WOODCREEPERS   -   FURNARIIDAE (DENDROCOLAPATINAE)

Long-billed Woodcreeper Nasica longirostris Cristalino Jungle Lodge, Mato Grosso state, Brazil. The woodcreepers (Dendrocolaptidae) have now been merged with the ovenbirds (Furnaridae), but I keep them in separate galleries since they form quite a distinct homogeneous group. I find them some of the most difficult birds to photograph. This is one of my better ones, and it's also my favorite woodcreeper: it's big, impressive, and has one of the most hauntingly beautiful songs of any bird in the world.

White-throated Woodcreeper Xiphocolaptes albicollis albicollis Itatiaia NP, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. The biggest woodcreeper of the Atlantic Forest region, distinguished from the similar Planalto Woodcreeper (Dendrocolaptes platyrostris) by its thicker and more decurved bill and its more distinct facial pattern.		Great Rufous Woodcreeper Xiphocolaptes major remoratus Pousada Piuval (Pantanal lodge), Mato Grosso state, Brazil. A monster of a woodcreeper, only Strong-billed (X. promeropirhynchus) can be more massive. It lives in dry woodland, gallery forest, and savanna in south-central South America.

Straight-billed Woodcreeper Xiphorhynchus picus (ssp. unknown) Ilha Marchantaria (near Manaus), Amazonas state, Brazil. Zimmer's Woodcreeper (X. kienerii) also occurs on this island, and the two are extremely hard to distinguish apart from voice. I recorded this bird, and the song was typical for Straight-billed.

Narrow-billed Woodcreeper Lepidocolaptes angustirostris bahiae Jeremoaba-Canudos road, Bahia state, Brazil. A subspecies endemic to NE Brazil, slightly ochraceous underneath and lacking obvious streaking.

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