White-crested Spadebill Platyrinchus platyrhynchos Scientific name definitions

The White-crested Spadebill has an ample distribution virtually throughout Amazonia. Seen well, which is not always easy, this is a subtly attractive species, with rufous-brown underparts contrasting with the white throat, predominantly gray head (the white coronal stripe is not easily seen), and warm brown upperparts. It appears most numerous in the open understory of sandy-soil lowland forests, but this is relative, as over the vast majority of the species’ range the White-crested Spadebill is a rare and infrequently encountered species. Behavior seems typical of the genus as a whole, it being usually seen alone or in pairs, and the White-crested Spadebill does not appear to join mixed-species foraging flocks.