Dugand's Antwren
Herpsilochmus dugandi
Handsome antwren found in the canopy of lowland rainforest in eastern Ecuador, northeastern Peru, and southern Colombia. Male is gray with black crown, eye-stripe, and upper tail; wings are black with white bars and tail has white edges. Female is similar but with a brown crown and buffy or yellowish wash on breast. Compared to Ancient Antwren, male Dugand’s lacks yellow on underparts, and female has a brown crown. Usually seen with mixed-species flocks very high in the trees. More easily seen from a canopy tower or walkway if one is available. Song is a fast, accelerating series of dry “chup” notes.
Identification
Dugand's antwren is 10 to 11.5 cm (3.9 to 4.5 in) long and weighs 9.3 to 11.3 g (0.33 to 0.40 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 large white patch between the scapulars. Their wings are black with white tips on the coverts and white edges towards the end of 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 rufous crown and nape and buffy underparts (darker on the breast); they are otherwise like males.
Taxonomy
Dugand's antwren and the spot-tailed antwren (H.sticturus) were previously considered conspecific and now are treated as a superspecies. The English name and specific epithet of Dugand's antwren commemorate Colombian naturalist Armando Dugand.<p>Dugand's antwren is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Herpsilochmus dugandi
- Authority
- Meyer de Schauensee, 1945
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thamnophilidae
- Genus
- Herpsilochmus
Range and habitat
Dugand's antwren is a bird of far western Amazonia. It is found from extreme southern and southeastern Colombia south through eastern Ecuador and into northeastern Peru north of the rios Marañón and Amazon. It inhabits the sub-canopy to canopy of humid evergreen forest, primarily terra firme and also floodplain forest. It is partial to vine tangles. In elevation it mostly occurs between 100 m (330 ft) and 450 m (1,500 ft) but reaches 500 m (1,600 ft) in Colombia and locally elsewhere 600 m (2,000 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Dugand's antwren is thought to be a year-round resident throughout its range.<p>The diet of Dugand's antwren has not been detailed but includes insects and probably spiders. It forages singly, in pairs, and in family groups, and often as a member of a mixed-species feeding flock. It typically feeds between 20 and 40 m (65 and 130 ft) above the ground at the ends of leafy branches and in the crown of trees. It forages actively and usually captures prey by gleaning leaves, stems, and vines by reaching from a perch. It sometimes also captures prey with short sallies from a perch and by hover-gleaning. It is not known to follow army ants.<p>One nest of Dugand's antwren is known. It was a cup of green moss with some lichens in a branch fork 35 m (115 ft) above the ground and well hidden in leaves. It was seen in Peru in June; a male carried food into the nest and brooded the young. Nothing else is known about the species' breeding biology.<p>The song of Dugand's antwren is "a fairly rapid, accelerating series of rich notes...tchew-chew-tew-tew 'tu 'tu 'tu 'tututututu" and its call "a quiet tchew".
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Long-tailed antbird with brown- and black-streaked upperparts. Note the white eyebrow contrasting with the black eye-line. Males have a black throat and upper breast, while females have a whitish throat and light streaks on the breast. Forages mostly on the ground and sometimes in the understory of dry forest and scrub. Song starts with 1-2 whistles and continues with a series of fast descending notes.
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