Woodcreepers (Dendrocolaptidae)

Lesser Woodcreeper (Xiphorhynchus fuscus) - HBW 8, p. 425

French: Grimpar brun German: Blasskehl-Baumsteiger Spanish: Trepatroncos Enano

Taxonomy: Dendrocopus fuscus Vieillot, 1818, near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Formerly placed in genus Lepidocolaptes, but recent molecular studies indicate that it is better placed in present genus, as suggested also by both behavioural observations and morphological characters. Molecular data suggest that it is apparently sister to a combined X. spixii/X. elegans and X. pardalotus/X. ocellatus clade. Four subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution:

atlanticus (Cory, 1916) - NE Brazil from Ceará and Paraíba S to Alagoas.
brevirostris (Pinto, 1938) - arid interior of NE Brazil (W Bahia).
tenuirostris (M. H. K. Lichtenstein, 1820) - coastal E Brazil from C Bahia S to R Doce (Espírito Santo).
fuscus (Vieillot, 1818) - SE Brazil from S Goiás, E Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo (R Doce) S to NE & C Rio Grande do Sul, also S & SE Paraguay and NE Argentina (Misiones).