Plain Xenops (Xenops minutus)
Plain Xenops, Carajas, Pará, Brazil, January 2002 - click for larger image Carajás, Pará, Brazil
January 2002

The Plain Xenops is found in a variety of forest and woodland habitats from Mexico into tropical South America to the southern limits of the Amazon Basin with a disjunct population in eastern Brazil.

Plain Xenops, Carajas, Pará, Brazil, January 2002 - click for larger image Like all xenops, it has a sharply upturned lower mandible but it is less streaked and is usually found lower down than the others which are more often seen in the canopy or sub-canopy.

It has a pale buff supercilium and a prominent white malar streak which can be seen in the second photo. Both photos show the rufous rump and tail with black feathers (the 3rd and 4th retrices) showing in the tail.

Like other xenops they behave a bit like piculets tapping at bark for insects and grubs and using holes in trees as nests.

There are illustrations in Ridgely & Tudor, Volume 2, Plate 8; Hilty & Brown, Plate 25; Sick, Plate 27; and Ridgely & Greenfield, Plate 57.
Previous Page Back to Index Next Page
If you do not see a menu on the left, you may have arrived at this page from another site. Please click Home to get to my main page.