, hudatos= water. Philudros= water-loving. erythrocercum: Gr. eruthros= red and kerkos= tail.

See more of the Family Furnariidae