Sharp-billed treehunter

The sharp-billed treehunter is assigned two subspecies, the nominate H. c. contaminatus (Berlepsch, 1885) and (as of 2023) H. c. camargoi (Cardoso da Silva & Stotz, 1992).Clements, 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 However, there is some confusion about the subspecific epithets of the subspecies, and one or both might be changed.Remsen, Jr., J. V. (2020). Sharp-billed Treehunter (Heliobletus contaminatus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.shbtre1.01 retrieved August 27, 2023 In recognition of that possibility, BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World gives H. c. camargoi the trinomial "Heliobletus contaminatus [new name]".HBW and BirdLife International (2022) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 7. Available at: https://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v7_Dec22.zip retrieved December 13, 2022

One author included genus Heliobletus within Xenops, as the sharp-billed treehunter's plumage is very similar to those of some Xenops species. Genetic data refute this treatment and find that it belongs in Heliobletus and is sister to genus Philydor.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, G. Del-Rio, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 31 May 2023. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved May 31, 2023

The sharp-billed treehunter is the only member of genus Heliobletus. However, one author states that "[a]n undescribed Heliobletus'' sp. occurs in SE Bahia [Brazil]".{{cite book | last =van Perlo | first = Ber| title =A Field Guide to the Birds of Brazil | publisher =Oxford University Press | date =2009 | location =New York | pages =226 | isbn =978-0-19-530155-7 }} Recordings of this undescribed taxon have been made, and it has been found in the Serra do Lontras.{{cite web | url=https://xeno-canto.org/species/Heliobletus-sp.nov.Lontras | title='Serra do Lontras' Treehunter (Heliobletus sp.nov.Lontras) :: Xeno-canto }}

The sharp-billed treehunter is {{convert|12|to|13|cm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} long and weighs {{convert|13|to|15|g|oz|sigfig=2|abbr=on}}. 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. Their tail is dark rufous and the very end of the feathers have no barbs. Their wings are olive-brown with darker primary coverts. Their throat is pale yellowish buff, their breast a paler yellowish buff with dull olive-brown streaks, their belly plain dull olive-brown, and their undertail coverts dull brownish with very wide rufous streaks. Their iris is dark brown, their maxilla brown to black, their mandible pinkish gray, and their legs and feet greenish gray to dull yellow-green. Juveniles are much like adults but with a more ochraceous supercilium and streaks; the streaks are less distinct. Subspecies H. c. camargoi has wide pale golden-buff streaks on its back, and more and wider streaks on the breast and belly.

The nominate subspecies of the sharp-billed treehunter is found in southeastern Brazil from Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo south to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro states. H. c. camargoi is found from São Paulo south through Rio Grande do Sul and eastern Paraguay into northeastern Argentina's Misiones Province and extreme northeastern Uruguay. The species inhabits humid lowland and montane evergreen forest. In elevation it ranges from sea level to {{convert|1830|m|ft|-2|abbr=on}}. The nominate subspecies tends to be more numerous at the higher elevations.

The sharp-billed treehunter is a year-round resident throughout its range.

The sharp-billed treehunter feeds on arthropods. It forages singly and in pairs, usually as members of a mixed-species feeding flock. It feeds primarily from the forest's mid-storey to its canopy, though it will feed in the understory. It climbs and hangs acrobatically, gleaning, pulling, and pecking for its prey on branches, foliage, and epiphytes.

Nothing is known about the sharp-billed treehunter's breeding biology.

{{birdsong|url=https://xeno-canto.org/species/Heliobletus-contaminatus |species=sharp-billed treehunter}}

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".

The IUCN has assessed the sharp-billed treehunter as being of Least Concern. It has a large range but its population size is not known and is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified. It is considered uncommon to locally fairly common in most of its range but rare in Paraguay. It occurs in several protected areas. However, "[e]xtensive deforestation within its relatively small range has dramatically reduced [the] area of available habitat".

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sharp-billed treehunter

Category:Birds of the Atlantic Forest

Category:Birds of the Selva Misionera

sharp-billed treehunter

Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot