Spot-backed Antbird
Hylophylax naevius
Fairly small, short-tailed antbird. Widespread in lowland forest of the Amazon basin in northern South America. More common than Dot-backed Antbird. Striking plumage with bold black chest streaks and white wingbars. Sexes similar, but males have a black throat and females have a white throat. Also note that females are buffier below. Compared with Dot-backed, note pink legs, buffier spots on back, gray face, and browner tail. Pairs are typically found in the understory, perching on vertical branches or vines near the ground. Occasionally visits army ant swarms.
Taxonomy
The spot-backed antbird was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the manakins in the genus Pipra and coined the binomial name Pipra naevia. Gmelin based his description on the Fourmillier tacheté, de Cayenne that had been depicted in a hand-coloured engraving by François-Nicolas Martinet that was published to accompany Comte de Buffon's Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux. The specific epithet is from Latin naevius meaning "spotted". The spot-backed antbird is now placed with two other species in the genus Hylophylax that was introduced in 1909 by the American ornithologist Robert Ridgway.<p>Five subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Hylophylax naevius
- Authority
- (Gmelin, JF, 1789)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thamnophilidae
- Genus
- Hylophylax
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
White-throated Caracara
Daptrius albogularis
Uncommon in southern Andes; range does not overlap with Mountain Caracara. Favors open habitats above treeline, but also ranges lower to scavenge at dumps and in farmland with open trees. Often associates with Chimango and Crested Caracaras at the dump outside Ushuaia, Argentina. Sails, soars, and tumbles easily on updrafts. Adult is handsome and strikingly patterned black-and-white with creamy white underparts and a bold white tail tip. Juvenile is rather similar to smaller Chimango Caracara, but distinguished by black (not pale) bill.
Dayak Blue Flycatcher
Cyornis montanus
A medium-sized flycatcher with strikingly different male and female plumages. Male is beautifully colored, with deep blue upperparts, mostly orange underparts, and a white belly. Female is much duller, with a grayish head, gray-brown wings, a rufous tail, and rufous underparts. Scarce and local in the understory of hill forest. Song is jumble of melodious warbling and whistling notes. The calls are loud “chek” or “sit” notes, and are often mixed into the song. Similar to Bornean Blue Flycatcher, but darker, especially on the belly (in both sexes) and back (in the male). Also similar to Sunda Blue Flycatcher, but darker overall and shorter-billed. Dayak Blue Flycatcher is further distinguished by the less extensive black chin patch of the male and the rufous rather than blue tail of the female.
Line-cheeked Spinetail
Cranioleuca antisiensis
Handsome spinetail of Andean forest and scrub; ranges from southern Ecuador to central Peru. Plumage is grayish-brown with a white eyebrow and bright chestnut crown, wings, and tail. Birds in Ecuador and far northern Peru are slightly smaller and tend to be browner, with a bit less white on the throat. Typically found in pairs at any level, and often quite vocal. Typical song is a few sharp squeaks followed by a descending trill.
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