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
Crowned Chat-Tyrant
Silvicultrix frontalis
Small flycatcher found in the Andes from northern Colombia to Bolivia. Brown above and gray below. Very obvious eyebrow is mostly white; changes to yellow in front of the eye. In eastern Andes of Colombia entire eyebrow is white. Northern populations have plain brownish wings; birds from central Peru to Bolivia, sometimes split as Kalinowski’s Chat-Tyrant, show prominent cinnamon wingbars. Singles or pairs are found in understory and mid-levels of upper subtropical and temperate forest and scrub from around 2,600 to 3,800 m, usually separate from mixed-species flocks.
Lowland Akalat
Sheppardia cyornithopsis
A small shy akalat found in the lower levels of tall forests, often in dark shady areas near water. Note the reddish-brown back and wings, the gray face, and the bright red-orange chest contrasting with a white belly. Almost always found in lowland forest, but a few local populations are found higher up in the foothills. Within its range, most likely to be confused with Forest Robin, but note Lowland Akalat’s plain gray face and distinctive vocalizations. Song is a series of clear, melancholy whistles given with slight pauses in between, “wheeer, gowheer,” as well as faster, more resonant and metallic series of whistles.
White-plumed Antbird
Pithys albifrons
Striking and unmistakable with a rich rusty body, a gray back, a black face, orange legs, and noticeable spiky white facial plumes. Fairly widespread and reasonably common in the lowlands of northern South America, east of the Andes. Most often seen in the vicinity of army ant swarms, perching on vertical branches or vines close to the ground. Listen for harsh descending “churr” calls that might be a clue that there’s an ant swarm nearby.
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