Birds
White-throated Treerunner
Pygarrhichas albogularis · also called treerunner
Climbing straight up a tree trunk in a style that mimics a woodpecker, a white-throated treerunner belongs to an entirely different, unrelated bird family, the sole member of its own genus among the ovenbirds of southern beech forest.
Overview
The white-throated treerunner, Pygarrhichas albogularis, is a Least Concern bird native to forest habitat across southern Chile and Argentina. Its woodpecker-like trunk-climbing foraging style, unique taxonomic position as the only member of its genus, and distinctive white throat patch make it one of the more behaviourally convergent yet taxonomically isolated songbirds found anywhere in South America.
A woodpecker impression from an unrelated family
Despite having no close relationship to true woodpeckers, the white-throated treerunner has independently evolved a strikingly similar trunk-climbing lifestyle, a textbook example of unrelated species converging on the same solution to the same ecological problem.
Status
Least Concern, remaining widespread and generally stable across suitable southern beech forest habitat in southern Chile and Argentina.
White-throated Treerunner: common questions
Why does the white-throated treerunner climb trees like a woodpecker?
This species forages by climbing up tree trunks in a manner reminiscent of a woodpecker, probing bark crevices for hidden insects, despite belonging to an entirely different, unrelated bird family.
Is the white-throated treerunner closely related to other birds?
Not especially closely, this species is the only living member of its own genus, a distinct evolutionary lineage among the wider ovenbird family it belongs to.
How can you identify a white-throated treerunner?
This species has a distinctive white throat patch, a feature that gives the species its common name and helps separate it from other similarly sized forest birds.
What is the white-throated treerunner's tail used for?
This species has a relatively stiff tail used to brace against tree trunks while climbing, an adaptation that evolved independently of the similar tail seen in true woodpeckers.