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.
Identification
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
Sooty Shearwater
Ardenna grisea
Medium-sized, dark brown shearwater with silvery flashes on underwings. Narrow wings with quick, deep wingbeats. Widespread and common, especially in the Pacific; can sometimes be seen close to shore. Can be in massive flocks. Extremely similar to Short-tailed Shearwater, but Sooty is heavier and has straighter wings; also look for slightly longer bill and less rounded head. Brown plumage is reminiscent of Flesh-footed Shearwater, but Sooty is narrower-winged and has a smaller, all-dark bill.
Pale-throated Pampa-Finch
Embernagra longicauda
Large finch with a long spiky tail. Mostly gray with olive-green wings and tail. Note the bicolored bill (dark above and yellow-orange below) and the broken white eye-ring. Inhabits higher elevations, in dry scrub, rocky areas, and grassy fields with scattered palms. Sings a high, thin “tsi, tsoweee,” repeated continually.
Blue-chinned Sapphire
Chlorestes notata
Widespread hummingbird, but often overlooked. Appears mostly green with a solidly dark blue tail. If seen in good light, note reddish base of bill and (for male) strong bluish sheen on throat and breast. Female identifiable by extensive green spotting below. Occurs in a variety of habitats including river edges, abandoned plantations and second growth, and patches of savanna woodland. Feeds on nectar and defends patches of flowers from other hummingbirds. Male is similar to male Blue-tailed Emerald but is larger, lacks forked tail and has bluish cast on underparts. Female is somewhat similar to Glittering-throated Emerald but has uniformly spotted breast.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.