Rufous Cacholote

The grey-crested cacholote is 20 to 21 cm (7.9 to 8.3 in) long and weighs 42 to 57 g (1.5 to 2.0 oz). It is a large, crested, furnariid. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults are mostly bright reddish-rufous that is somewhat paler on their underparts. Their crest varies from entirely rufous to almost entirely grayish. The center of their throat has an orange tinge. Their flight feathers have fuscous tips and the ends of the tail feathers lack barbs. Their iris is yellow to buff-yellow, their bill blue-gray to gray with a paler mandible, and their legs and feet olive to greenish gray. Juveniles have a shorter crest than adults and less uniformity in their color. The formerly conspecific Caatinga cacholote is similar but larger and has no gray in its crown.

The grey-crested cacholote has a disjunct distribution. One population is found in Beni Department and extreme northwestern Santa Cruz Department of north-central Bolivia. The other is found in southeastern Santa Cruz, Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul states in Brazil, and in northern Paraguay. The species inhabits gallery forest, woodlands, and seasonally flooded savanna within the Pantanal, and is often found near human dwellings. In elevation it ranges between 300 and 500 m (1,000 and 1,600 ft).

The grey-crested cacholote's diet and feeding behavior are poorly known. It probably feeds mostly on arthropods with some fruit and seeds. It usually forages in pairs and usually on the ground, where it gleans, probes, and digs for its prey.