Rufous-margined Antwren
Herpsilochmus rufimarginatus
A small antwren with a relatively long tail and bill. Restricted to southeastern Brazil. Bright plumage for an antwren: look for its yellow belly, rufous wings, bold white wingbars, and dark eyeline. Sexes are similar, but female has a rufous cap, which is black on male. Most often seen in pairs, foraging in the low to middle levels of lowland and foothill forest. Frequently follows mixed-species flocks. Listen for a descending trill, fastest in the middle, with a piping quality.
Identification
The rufous-margined antwren is 10 to 12.5 cm (3.9 to 4.9 in) long. Adult males have a black crown and nape, a wide whitish supercilium, a black stripe through the eye, and black and white or pale yellow mottled ear coverts. Their upperparts are mostly olive-gray with scattered black patches, yellow uppertail coverts, and white tips on their outer scapulars. Their wing coverts are black with white tips; their flight feathers are olive-brown tinged dark gray with bright cinnamon-rufous edges. Their tail is mostly dark gray with white tips on the feathers and an entirely white outermost pair. Their throat and underparts are light yellow with an olive tinge on the sides. Adult females have a rufous forehead, a rufous-brown crown, and an olive-brown back. Their wings, tail, and underparts are like the male's.
Taxonomy
Genus: Herpsilochmus; Family: Thamnophilidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Herpsilochmus rufimarginatus
- Authority
- (Temminck, 1822)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thamnophilidae
- Genus
- Herpsilochmus
Range and habitat
The rufous-margined antwren has a disjunct distribution. A small population is found north of the Rio São Francisco in Brazil's Pernambuco state. The other population is found from Bahia in southeastern Brazil south into Paraguay and northeastern Argentina. It primarily inhabits the interior of humid evergreen Atlantic Forest, less often its edges, and locally in restinga woodlands on white-sand soils. It typically is found from the forest's mid-storey to its subcanopy and favors dense vine tangles. In elevation it ranges from sea level to about 1,100 m (3,600 ft).
- Breeding range
- SA : e, se Brazil, e Paraguay and ne Argentina
- Non-breeding range
- ENG
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Bicolored Antbird
Gymnopithys bicolor
Distinctive antbird with pale blue eyering and snowy white underparts. Upperparts rufous. Dark mask. Can be difficult to see well; found close to the ground in mature forest, usually in pairs or small flocks following an army ant swarm. Listen for descending, scolding call. Sexes alike.
Ghana Cuckooshrike
Lobotos lobatus
A spectacular cuckooshrike that resembles an oriole, with a yellow-green back, wings and tail, a dark head and bill, and large fleshy orange wattles under the eyes. The sexes differ: the underparts of the male are apricot and those of the female are yellow; she also has a less contrasting brownish head. Juvenile is like the female but barred above, with a less distinct head pattern. A rare bird found singly and in pairs in the canopy of primary and secondary lowland forest, often near water. Moves stealthily through the canopy, where it joins mixed-species parties; flight call is a thrush-like “tsik.” Differs from forest orioles by having a dark (not red) bill and fleshy wattles under the eyes.
Ashy Flycatcher
Fraseria caerulescens
A slim, cool-gray flycatcher with an upright posture, a white eye-ring broken by a dark stripe through the eye, and a short pale eyebrow. Individuals, pairs, and small groups prefer forest edge, dense woodland, and plantations, where they may join mixed-species flocks foraging in the mid-canopy. The species makes sallying flights to catch insects and small vertebrates, returning to a regular perch. The Ashy Flycatcher lacks the white outer tail feathers and horizontal posture of the otherwise similar Gray-Tit Flycatcher.
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