Russet-winged Schiffornis

The russet-winged schiffornis is 15.5 to 16.5 cm (6.1 to 6.5 in) long and weighs about 30 to 34 g (1.1 to 1.2 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies S. t. turdina have an indistinct pale ring around the eye on an otherwise rufous-brown face. Their upperparts and tail are rufous-brown. Their wings are rufous-brown with more rufous feather edges. Their throat and breast are brown with a yellowish tinge and their belly and vent grayish olive. Subspecies S. s. panamensis is paler overall than the nominate, with a brighter brown crown, wings, and tail and a cinnamon-rufous throat. Both subspecies have a brown to dark brown iris.

Subspecies S. s. panamensis of the russet-winged schiffornis is the more northerly of the two. It is found from central Panama south into northwestern Colombia, where it occurs in northern Chocó Department to western Córdoba Department. The nominate subspecies is found across northern and northeastern Colombia into northern Venezuela intermittently from Zulia and Táchira east to Aragua. The species primarily inhabits the interior of humid forest; it also is found, though rarely, at the forest edge. In elevation it is found up to about 1,500 m (4,900 ft) in Colombia and to 1,800 m (5,900 ft) in Venezuela.

The russet-winged schiffornis feeds on fruits and insects, though details are lacking. It usually forages singly and only rarely joins mixed-species feeding flocks. It forages mostly in the forests's understory, often clinging to a low-level vertical stem, and takes food from vegetation with short sallies from a perch.