- Cinclodes excelsior
Identification
20–21 cm (7¾-8¼ in)
Upperside relatively dark, underside medium grey-brown, white throat, buffish-white supercilium, chestnut to buffy wing bar mostly concealed, curved bill.
Similar Species
Cream-winged Cinclodes and Chestnut-winged Cinclodes have straighter and shorter bill.
Distribution
South America: found in Colombia, and Ecuador; possibly also Peru.
Taxonomy
Royal Cinclodes has in the past been considered a subspecies of Stout-billed Cinclodes.
Subspecies
Two subspecies are recognized[1]:
- C. e. columbianus:
- Northern Colombia (Santa Marta Mountains and Nevado de Tolima)
- C. e. excelsior
- Andes of south-western Colombia and Andes of Ecuador
Habitat
Montane humid, and semi-humid shrubland and rocky grassland. Observed at heights around 3500 tp 4200m.
Behaviour
Diet
They probe mud for food, sometimes as a pair. Their main diet consists of invertebrates, with some seeds. They also occasionally eat small vertebrates, such as frogs.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Ridgely and Tudor 2009. Field guide to the songbirds of South America - The Passerines. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-71979-8
- Restall et al. 2006. Birds of Northern South America. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300124156
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved April 2016)
- BF Member observations
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Stout-billed Cinclodes. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 29 April 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Stout-billed_Cinclodes
