Pearly Antshrike
Megastictus margaritatus
Distinctive antshrike with bold wingbars and white spots on the wing coverts. Males are gray and females rusty-colored. Found in the understory of humid forest and old second growth, where it occasionally loosely accompanies mixed-species flocks. The song is a distinctive slow and somewhat rising series of whistles followed by harsher notes.
Identification
The pearly antshrike is 12 to 13 cm (4.7 to 5.1 in) long and weighs 18 to 21 g (0.63 to 0.74 oz). Adult males have a gray face, crown, and upperparts with white tips on the uppertail coverts. Their wings are black with large round white spots on the coverts and tertials. Their tail is black with white feather tips. Their underparts are gray that is lighter on the chin, throat, and the belly center. Adult females have a yellowish brown face, crown, and upperparts with a blackish tinge on the crown and pale buffish spots on the uppertail coverts. Their wings and tail are yellowish brown and spotted with pale buffish where the male has white spots. Their flight feathers have ochraceous edges. Their underparts are cinnamon-tinged ochraceous that is palest on the throat and belly center.
Taxonomy
The pearly antshrike was described by the English zoologist Philip Sclater in 1855 and given the binomial name Myrmeciza margaritatus. The genus Megastictus was erected by the American ornithologist Robert Ridgway in 1909.<p>The pearly antshrike is the only member of genus Megastictus and has no subspecies.
- Scientific name
- Megastictus margaritatus
- Authority
- (Sclater, PL, 1855)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thamnophilidae
- Genus
- Megastictus
Range and habitat
The pearly antshrike has a disjunct distribution. One population is found in eastern and southern Colombia, southern Venezuela, eastern Ecuador, northeastern and east-central Peru, and northwestern Brazil to the upper Rio Negro. The other is in Brazil south of the Amazon from the Rio Juruá to the watershed of the Rio Madeira. The pearly antshrike inhabits the understorey of evergreen forest and nearby secondary woodland. In Ecuador it favors terra firme and in most locations forest on sandy soils. It has been observed on the edges of lagoons but apparently does not frequent riverside forest. In elevation it reaches 1,200 m (3,900 ft) in Brazil and the tepui region of Venezuela. It occurs mostly below 300 m (1,000 ft) in Ecuador and 400 m (1,300 ft) in Colombia.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The pearly antshrike is believed to be a year-round resident throughout its range.<p>The pearly antshrike's diet has not been detailed but is known to include insects and other arthropods. It mostly forages singly, in pairs, and family groups, and seldom as a member of a mixed-species feeding flock. It typically forages between 2 and 6 m (7 and 20 ft) above the ground but also as low as 1 m (3 ft) and as high as 10 m (30 ft). It captures prey with an upward sally from a perch to capture it from foliage, stems, and vines, by sallying to capture it in mid-air, and by hover-gleaning.<p>A nesting pair of pearly antshrikes was recorded in August in Brazil but the species' breeding season is otherwise unknown. One nest was a cup made of plant fibers, rootlets, and dead leaves, suspended from a fork low down in a sapling. It resembled a pile of dead leaves or debris. The clutch size was two eggs and the male was observed incubating during the day. The incubation period, time to fledging, and other details of parental care are not known.<p>The pearly antshrike's song is "2–3 slowly delivered whistles, slurred up and down, followed by 6–7 flat raspy notes at much faster pace". It has been written as "whee? whee? whee? jrr-jrr-jrr-jrr-jrr-jrr". Its alarm or contact call is "whistled, upslurred 'wheet' notes" and it makes a "hard rattle" in agonistic encounters.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Black-backed Oriole
Icterus abeillei
Attractive orange-and-black oriole endemic to central Mexico, where it takes the place of Bullock’s Oriole (of western North America). Favors open woods, plantations, hedges with tall trees, and towns; migrants also occur in pine-oak forest in mountains. Feeds at all levels in trees and bushes, mixing readily with other orioles. Yellow-orange plumage of male distinct from purer orange of other orioles; also note the big white wing panel, black nape and cheeks, and black flanks. Female very similar to female Bullock’s Oriole but shows ghosting of male head pattern.
Buru Flowerpecker
Dicaeum erythrothorax
A tiny, stub-tailed gray songbird. Has an entirely gray upperside, a bright white throat, and whitish underparts with extensively gray-washed flanks and a white tuft of feathers on the shoulder. Male shows a diagnostic red breast patch. Juvenile resembles a drab female with a pale-based bill. Pairs and singles inhabit canopy of forest and edge in lowland and foothills. Confined to Buru, where it is unmistakable, being the only flowerpecker. Call is a very high-pitched “sit-sit-sit…”. Song is a series of six “see-see-see-see-see-see” notes.
Chestnut-vented Warbler
Curruca subcoerulea
Distinctive gray bird with a pale eye, streaked throat, rufous vent, and large white patches on the tail. Found in a variety of habitats with thick shrubs, including fynbos, karoo, semi-desert, and savanna. A fairly skulking species that is usually detected by voice: an exuberant mixture of ratcheting notes, chatters, and whistles. Similar to Layard’s Warbler, but easily distinguished by rufous vent and more heavily streaked throat.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.