Elegant Woodcreeper (Xiphorhynchus elegans) [XC821553]
by Fernando Igor de Godoy from Parque natural de Porto Velho - Rond\u00f4nia, Brazil (call, song)
Elegant Woodcreeper (Xiphorhynchus elegans) [XC782445]
by JAYRSON ARAUJO DE OLIVEIRA from Feliz Natal, Fazenda Bahia, Mato Grosso, Brazil (call, song)
Subspecies
Forms a superspecies with Spix's Woodcreeper (Xiphorhynchus spixii) and regarded as conspecific by some authors, but recent genetic and morphological data support recognition as a full species. Subspecies insignis andjuruanus regarded by most authors as subspecies of Spix's Woodcreeper (Xiphorhynchus spixii) or by some as a full species. However, genetic evidence supports treatment of juruanus at least as a subspecies of Elegant Woodcreeper (Xiphorhynchus elegans). Subspecies buenavistae poorly differentiated from ornatus, and juruanus poorly differentiated from insignis, but remaining taxa inhabit large regions of Amazonia, show little or no clinal variation and intergrade along narrow zones of contact. Plumage variation further shows a "leap-frog" pattern, with similarly appearing ornatus and nominate separated geographically by phenotypically different juruanus.
The following 5 subspecies are recognised:
buenavistae Zimmer, JT, 1948 - Eastern slope of eastern Andes in south-central Colombia (upper R Orinoco drainage in western Meta and Caquetá); unverified (but widely cited) report from upper Magdalena Valley (Huila).
ornatus Zimmer, JT, 1934 - North-western Amazonia, north of Amazon, in south-eastern Colombia (eastern Vaupés, southern Amazonas), eastern Ecuador and north-eastern Peru (north of R Marañón), and immediately adjacent north-western Brazil (east to R Ií§a, possibly farther; specimens allegedly from Sío Paulo de Olivení§a, south of Amazon, probably originate from adjacent northern bank or a nearby river island).
insignis (Hellmayr, 1905) - Andean foothills of east-central Peru (south of R Marañón, west of R Ucayali); intergrades with juruanus in valley of R Ucayali.
juruanus (von Ihering, H, 1905) - South-western Amazonia, south of Amazon, in eastern and south-eastern Peru (east of R Ucayali), western Brazil (east to R Purús and upper R Madeira, south to Acre) and north-western Bolivia (Pando, Beni, La Paz); populations between R Purús and R Madeira intermediate with nominate.
elegans (Pelzeln, 1868) - Southern Amazonia, south of Amazon, in Brazil (R Madeira east to R Tapajós and southern bank of R Teles Pires, south to south-western Mato Grosso) and adjacent eastern Bolivia (extreme north-eastern Santa Cruz).
BirdLife International Species Factsheet