Stripe-backed Antbird
Myrmorchilus strigilatus
Long-tailed antbird with brown- and black-streaked upperparts. Note the white eyebrow contrasting with the black eye-line. Males have a black throat and upper breast, while females have a whitish throat and light streaks on the breast. Forages mostly on the ground and sometimes in the understory of dry forest and scrub. Song starts with 1-2 whistles and continues with a series of fast descending notes.
Identification
The stripe-backed antbird is 15 to 16 cm (5.9 to 6.3 in) long and weighs 23 to 26 g (0.81 to 0.92 oz). Adult males of the nominate subspecies have a white supercilium and a dark line through the eye on an otherwise buffy face. Their crown, neck, and back are rufous with black streaks; their rump and uppertail coverts are plain rufous. Their central tail feathers are rufous and the outer ones black with white outer edges and tips. Their wings are black with some rufous on the edges of the flight feathers; their wing coverts are black with white tips. Their throat and breast are black. The rest of their underparts are white with black spots on the sides and flanks and a buff tinge to the crissum. Adult females have a buff throat, breast, and belly with darker streaks on the sides and breast. Males of subspecies M. s. suspicax have a buff supercilium, flanks, and crissum; females have a brownish supercilium and deeper buff flanks and crissum than the nominate.
Taxonomy
The genus Myrmorchilus was erected by the American ornithologist Robert Ridgway in 1909. The stripe-backed antbird is the only member of the genus. It has two subspecies, the nominate M. s. strigilatus (Wied, 1831) and M. s. suspicax (Wetmore, 1922).
- Scientific name
- Myrmorchilus strigilatus
- Authority
- (Wied-Neuwied, M, 1831)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thamnophilidae
- Genus
- Myrmorchilus
Range and habitat
The stripe-backed antbird has a disjunct distribution. The nominate subspecies is found in northeastern Brazil in an area roughtly bounded by eastern Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte, and northern Minas Gerais. Subspecies M. s. suspicax is found in the western parts of Brazil's Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul states, in southeastern Bolivia, in western Paraguay, and in northern Argentina as far south as Santa Fe Province.<p>The nominate subspecies primarily inhabits caatinga woodlands and scrublands. Subspecies M. s. suspicax primarily inhabits the woodlands and scrublands of the Gran Chaco. In both ecozones it favors areas with dense ground cover. In elevation it ranges up to about 1,100 m (3,600 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The stripe-backed antbird is believed to be a year-round resident throughout its range.<p>The stripe-backed antbird feeds on arthropods, especially insects. It typically forages singly or in pairs, and mostly on the ground under dense vegetation though it will feed as high as 2 m (7 ft) above the ground. It picks through leaf litter and terrestrial bromeliads, reaches up to glean from foliage, and sometimes jumps to glean from higher leaves, branches, and vines.<p>The two known stripe-backed antbird nests were open cups of dry grass on the ground; both contained two eggs. Nothing else is known about the species' breeding biology.<p>The two subspecies of the stripe-backed antbird appear to have the same song. It is a "[v]ery/extr. high, sharp 'sreet-soweét' " that is sometimes followed by a "strident, slightly descending 'sreet-sreet-sreet-sruw-sruw' ". The species' call is "a long...whistle, entirely downslurred or slightly rising and falling".
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Lesser Roadrunner
Geococcyx velox
Slightly smaller version of the familiar cartoon Greater Roadrunner, but usually the two species do not occur in the same places. Favors dry brushy woodland and overgrown weedy fields in tropical lowlands and foothills. Can be very elusive, but at other times runs out in the road or sits quietly sunning itself on a fence post or bush top in the early morning. Note that the center of the throat and breast are plain rich buffy, without the dense dark streaking of Greater Roadrunner.
Wakolo Myzomela
Myzomela wakoloensis
A small honeyeater with a downcurved bill, limited to the islands of Buru and Seram. Spectacular male is unmistakable, all brilliant scarlet except for the blackish wings, tail, and belly. Female is dull gray-brown except for a diagnostic red wash on the head. Prefers forests and forest edge in foothills and mountains, where encountered singly or in pairs, sometimes with mixed-species feeding flocks. Calls on Buru include a disyllabic, slurring “tsiwit” as well as a “tsisewoo” song with trembling quality at the end. Voice of Seram birds differs, possibly indicating that they are a different species: “twee’ti’dit’tee.”
Ringed Woodpecker
Celeus torquatus
This striking Celeus is widespread across the Amazonian lowlands of northern South America, with a disjunct population in southeast Brazil. Overall rufous with a shaggy crest like most other members of the genus. Distinctive and unlikely to be confused. Some variation across the range: most have extensive black markings on upperparts and belly, but largely unmarked in the northeastern part of range. All birds have solid black breast. Sexes are similar, but males have a red mustache. Occurs in mature forest and edges, often detected by its series of loud, strident whistles.
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