Peruvian treehunter
{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2023}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Peruvian treehunter
| image = Thripadectes scrutator - Buff throated Treehunter; Junin, Peru.jpg
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| genus = Thripadectes
| species = scrutator
| authority = Taczanowski, 1874
| synonyms =
| range_map = Thripadectes scrutator map.svg
}}
The Peruvian treehunter (Thripadectes scrutator) is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Bolivia and Peru.{{cite web |url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/bow/ovenbirds/ |title=Ovenbirds, woodcreepers |website=IOC World Bird List |version =v 13.2 | editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen |date=July 2023 |access-date=July 31, 2023 }} It is also called the rufous-backed treehunterClements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ retrieved November 10, 2022 or buff-throated treehunter.Meyer de Schauensee, R. 1970. A guide to the birds of South America. Livingston Publishing Co., Wynnewood, Pennsylvania.
Taxonomy and systematics
The Peruvian treehunter is a sister species of the uniform treehunter (T. ignobilis) and flammulated treehunter (T. flammulatus).Derryberry, E. P., S. Claramunt, G. Derryberry, R. T. Chesser, J. Cracraft, A. Aleixo, J. Pérez-Emán, J. V. Remsen, Jr., and R. T. Brumfield. (2011). Lineage diversification and morphological evolution in a large-scale continental radiation: the Neotropical ovenbirds and woodcreepers (Aves: Furnariidae). Evolution 65(10):2973–2986. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2011.01374.x{{cite journal|last1=Claramunt|first1=Santiago|last2=Derryberry|first2=Elizabeth P.|last3=Cadena|first3=Carlos Daniel|last4=Cuervo|first4=Andrés M.|last5=Sanín|first5=Camilo|last6=Brumfield|first6=Robb T.|title=Phylogeny and classification of Automolus foliage-gleaners and allies (Furnariidae)|journal=The Condor|volume=115|issue=2|year=2013|pages=375–385|issn=0010-5422|doi=10.1525/cond.2013.110198|s2cid=59375772 }} It is monotypic. However, the individuals in the southern part of the species' range are more reddish than the northern ones and might warrant recognition as a subspecies.Remsen, J.V., Jr. 2003. Family Furnariidae (ovenbirds). Pp. 162-357 in "Handbook of the Birds of the World, Vol. 8. Broadbills to Tapaculos." (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliot, and D. A. Christie, eds.). Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
Description
The Peruvian treehunter is {{convert|23|to|24|cm|in|abbr=on}} long and weighs {{convert|56|to|61|g|oz|sigfig=2|abbr=on}}. It is a robust furnariid with a heavy bill. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a blackish face with sharp buff streaks. Their lores are blackish speckled buff. Their crown, the sides of their neck, and their upper back are blackish with wide but diffuse buff streaks that disappear by the lower back. Their lower back is rich brown with faint rufous streaks that disappear into the dark rufous rump. Their uppertail coverts are chestnut. Their wing coverts are chestnut, their flight feathers pale rufous-chestnut, and their tail chestnut. Their throat and breast are blackish with buff streaks that are heaviest on the upper breast. Their lower breast, belly, and flanks are brownish with faint buff streaks that fade towards the bottom. Their undertail coverts are rufous. Their iris is brown to dark brown, their bill black, and their legs and feet gray to brown.Lloyd, H. (2020). Rufous-backed Treehunter (Thripadectes scrutator), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.rubtre1.01 retrieved September 6, 2023
Distribution and habitat
The Peruvian treehunter is found along the east slope of the Andes from northern Peru's Department of Amazonas through Peru south and east of the Marañón River into Bolivia as far as Cochabamba Department. It inhabits the zone from upper elevation cloudforest into elfin forest, a humid landscape where it favors large dense stands of Chusquea bamboo. In elevation it ranges from {{convert|2450|to|3500|m|ft|-2|abbr=on}}.
Behavior
=Movement=
=Feeding=
The Peruvian treehunter is reported to feed on arthropods, molluscs, and small vertebrates.
It forages in dense undergrowth, usually within about {{convert|2|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} of the ground, and is usually by itself though occasionally in pairs. It very rarely joins mixed-species feeding flocks. Its feeding technique is not well known but it is believed to probe and glean in moss and foliage along bamboo, tree limbs, and trunks.
=Breeding=
=Vocalization=
Status
The IUCN has assessed the Peruvian treehunter as being of Least Concern. It has a large range and an unknown population size that is believed to be stable. No immediate threats have been identified. It is a poorly-known species that appears to be thinly distributed. Its habitat is being "cleared and/or fragmented at an alarming rate throughout the species range. The effects of these anthropogenic effects on Rufous-backed Treehunter populations remain unknown".
References
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Category:Birds of the Peruvian Andes