Silvered Antbird
Sclateria naevia
Unique-looking antbird with a strong affinity for water. Medium-sized and chunky with a rather long bill. Male is medium-gray with a white throat and white spotting on the wings. Note the messy scaly appearance on the breast. Female is similar in pattern but is brownish overall, not gray. Note pale pink legs on both sexes. Widespread and reasonably common throughout much of lowland northern South America, east of the Andes. Almost always found in pairs near the edge of rivers or lakes in lowland forest.
Identification
The silvered antbird is typically 15 cm long, and weighs 20 g. The adult male of the nominate northern form S. n. naevia has dark grey upperparts and dusky wings with two rows of white spots. The underparts are white, extensively and broadly streaked with grey. The female has dark brown upperparts, with buff wing spots and extensively grey-streaked underparts.<p>Males of the distinctive Amazonian subspecies S. n. argentata have the flanks and upper chest grey-white with grey mottling, and the females have white central underparts with rufous sides to the head, neck and body.<p>The silvered antbird has a loud pi-pi-pi-pi-pi-pi-pi call, often the first indication of its presence in its difficult habitat.
Taxonomy
The silvered antbird was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the nuthatches in the genus Sitta and coined the binomial name Sitta naevia. Gmelin based his description of the "wall-creeper of Surinam" that had been described and illustrated in 1764 by the English naturalist George Edwards in his Gleanings of Natural History. Edwards's specimen was preserved in spirits. It had been presented to the physician John Fothergill. The silvered antbird is now the only species placed in the genus Sclateria that was introduced in 1899 by the American ornithologist Harry C. Oberholser. The genus name was chosen to honour the ornithologist Philip Sclater. The specific epithet is from the Latin naevius meaning "spotted".<p>Four subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Sclateria naevia
- Authority
- (Gmelin, JF, 1788)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thamnophilidae
- Genus
- Sclateria
Range and habitat
This is a skulking terrestrial bird of wet shaded areas, such as in undergrowth or under overhanging vegetation near streams, lagoons or swamps. It is usually found in pairs, foraging on the ground for small insects and other arthropods taken from leaf litter or the water's surface.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Williamson's Sapsucker
Sphyrapicus thyroideus
A boldly patterned woodpecker of mountain forests with mix of conifers and aspen. Male is striking: mostly black with bold white wing patch, two white stripes on face, red throat, and yellow belly. White rump is conspicuous, especially in flight. Female has a brown head and intricate black-and-white barring on the body and wings; the yellow belly can be hard to see. Typically occurs singly or in pairs, often foraging inconspicuously. Moves to lower elevations in migration and winter, occurring in a variety of wooded habitats, often with oaks and conifers. Staccato drumming like other sapsuckers, starting out fast and slowing down with uneven tempo. Also listen for various other rasping calls.
Temminck's Babbler
Pellorneum pyrrogenys
Small, rather drab babbler of lowland and foothill forests. Can be difficult to see in the shadowy forest floor and dense undergrowth it often forages in; listen for its song, a repetitive series of descending notes: “wi’DEW, wi’DEW!” Calls include a nasal, rising trill. If seen, note the overall warm brown body, white throat, and dark crown. Face color varies, ranging from gray to cinnamon-brown.
Giant Nuthatch
Sitta magna
The largest nuthatch in the world, about the size of a bulbul. Coloration similar to many other nuthatches: gray above and white below, with a thick black line through the eye. Picky in its habitat preferences and as a result generally uncommon or absent through much of its range; requires extensive stands of mature tall pines in foothills and montane regions. Can be quite loud, giving a hoarse chatter reminiscent of a corvid; also gives a clipped fluty whistle.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.