Plain Xenops (Xenops minutus)

 

Xenops minutus ranges from southern Mexico (Veracruz) to northeastern Argentina. It occurs in moist tropical lowland, montane, and semideciduous forests, including tall second growth; up to 2,200 m. A small brown furnariid (12 cm long, weighs 10-13 g) with a wedge-shaped, upturned bill. The head is light brown with a buff supercilium, and white postocular and malar stripes. The throat is pale, unstreaked. The tail is cinnamon-colored with extensive black areas. The flight feathers are dark-brown with an ochrous bar. This species excavates a nest cavity in a decaying tree trunk or branch, 1.5-10 m above the ground. The clutch is 2 eggs; incubated 15-17 days. The young depart after 13-14 days. Two broods a year in some areas. Plain Xenops forages in the mid-story and canopy, clinging along slender dead branches and vines, using its wedge-shaped bill to chisel and pry into soft wood. It feeds on wood-boring beetles, termites, spiders, and other invertebrates. Frequently joins mixed flocks.

 

		D36976 Plain Xenops (Xenops minutus) Reserva Ecológica de Guapiaçu Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Copyright © Michael Patrikeev All Rights Reserved
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