White-crested Spadebill

The white-crested spadebill is 10.5 to 12 cm (4.1 to 4.7 in) long and weighs 11.5 to 13 g (0.41 to 0.46 oz). It has a large head and a stubby tail; its bill is the widest of all Platyrinchus spadebills. The sexes have almost the same plumage. Adult males of the nominate subspecies P. p. platyrhynchos have a mostly gray head with a darker crown, a partially hidden white patch in the center of the crown, and a pale buffy spot above the lores. Females have a smaller white patch than males. Both sexes' upperparts are russet-brown and their wings and tail are dusky brown. Their throat is white and their underparts bright ochraceous. Subspecies P. p. senex has a paler crown and lighter and less rich upperparts than the nominate. P. p. nattereri has a slightly paler and yellower belly than the nominate. P. p. amazonicus has less bright underparts than the nominate; the ochraceous color is limited to the breast and the belly is much paler and yellower. All subspecies have a dark iris, a very wide flat bill with a black maxilla and a pale mandible, and pinkish yellow legs and feet.

The subspecies of the white-crested spadebill are found thus:

P. p. platyrhynchos: from Vichada, Guainía, and Vaupés departments in eastern Colombia east through much of southern Venezuela, the Guianas, and northern Brazil north of the Amazon to the Branco River and northern Pará P. p. senex: eastern Ecuador south through eastern Peru into the northern half of Bolivia and east to the Juruá River in extreme western Brazil P. p. nattereri: south-central Brazil south of the Amazon between the lower Purus River and the upper Madeira and Jiparaná rivers P. p. amazonicus: eastern Amazonian Brazil south of the Amazon from the Tapajós River east to northern Maranhão The white-crested spadebill inhabits the understory of humid terra firme forest, especially those on sandy soils. In elevation it ranges between sea level and 500 m (1,600 ft) in Brazil and reaches 300 m (1,000 ft) in Colombia and Ecuador and 1,100 m (3,600 ft) in Peru.

The white-crested spadebill feeds on arthropods. It typically forages in pairs and briefly joins mixed-species feeding flocks but does not follow them. It sits still, typically about 2 to 5 m (7 to 16 ft) above the ground in somewhat open areas, and captures prey mostly with short upward sallies from the perch to grab it from the underside of leaves and twigs. After a sally it typically lands on a different perch.