Sooty Ant-Tanager
Driophlox gutturalis
Rather large, chunky tanager endemic to northwestern Colombia. Unlikely to be mistaken. Male isall sooty gray with striking red throat and crest. Female is similar to male but slightly duller. Occurs in the lowlands up to around 1,100 m. Typically seen in pairs or small groups in the understory of forest, often near water. Frequently follows mixed-species flocks.
Taxonomy
The bird was first formally described in 1854 by the English zoologist Philip Sclater. The binomial name derives from the Guaraní name habia for various finches and tanagers, and the Latin word gutturalis which means "of the throat". The sooty ant tanager is a monotypic species.
- Scientific name
- Driophlox gutturalis
- Authority
- (Sclater, PL, 1854)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thraupidae
- Genus
- Driophlox
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Mexican Jay
Aphelocoma wollweberi
Attractive dusty-blue jay; essentially looks like a washed-out scrub-jay. Found in pine-oak woodlands in mountains and canyons from Arizona to central Mexico. Eastern populations (occurring in the Big Bend region of Texas and south into Mexico) average darker and more contrasty, more similar to Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay. Look especially for plainer face on Mexican Jay. Typically found in flocks, sometimes up to a dozen or more individuals. Feeds primarily on acorns.
Papuan Black Myzomela
Myzomela nigrita
A small honeyeater of foothill forest canopy and edge. Male is uniform jet black and female dull brown with a red forehead and chin. Similar to male Black Sunbird, but male Papuan Black Myzomela lacks the iridescence and white underwings. Similar to female Red and Elfin Myzomelas but female Red has a red tail and female Elfin lacks the red forehead. Call, a simple, high-pitch “tsip!” like other myzomelas.
Long-tailed Wood-Partridge
Dendrortyx macroura
Very elusive, chickenlike bird of humid evergreen and pine-evergreen forests in the highlands of central Mexico. Usually in pairs or small groups on the forest floor; may be seen beside quiet trails and roads early and late in the day. Runs away quickly and rarely flies. Note the white stripes on black head, red bill and eyering, and overall gray-brown body; tail often held cocked, like a chicken. Loud rollicking songs are given mainly early and late in the day and most often reveal its presence.
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