Sincora Antwren
Formicivora grantsaui
Range-restricted antwren of the Serra do Sincorá. Males are brown above and black below, with a white eye-line that stretches down to the underparts. Females have black underparts streaked with white. Found in low scrub and grasslands in rocky areas. The song is a continuous repetition of high, slow “tjew” notes. The similar but more widespread Rusty-backed Antwren has a rufous back and a different song.
Identification
The Sincora antwren is 12 to 13 cm (4.7 to 5.1 in) long and weighs 8.5 to 11.5 g (0.30 to 0.41 oz). Adult males have a white supercilium that extends down the neck and along the sides of the breast and belly. Their crown and upperparts are generally deep brown; the color is grayer on the forehead and brighter on the mantle and scapulars. Their wing coverts are black with white spots on the ends and their flight feathers are dark brownish gray with thin brown outer edges. Their tail feathers are gray and black with narrow white tips on the central ones and wide white tips on the rest. Their face, throat, and underparts are black with deep brown flanks and gray and white underwing coverts. Adult females have a paler brown crown and back than males. They have a thin black band through the eye and their face, throat, and breast are whitish with wide black streaks. Both sexes have a dark brown iris, bare grayish black skin around the eye, dark plumbeous gray legs, and dark plumbeous gray feet with yellow soles. Males have a black bill; females have a black bill with a bluish gray base.
Taxonomy
The Sincora antwren was first described in 2007 from specimens collected near the small town of Mucugê in the state of Bahia, eastern Brazil. The specific epithet commemorates the German-born naturalist Rolf Grantsau who had collected a specimen in 1965. Coincidentally, another species was also described from the same region in 2007, the Diamantina tapaculo (Scytalopus diamantinensis).<p>The Sincora antwren is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Formicivora grantsaui
- Authority
- Gonzaga, Carvalhaes & Buzzetti, 2007
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thamnophilidae
- Genus
- Formicivora
Range and habitat
The Sincora antwren is found in the Serra do Sincorá, part of the Espinhaço Mountains located at the eastern edge of the Chapada Diamantina region of Brazil's Bahia state. It inhabits campo rupestre, a biome characterized by scrub and grasses on poor soil among rocky outcrops, which in the Chapada Diamantina are sandstone. In elevation it ranges between 850 and 1,100 m (2,800 and 3,600 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The Sincora antwren is believed to be a year-round resident throughout its range.<p>The Sincora antwren's diet and foraging behavior are not known but are assumed to be similar to those of others of its genus. They feed on arthropods, usually in pairs or family groups.<p>Nothing is known about the Sincora antwren's breeding biology.<p>The Sincora antwren's song is a "slow (2 notes/sec) series of very short, very high 'tjew' notes". It has "a distinctive two-part alarm call containing more than 2 (rarely only 2) notes".
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Lesser Jacana
Microparra capensis
Very small and generally uncommon jacana. Adults show rufous on the crown, breast sides, rump, and tail. Juveniles are duller. Most distinctive in flight, when the white trailing edge to the wing is revealed. Found in thickly vegetated wetlands, especially those with waterlilies. Seems to move around in response to changing water levels. Call is a quick, hooting series. Often confused with immature African Jacana, but smaller and with a shorter bill that never shows any blue. Easily separated in flight by the white stripe at the back of the wing and the pale patches on top of the wing.
Point-tailed Palmcreeper
Berlepschia rikeri
A strikingly-patterned medium-sized bird of palm swamps. Bright rufous upperparts and tail contrast with black-and-white streaked head and underparts. Found only in Moriche palm stands at rainforest edge or in swampy savanna regions. Usually in pairs that masterfully evade detection by slinking through the leaves and bases of palm fronds, which are probed for insect prey. Does not join mixed-species flocks. Best detected by voice: distinctive song is a rapid series of piping whistles, dropping slightly in pitch at end. Plumage pattern is similar to many woodcreepers, but none have such bold streaking, and most are unlikely to be found in Moriche palm stands.
Spangled Coquette
Lophornis stictolophus
Tiny, short-tailed hummingbird with disjunct range from Venezuela to southeast Ecuador. Spectacular male is mostly green with a bushy orange crest with black spots, a dark throat, a red bill, and a white band across rump. Female is duller overall with a rusty forehead and a whitish throat. Unlikely to be confused within its range, but compare with Rufous-crested Coquette (male lacks black spotting in crest and female has a brighter rusty throat). Generally rare in lowlands and foothills up to around 1,200 m. Most likely to be seen at purple Verbena flowers or in the canopy of a flowering Inga tree.
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