Mystery bird: Pearled treerunner, Margarornis squamiger

Pearled treerunner, Margarornis squamiger peruvianus, d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1838 (protonym, Anabates squamiger), photographed at Rio Chido trail, San Lorenzo island, Amazonas department, Peru (South America).

Image: Nick Athanas/Tropical Birding (with permission) [velociraptorize].
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Question: This lovely little Peruvian mystery bird is part of a taxonomic family that occurs widely throughout Central and South America, but does not extend into North America. This bird's appearance is distinctive, but it's possible that identification will be a challenge anyway. Can you identify the taxonomic family? If you are up for an additional challenge, can you identify this species? If you do know what this bird is, can you tell me a little about its habits or preferred habitat?

Response: This is an adult pearled treerunner, Margarornis squamiger. This beautiful species is found in Andean cloud forests throughout the subtropics and tropics, ranging throughout parts of Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. This insectivorous songbird is often seen following mixed species flocks. They hunt for insects by moving along branches and up stems. Their tail spines are not rigid, and birds don't typically use their tail for support.

The pearled treerunner is placed into the Furnariidae (ovenbirds and woodcreepers) family. The systematics of this taxon has been undergoing a number of revisions recently based on DNA evidence, including merging a number of woodcreeper genera into this family.

Originally, the ovenbirds were named for the elaborate "oven-like" clay nests built by the horneros, although most ovenbirds build stick nests with a roof or they nest in tunnels or clefts in rock. The members of this Neotropical family are quite diverse, but all are small and insectivorous.

Reference: Field Guide to the Songbirds of South America: The Passerines by Robert S. Ridgely and Guy Tudor (2009: University of Texas Press [Amazon UK; Amazon US]).

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