Gray Antwren - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Stanley Jones
Sani Lodge, Sucumbios Province, Ecuador, January 2016

Myrmotherula menetriesii

Identification

8·5–9·5 cm (3¼-3¾ in)
Male is medium grey with slightly paler underside and hints of supercilium. On wings, a black wing band above a white one, and some black and white on the smallest coverts.

Female similar but with buff underside, side of head and supercilium.

Variation: south of the Rio Amazonas, the male has black throat and upper breast.

Distribution

South America: found in Amazonian Brazil and neighboring lowlands of Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are 5 subspecies^[1]:

• M. m. pallida:

• Eastern Colombia to south-western Venezuela, north-eastern Peru and north-western Brazil

• M. m. cinereiventris:

• South-eastern Venezuela to the Guianas and north-eastern Amazonian Brazil

• M. m. menetriesii:

• Eastern Peru south of River Amazon to north-western Bolivia and south-western Amazonian Brazil

• M. m. berlepschi :

• South-central Amazonian Brazil (R. Madeira to R. Tapajós), northern Bolivia

• M. m. omissa:

• North-eastern Brazil (R. Tapajós to western Maranhão)

Habitat

Humid forest in lowlands

Behaviour

Action

Tends to flick its tail sideways.

Diet

Feeds higher in the forest than Long-winged Antwren and White-flanked Antwren where these occur together.

Their main diet consists of insects, beetles and spiders. Caterpillars are fed to the young.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Ridgely and Tudor 2009. Field guide to the songbirds of South America - The Passerines. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-71979-8
3. Morton & Stutchbury (2001): Behavioral Ecology of Tropical Birds. Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-675556-6
4. Avibase
5. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved May 2014)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Gray Antwren. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Gray_Antwren

External Links

Search for photos of Gray Antwren in the gallery