Appearance
The russet-mantled softtail is 16.5 to 18 cm long and weighs about 23 g. It is a small, slender, furnariid with a slender bill. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a rufous face. Their forecrown is whitish or pale grayish brown and their crown dull brown. Their nape and back are rufous and their rump and uppertail coverts tawny olive. Their tail and wings are rufous. Their throat is ochraceous buff, their breast rufous, their belly tawny olive, and their crissum tawny rufous. Their iris is chestnut or reddish brown, their bill pale blue-gray with a gray base to the maxilla, and their legs and feet yellow-olive. Juveniles have a whitish crown and supercilium, an ochraceous tawny face, a pale brown back with an olivaceous tinge, a whitish throat, and a buffy breast with brown scaling.Distribution
The russet-mantled softtail is found only in Peru, on the eastern Andes south of the Marañón River between the departments of Amazonas and La Libertad and perhaps further south into Huánuco.Status
The IUCN originally assessed the russet-mantled softtail as Near Threatened, then in 2000 as Endangered, in 2004 as Vulnerable, and since 2021 again as Near Threatened. It has a restricted range and a population size estimated at between 1000 and 2500 mature individuals that is believed to be decreasing. "Regular burning of páramo grassland adjacent to elfin forest, to promote the growth of fresh shoots for livestock, has lowered the treeline by several hundred metres, and continues to destroy large areas of this species's habitat. Small and fragmented remnant elfin forests are additionally threatened by clearance for agriculture and grazing."Habitat
It inhabits elfin forest and the edge of humid montane forest. It seems to favor areas with "Chusquea" bamboo and much moss and bromeliads. In elevation it mostly ranges between 3,050 and 3,400 m but occurs locally down to 2,500 m and perhaps 1,800 m.Reproduction
The russet-mantled softtail's breeding season appears to be June to September. Nothing else is known about its breeding behavior.{| cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="background-color:var; color:var;"
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Songs and calls
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Food
The russet-mantled softtail feeds on arthropods but details are not known. It forages in pairs or in small groups thought to be families, usually as part of a mixed-species feeding flock. It gleans prey from dead leaf clusters and branches, usually within about 3 m of the ground.References:
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