The first bird we encountered in the big garden of Amazonia Lodge, was the Black-banded woodcreeper. It belongs to a family of 55 species (Dendrocolaptinae) that exist almost exclusively in Central and South America. They have special claws for climbing hard and flat tree bark, and their tail feathers are stiff and ends in something that looks like spines. This species is 26 to 28 cms long och subsists from insects. It breeds in tree cavities, often high up, but never twice in the same nest. It is probably called "Black-banded" because of the horizontal stripes across its breast.