Spot-tailed Antwren

Herpsilochmus sticturus

Small antbird of rainforest canopy; somewhat more common in forests with sandy soils. From below, note clean white underparts and heavy bill. Usually encountered with mixed-species flocks. Forages slowly along limbs and explores leaf clusters. Very similar to Todd’s Antwren and most safely separated from that species by voice. Song is an accelerating “bouncing ball” series, similar to Pygmy Antwren but with a harder quality and not falling in pitch at the end.

Identification

The spot-tailed antwren is 9.5 to 10.5 cm (3.7 to 4.1 in) long and weighs 8 to 9 g (0.28 to 0.32 oz). Adult males have a black crown and nape, a long pale gray to white supercilium, a black streak through the eye, and pale grayish ear coverts. Their back and rump are dark gray with black patches, white-edged black scapulars, and a white patch between the scapulars. Their wings are black with white tips on the coverts and white edges on the flight feathers. Their tail is black with white tips and a long white streak on the central feathers. Their throat and underparts are pale gray with a white center to the belly. Adult females have a black crown with rufous-cinnamon streaks, buffy edges on the flight feathers, and paler, buff-tinged, underparts than males.

Taxonomy

The spot-tailed antwren and Dugand's antwren (H. dugandi) were previously considered conspecific and now are treated as a superspecies. The spot-tailed antwren is monotypic.

Scientific name
Herpsilochmus sticturus
Authority
Salvin, 1885
Order
Passeriformes
Family
Thamnophilidae
Genus
Herpsilochmus

Range and habitat

The spot-tailed antwren is found from eastern Venezuela's Bolívar state east through the Guianas into northeastern Brazil's Amapá state. It inhabits the mid-level to the canopy of humid evergreen forest. It favors areas near water such as gallery forest and seasonally flooded forest and within them frequents vine tangles.

Migration
Resident species

Behavior

Migration pattern: Resident species.

Conservation

Population trend: stable.

Population trend
stable

Photos

Distribution

Bird Calls

Other Birds

Gray Goshawk

Gray Goshawk

Tachyspiza novaehollandiae

Heavily built and powerful forest raptor occurring in two color morphs: all white; or gray and white. Both morphs have yellow legs, red eyes. Note broader wings than Brown Goshawk. Typically occurs in wet forested areas, including dense rainforest.

Shining Honeycreeper

Shining Honeycreeper

Cyanerpes lucidus

Small, warblerlike tanager of foothills and adjacent lowlands. Found in humid evergreen forest and edge. Feeds at all levels, mostly in the canopy of fruiting and flowering trees and bushes. All plumages have more strongly decurved bill and shorter tail than the more common Red-legged Honeycreeper. Also note distinctive yellow legs. Male is deep blue overall with black throat and wings. Female has a necklace of bluish streaks across chest.

Two-banded Warbler

Two-banded Warbler

Myiothlypis bivittata

Small, yellowish bird with a fine black bill and distinctive black stripes on head. Mostly green above and yellow below; has rufous or orange crown bordered by black, but crown color can be difficult to ascertain. Note olive eyebrow becoming yellow in front of eye, and bright pinkish-yellow legs. Inhabits dense understory of foothill forests along the eastern slope of the southern Andes and in the tepui region. Usually occurs in pairs or small family groups that forage actively for insects, often joining mixed-species flocks. Song in tepuis is a series of chips followed by a high-pitched, screeching note. In southern part of range, song is very different: a rich rollicking series of notes that may vaguely recall House Wren and is often given by pairs as a duet. In southern Andes, most similar to Golden-bellied Warbler but has olive (not entirely yellow) eyebrow; also similar to Golden-crowned Warbler but typically occurs at higher elevations and has olive (not whitish) eyebrow.

Start Your Bird Watching Journey

Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.