Woodcreepers (Dendrocolaptidae)

Buff-throated Woodcreeper (Xiphorhynchus guttatus) - HBW 8, p. 429

French: Grimpar des cabosses German: Fahlkehl-Baumsteiger Spanish: Trepatroncos Pegón
Other common names: Dusky-billed Woodcreeper (“eytoni group”); Lafresnaye’s Woodcreeper (“guttatoides group”)

Taxonomy: Dendrocolaptes guttatus M. H. K. Lichtenstein, 1820, no locality = Bahia, Brazil.
Sister to X. susurrans; the two treated by most recent authors as conspecific, but recently split on grounds of differences in calls and body size; geographical patterns in songs, however, more complex than previously realized, and size differences do not correspond to species limits as presently recognized. Molecular data suggest that nominate race, as well as polystictus (and poorly differentiated connectens), may be more closely related to “nanus group” of X. susurrans than to other races of X. guttatus, rendering present species as currently recognized paraphyletic. The “eytoni group” (including vicinalis and poorly differentiated gracilirostris), traditionally recognized on basis of plumage, and sometimes considered a separate species, also distinct vocally. Molecular data suggest, however, that “eytoni group” and “guttatoides group” (including dorbignyanus) form a monophyletic clade, a hypothesis supported by fact that vicinalis is phenotypically and genetically intermediate between guttatoides and eytoni. Eight subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution:

polystictus (Salvin & Godman, 1883) - R Orinoco drainage in E Colombia (E Vichada), S & E Venezuela (N Amazonas, Bolívar and SW Anzoátegui E to Delta Amacuro), extreme N Brazil (Roraima), Guyana and Surinam; populations in French Guiana may instead represent connectens.
guttatoides (Lafresnaye, 1850) - W Amazonia, both N & S of Amazon, from SE Colombia (S from Meta and Guainía), S Venezuela (W & S Amazonas) and E Ecuador, S to E & SE Peru, NW Brazil (E to R Negro and R Madeira, S to N Mato Grosso); birds in N Bolivia show signs of intergradation with dorbignyanus.
connectens Todd, 1948 - NE Amazonian Brazil, along N bank of Amazon from E of Manaus E to Amapá.

See all 8 subspecies

polystictus (Salvin & Godman, 1883) - R Orinoco drainage in E Colombia (E Vichada), S & E Venezuela (N Amazonas, Bolívar and SW Anzoátegui E to Delta Amacuro), extreme N Brazil (Roraima), Guyana and Surinam; populations in French Guiana may instead represent connectens.
guttatoides (Lafresnaye, 1850) - W Amazonia, both N & S of Amazon, from SE Colombia (S from Meta and Guainía), S Venezuela (W & S Amazonas) and E Ecuador, S to E & SE Peru, NW Brazil (E to R Negro and R Madeira, S to N Mato Grosso); birds in N Bolivia show signs of intergradation with dorbignyanus.
connectens Todd, 1948 - NE Amazonian Brazil, along N bank of Amazon from E of Manaus E to Amapá.
vicinalis Todd, 1948 - S Amazonian Brazil, S of Amazon, from R Madeira E to R Tapajós (where possibly on both banks); specimens from sites N of Amazon likely either mislabeled or misidentified.
eytoni (P. L. Sclater, 1854) - SE Amazonian Brazil, S of Amazon, from R Tapajós E to W Maranhão.
gracilirostris Pinto & Camargo, 1957 - Serra do Baturité, in Ceará (NE Brazil).
dorbignyanus (Lafresnaye, 1850) - C South America, S of Amazon Basin, from N & E Bolivia (La Paz, Beni, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz) E to EC Brazil (E to C Goiás).
guttatus (M. H. K. Lichtenstein, 1820) - coastal E Brazil from Paraíba S to Espírito Santo, rarely to N Rio de Janeiro.