Buffy Tuftedcheek (Pseudocolaptes lawrencii) [XC627615]
by Francisco Sornoza from Copey, Dota, San Jos\u00e9, Costa Rica (song)
Buffy Tuftedcheek (Pseudocolaptes lawrencii) [XC71509]
by Andrew Spencer from Parque Nacional Tapanti, La Esperanza entrance, Cartago, Costa Rica (call)
Subspecies
Genus has no obvious close relatives. Placement near Berlepschia based on bill shape and other morphological characters associated with climbing and probing, all possibly due to convergence. Somewhat similar in general facial pattern and distinctive malar tufts to some Cinclodes, traditionally assumed to be distantly related.
Forms a superspecies with Streaked Tuftedcheek (Pseudocolaptes boissonneauii) and sometimes treated, with some justification, as conspecific. In plumage colour, present species and subspecies auritus of Streaked Tuftedcheek (Pseudocolaptes boissonneauii) are in many ways more similar to each other than either is to nominate subspecies of latter; in addition, verbal descriptions of voice equivocal, and formal comparison of sonagrams may provide data for re-evaluation of taxonomy. Subspecies johnsoni considered a separate species by some authors, but evidence for this marginal, based mainly on its occurrence at lower elevation (a characteristic of Andean birds of western Colombia), minor plumage features, and near-parapatry with nominate in elevational distribution.
Proposed subspecies panamensis, described from single specimen from western Panama, considered not diagnosable, as characters (more olivaceous back with paler streaks, browner flanks) within range of variation of nominate.
The following 2 subspecies are recognised:
lawrencii Ridgway, 1878 - Mountains of Costa Rica south to central Panama (east to eastern Veraguas).
johnsoni Lönnberg and Rendahl, 1922 - Colombia, Ecuador.
BirdLife International Species Factsheet