About Sclerurus guatemalensis (Hartlaub, 1844)
The scaly-throated leaftosser, scientifically named Sclerurus guatemalensis (Hartlaub, 1844), measures 16.5 to 18 cm (6.5 to 7.1 in) long and weighs approximately 35 g (1.2 oz). The species has no visible sexual dimorphism, meaning males and females look identical. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a dark brown crown and nape with a scalloped look. Their back is dark brown, while their rump and uppertail coverts are reddish brown. Their tail is darker brown than their back, and their flight feathers are dusky. Their face shows various shades of brown. Their chin and throat feathers are whitish with darker edges, which creates the scaly appearance the species is named for. The sides of their neck and upper breast are tawny brown; the rest of the breast is dull reddish brown with narrow rufous streaks. They have a long thin bill: the maxilla is dark, and the mandible is bicolored. Their iris is dark brown to brown, and their legs and feet are blackish brown. Juveniles resemble adults but are overall darker, and sometimes have an ochraceous tinge on their breast. Subspecies S. g. salvini is darker and more sooty brown, with less reddish coloring than the nominate subspecies. The breast streaks of S. g. salvini are narrower and less obvious than those of the nominate. Subspecies S. g. ennosiphyllus is somewhat paler and grayer than the nominate, also with less reddish coloring. The flight feathers of this subspecies have slightly olive edges. Three subspecies have distinct ranges. The nominate subspecies occurs from Veracruz in southern Mexico, extending south along the Caribbean slope through Belize, Honduras, and Guatemala into Nicaragua. It is also found on both the Pacific and Caribbean slopes of Costa Rica, and on the Caribbean slope of western and central Panama. S. g. salvini ranges from eastern Panama into northwestern Colombia, and also lives in western Ecuador between the provinces of Esmeraldas and Guayas. S. g. ennosiphyllus is found in northern Colombia, between the departments of Antioquia and Bolívar. The scaly-throated leaftosser lives in humid lowland evergreen forest, and prefers undisturbed primary forest with little undergrowth beneath a closed canopy. It also occurs locally in mature secondary forest and montane evergreen forest. In Ecuador, it can also be found in lowland cloudforest. Its elevation range reaches up to 1,200 m (3,900 ft) in northern Central America, up to 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in Colombia, and up to 800 m (2,600 ft) in Ecuador.
