Plain-brown Woodcreeper (Dendrocincla fuliginosa ridgwayi)

23 January 2009, Rancho Naturalista, Costa Rica This is an unusual woodcreeper in that it does not move up and down the tree trunks like other woodcreepers. Instead it sits quietly on a low perch where army ants are bivouacking, waiting quietly for insects to be flushed by the ant activity. This individual was in the midst of just such an army ant swarm. Woodcreepers are members of the Furnariidae, a strictly Neotropical family which include Ovenbirds. Twelve (HBW) or thirteen (Clements 6th) subspecies are currently recognized. D. f. ridgwayi is the form in Middle America to NW South America. It is a member of a subspecies group in which the wing coverts largely lack rufous. Panasonic Lumix LZ5 / Nikon FieldScope 3 / 30X WA hand-held (no adapter)