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
Rufous-breasted Sabrewing
Campylopterus hyperythrus
Large, conspicuous hummingbird of tepui highlands. Green above and rufous below. Note extensively rufous outer tail feathers, which are easily seen as birds tend to flare tail frequently. Generally common at higher elevations (above 1000 m), especially at forest edge and in lower-stature, scrubby vegetation. Feeds on nectar and pugnaciously defends patches of flowers against other hummingbirds. Not shy and will approach to investigate observers. In territorial interactions, gives a rich, sharp note, often doubled, repeated incessantly, and similar to calls of more widespread Gray-breasted Sabrewing; also gives a single, ascending, burry note, possibly as an alarm call. No other hummingbird in highland range is as large or shows as much rufous.
Straw-tailed Whydah
Vidua fischeri
A nest parasite that lays its eggs in the nests of Purple Grenadiers. As with other whydahs, breeding males are spectacular, whereas non-breeding males and females are drab. Breeding males are mostly black, with golden-buff coloring on the cap, the belly, and the elongated central tail feathers. Non-breeding males and females have a brownish back, a golden-buff head, and a red bill. Found in rather dry savanna and cultivated areas. Non-breeding male and female can be identified by their red bill and their almost unmarked plain buff head. Not very vocal, but does imitate Purple Grenadier, and gives a quick jumble of high-pitched whistled notes.
Cricket Longtail
Spiloptila clamans
Tiny warbler with an extremely long, strongly-patterned tail. Note blackish wing coverts with white tips, gray on the back of the neck, and a warm brown back. Males have a dark crown over a pale eyebrow. Roves in small family groups in open acacia savanna, foraging in bushes and often on the ground while continuously moving tail. Song a rapid, insectlike high-pitched repeating whistle. Contact call a high-pitched repeating note "pi, pi, pi…"
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.