Gray Antwren
Myrmotherula menetriesii
Small antwren of rainforest midstory. Males are pale gray with black and white wing bars. Throat is gray in most of its range, but in southwestern Amazonia the center of the throat is black (but never as extensive as the broad black bib of Long-winged Antwren, which also is overall a darker gray). Females are light buffy tan below, gray above, with no wing bars, appearing more two-toned than very similar but more evenly-colored female Long-winged Antwren. Often can be heard singing in the early morning, an even paced series of rising “wuee” notes at a pace of about two notes per second.
Identification
The grey antwren is 8.5 to 10.5 cm (3.3 to 4.1 in) long and weighs 8 to 9 g (0.28 to 0.32 oz). It is a smallish bird with a short tail. Adult males of the nominate subspecies M. m. menetriesii are almost entirely bluish gray, with lighter underparts than upperparts. Their wing coverts have white tips and a black bar just above them. Their tail feathers have narrow white tips. The center of their throat and upper breast are black, sometimes with gray tips on the throat feathers. Adult females have olive-tinged gray upperparts with somewhat darker wings. Their throat is buff and the rest of their underparts rich olive-buff. Juveniles look like a darker version of the adult female. Subadult males have a buff tinge on the wings, gray and pale buff patches on the breast, buff-tinged olive sides and flanks, and a buff crissum.<p>Males of subspecies M. m. berlepschi are similar to the nominate but less bluish, and with a blackish band near the end of the tail. Females' upperparts are more cinnamon-rufous and their underparts a richer tawny-ochraceous than the nominate's; they have cinnamon edges on the flight feathers. Males of M. m. cinereiventris have a gray throat and breast with at most a few black spots on the latter. Females have brownish olive upperparts. Males of M. m. omissa are like cinereiventris males; females have yellow-ochre underparts. Males of M. m. pallida are a paler version of cinereiventris and omissa but with a whitish crissum. Females are similar to the nominate.
Taxonomy
The grey-throated antwren has these five subspecies:
- Scientific name
- Myrmotherula menetriesii
- Authority
- (d'Orbigny, 1837)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thamnophilidae
- Genus
- Myrmotherula
Range and habitat
The subspecies of the grey antwren are found thus:<p>The grey antwren inhabits the mid-storey to subcanopy of terra firme and transitional lowland evergreen forest. In Brazil it ranges from near sea level to 1,000 m (3,300 ft) and reaches that elevation locally elsewhere. In Colombia it occurs mostly below 500 m (1,600 ft) and in Ecuador mostly below 600 m (2,000 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The grey antwren is believed to be a year-round resident throughout its range.<p>The grey antwren's diet is mostly insects and spiders. It forages singly, in pairs, or in family groups, and almost always as part of a mixed-species feeding flock. It feeds mostly between about 6 and 20 m (20 and 70 ft) above the ground though sometimes as low as 3 m (10 ft) and as high as 25 m (80 ft). It very actively, almost frenetically, seeks prey mostly on live leaves and also from vines, stems, and branches, by reaching, hanging, lunging, and occasionally by fluttering up from a perch.<p>The grey antwren's breeding season is not known but appears to vary geographically. Observations show that it includes February in Colombia and Venezuela, December in French Guiana, and July in Bolivia. Its nest is a bundle or ball of dead leaves in the fork of a branch. The clutch size, incubation period, time to fledging, and details of parental care are not known.<p>The grey antwren's song in Brazil is described as an "ascending series of 6-8 eerie, two-syllabled 'wueeih' notes". In Ecuador it is "a wavering series of 10-12 'ree' or 'shree' notes that rise in pitch and accellerate a bit". The species' calls are "multi-noted [and] include higher-pitched abrupt notes and lower, slightly longer ones in varying combinations"; all are delivered rapidly.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Pale-billed Sicklebill
Drepanornis bruijnii
A large, long-billed bird of lowland forest. Brown upperparts with black head and grayish facial skin behind the eye. Note the curved, pale bill. Male has a black throat, sides and two small, hornlike tufts on the head. Female has pale underparts with dark barring. Similar to female Twelve-wired Bird-of-Paradise and Magnificent Riflebird, but female Pale-billed Sicklebill has a longer, thinner, more curved bill. One of several vocalizations, a descending series of low whistles, reminiscent of Common Potoo.
Pearly Antshrike
Megastictus margaritatus
Distinctive antshrike with bold wingbars and white spots on the wing coverts. Males are gray and females rusty-colored. Found in the understory of humid forest and old second growth, where it occasionally loosely accompanies mixed-species flocks. The song is a distinctive slow and somewhat rising series of whistles followed by harsher notes.
Greater Spotted Eagle
Clanga clanga
Adults are large and quite uniform dark brown eagles with very broad wings and short tails. Single white "comma" mark at the wrist of the underwing. Similar to the Lesser Spotted Eagle, which is smaller, paler, and more contrasting. Juveniles are more boldly patterned with numerous prominent dirty white spots on the back and upper wings. More tied to forests than Lesser Spotted Eagle, but still near rivers and bogs. Frequents humanmade habitats more often in winter, such as lakes, rubbish dumps, and reservoirs.
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