Creamy-bellied Antwren
Herpsilochmus motacilloides
Small antwren found in the canopy of foothill forests of the eastern Andes in central Peru. Note the black cap, striped face, white wingbars, and lack of rufous in the wing. The slight yellowish tinge on the underparts for which the species is named is often hard to see in the field. Female has white spotting in the crown. While several other antwrens in Peru share similar plumage features, none of them occur in the range of this species. Song starts with a couple of peeping notes followed by a fast descending trill.
Identification
The creamy-bellied antwren is about 12 cm (4.7 in) long and weighs about 10.5 to 13 g (0.37 to 0.46 oz). Adult males have a black crown and nape, a white supercilium, a thin black streak through the eye, and white ear coverts. Their back and rump are gray or olive gray with white-tipped blackish scapulars and a small hidden white patch between them. Their wings are black with white tips on the coverts and white edges on the flight feathers. Their central tail feathers are black with small white tips; the rest are black with white tips that are progressively larger to the entirely white outermost pair. Their throat is white or pale yellow buff and their breast and belly pale yellow with a light gray wash on the sides of the breast and flanks. Adult females have a rusty brown forehead and a black streak behind the eye. Their crown and nape are black with white streaks. Their back and rump are olive gray with white-edged blackish scapulars. Their wings are black with white tips on the coverts and pale olive brown or whitish brown edges. Their tail is like the male's. Their throat is white and the rest of their underparts are like the male's. Adults have a brown iris, a black maxilla, a grayish blue mandible, and blue-gray or grayish blue legs and feet.
Taxonomy
For much of the twentieth century the creamy-bellied antwren was treated as a subspecies of the Bahia antwren (Herpsilochmus pileatus), though at least one study suggested that it was a species. In the early twenty-first century, phylogenetic and other analyses confirmed that it is a species. The creamy-bellied antwren and the ash-throated antwren (H. parkeri) are sister species.<p>The creamy-bellied antwren is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Herpsilochmus motacilloides
- Authority
- Taczanowski, 1874
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thamnophilidae
- Genus
- Herpsilochmus
Range and habitat
The creamy-bellied antwren is found on the east side of the Peruvian Andes between the departments of Huánuco and Cuzco. It inhabits it interior and edges of humid montane forest where it favors areas with tall trees and much moss and epiphytes. In elevation it ranges between 900 and 2,100 m (3,000 and 6,900 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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