#scythebill

[herpsandbirds]

Red-billed Scythebill (Campylorhamphus trochilirostris), family Furnariidae, order Passeriformes, Ecuador

photographs by Freddy Madrigal

[best-bird-tournament]

Subfamily Dendrocolaptinae ovenbirds

Which is the best bird?

Red-billed scythebill

Long-billed woodcreeper

Scalloped woodcreeper

Northern long-tailed woodcreeper

Olivaceous woodcreeper

Tyrannine woodcreeper

Voting ended onOct 14, 2025

[typhlonectes]

Brown-billed Scythebill from Chinapintza, Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador

photograph by Nick Athanas | Wikipedia CC

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

Campylorhamphus

Black-Billed Scythebill by Darlo Sanches, CC BY-SA 2.0 

Etymology: Curved Bill

First Described By: Bertoni, 1901

Classification: Dinosauromorpha, Dinosauriformes, Dracohors, Dinosauria, Saurischia, Eusaurischia, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoromorpha, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostaylia, Ornithothoraces, Euornithes, Ornithuromorpha, Ornithurae, Neornithes, Neognathae, Neoaves, Inopinaves, Telluraves, Australaves, Eufalconimorphae, Psittacopasserae, Passeriformes, Eupasseres, Tyranni, Tyrannides, Furnariida, Furnariidae, Dendrocolaptini

Referred Species: C. trochillirostris (Red-Billed Scythebill), C. pusillus (Brown-Billed Scythebill), C. falcularius (Black-Billed Scythebill), C. procurvoides (Curve-Billed Scythebill)

Status: Extant, Least Concern

Time and Place: Within the last 10,000 years, in the Holocene of the Quaternary 

The Scythebills are known from Northern South America and the southern part of North America 

Physical Description: The scythebills are medium sized birds, distinctive for their extremely long, curved bills that lead to their descriptive names. They range from about 20 to 28 centimeters in length, which is made up mostly by their long beaks and long tails. They do have fairly elongated bodies, but they’re mostly tail and beak. These birds are brown in body color, with a variety of striped patterns across their bodies. Their heads are usually black, with white striping. Their bodies are usually a more yellowish brown, while the wings and tails are a more orange brown. Some populations een have reddish brown wings and tails. No species has sexual dimorphism in terms of plumage color. Different populations of individual species are often distinguished from one another by their different patterns of black and white stripes on their heads, which can become extremely intricate.

Diet: This bird primarily feeds upon arthropods, especially insects, spiders, millipedes, and scorpions. 

Red-Billed Scythebill by Michael Woodruff, CC BY-SA 2.0 

Behavior: These birds spend most of their time in the trees and the forest, diggin their beaks into the holes of trees and cracks of other plants. They usually forage for food alone, spending their time probing without much aid from others. They will occasionally forage in pairs, and even more rarely in mixed-species flocks, but it does happen. They’ll hang onto tree trunks and vines and reach into these crevices to grab as much food as they can. They especially prefer to hang from vertical trunks and limbs of trees.

The Scythebills make distinctive, rapid, trilling calls ti each other, such as “di-di-di-di-di-di-di-di”. Different species have deeper calls or slightly different notes such as “wee-wee-wee” and “wip-wo-wip-wo-wip”, but in general all species of this genus have that same trilling call that lasts for just a few seconds. Different populations often have unique dialects of song as well. These birds do not migrate, but remain within the range and population of their birth.

These birds lay eggs throughout the year, depending on their habitat and latitude - lower latitude birds will begin breeding in May, with eggs laid in June and July; higher latitude birds will begin breeding later, such as in September, with eggs present in October and November. They build their nests in tree cavities and stumps, usually only a few meters off of the ground. They lay about two white eggs, which are cared for by both parents. In fact, there seems to be extensive pair-bonding, at least for each breeding season. The birds themselves live for at least five to six years after fledging from the nest. 

Brown-Billed Scythebill by José Loiza, in the Public Domain 

Ecosystem: These birds stick to the woods, including lowland and mountain forests, at any stage of forest growth - they can be found in forest islands in grassland, on forest edges, in secondary growth, and in dense forests and even jungle. They often stick to evergreen forest and cloud forests, especially near dense bamboo growth. Basically, anywhere they can cling to trees to grab as much food as they can.

Other: None of these birds are considered to be threatened with extinction at this time, though they are susceptible to increased habitat destruction in the Amazon basin.

Species Differences: The Red-Billed Scythebill has a red bill; Black-Billed has a black bill; Brown-Billed has a brown bill; and the Curve-Billed also has a red bill but it’s more curved than that of the red-bill. Other than that, they have fairly overlapping ranges and similar body appearances, so telling them apart can get quite tricky!  

~ By Meig Dickson

Sources under the Cut 

del Hoyo, J., Collar, N. & Kirwan, G.M. (2019). Tapajos Scythebill (Campylorhamphus probatus). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

del Hoyo, J., Collar, N. & Kirwan, G.M. (2019). Xingu Scythebill (Campylorhamphus multostriatus). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Jobling, J. A. 2010. The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. Christopher Helm Publishing, A&C Black Publishers Ltd, London.

Marantz, C.A., Aleixo, A., Bevier, L.R. & Patten, M.A. (2019). Black-billed Scythebill (Campylorhamphus falcularius). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Marantz, C.A., Aleixo, A., Bevier, L.R., Patten, M.A. & Kirwan, G.M. (2019). Curve-billed Scythebill (Campylorhamphus procurvoides). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Marantz, C.A., Aleixo, A., Bevier, L.R. & Patten, M.A. (2019). Brown-billed Scythebill (Campylorhamphus pusillus). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Marantz, C.A., Aleixo, A., Bevier, L.R. & Patten, M.A. (2019). Red-billed Scythebill (Campylorhamphus trochilirostris). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive.

[birdfocus]

Red-billed Scythebill | Source

[sol-lunas]

Volcano Hummingbird by John Kendall Via Flickr: Irazu Volcano NP Costa Rica 4/6/12

[herpsandbirds]

Red-billed Scythebill (Campylorhamphus trochilirostris), EAT A TASTY GRUB!!!, family Furnariidae, order Passeriformes, Ecuador

photograph by Javier Zurita 

[herpsandbirds]

Red-billed Scythebill (Campylorhamphus trochilirostris), family Furnariidae, order Passeriformes, Brazil

photograph by Roger Mackertich