About Xenops minutus (Sparrman, 1788)
The Atlantic plain xenops, scientifically named Xenops minutus (Sparrman, 1788), measures approximately 12 cm (4.7 in) in length and weighs between 10 and 13 g (0.35 to 0.46 oz). It has a fairly stubby, wedge-shaped bill that is slightly upturned. Males and females look identical, and juveniles have a similar appearance to adults. Adult individuals have a noticeable buff or whitish supercilium, plus a wide, solid white malar stripe. Their unstreaked upperparts range from dull brown to rufous brown; their crown is darker and has faint streaking. Their tail is primarily cinnamon with extensive black markings. Their wings are also cinnamon, with a broad tawny or ochraceous band across the flight feathers. Their throat is pale with little to no streaking, and the remainder of their underparts are plain dull grayish brown. Their iris is dark brown, their upper mandible is dull black, their lower mandible is dull grayish white with a dark gray tip, and their legs and feet are bluish gray. The Atlantic plain xenops is distributed in eastern and southeastern Brazil, ranging from Bahia state south to Santa Catarina state, as well as in eastern Paraguay and Misiones Province in northern Argentina. It lives in the interior and edges of multiple types of forested habitat, including tropical lowland terra firme forests, semideciduous forest, mature secondary forest, and gallery forest. It occurs at elevations between sea level and 1,500 m (4,900 ft).
