Bulletin 423 - Brazil 2023 #4 - Antbirds

After 3 trips to Colombia with diminishing returns, it was time to go further afield. Pablo Flores the guide in Colombia is now leading trips to Brazil as well. So my birding buddy Martin Jackson and my daughter Chantel and I decided to go there. We visited the Pantanal, the Atlantic forest in the Sao Paulo area and had 1 day in the Chapada. The Pantanal is the largest wetland in the world, so it is teeming with wildlife. The Atlantic Forest is a unique ecosystem from sea level to about 1 mile elevation. It contains 800 species of birds (225 endemic) and 26 species of primates. Unfortunately it also contains 2 mega cities - Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro and the resulting sprawl and clearing for agriculture since the Portuguese arrived 500 years ago, has wiped out 90%+ of the original forest. About 250 species of amphibians, birds and mammals have gone extinct in the past 400 years. The good news is that many preserves and parks have been set aside to try and preserve the remaining biodiversity.

Just as in the previous bulletin where I had a record for rails, this trip produced a record 11 species of antbirds.

The rarest was the 4.5" male Black-hooded Antwren (Formicivora erythonotus). He has a black head, neck and breast with a brown back. It is listed as critically endangered and is only known from a few fragmented areas in southern Rio de Janeiro state. The population is estimated as 600-1700.

Black-hooded Antwren - male

His cousin is the 5" male Rusty-backed Antwren (Formicivora rufa). He has a black face and underparts, brown cap and back with white separating the colors

Rusty-backed Antwren - male

The 4.5" Rufous-margined Antwren (Herpsilochmus rufimarginatus) is pale yellow below and that is all that can be seen inn  my photo.

Rufous-margined Antwren

The last antwren is the 4" female Streak-capped Antwren (Terenura maculata). It has a brown back patch and streaked head. The sexes are similar but the female is duller in color.

Streak-capped Antwren - female

The 5.5" female Planalto Slaty-Antshrike (Thamnophilus pelzelni) has a rufous cap and underparts, with spotted wings. Obviously from the name, the male is gray.

Planalto Slaty-Antshrike - female

The beautiful 9.5" female Tufted Antshrike (Mackenziaena severa) is pale yellow and gray barred with  a bright rufous crest. The male is uniformly dark gray.

Tufted Antshrike - female

The 6.5" male Mato Grosso Antbird (Cercomacra melanaria) is all black with some white spots on the wings and tail.

Mato Grosso Antbird - male

The next 4 birds are all Brazil endemics in the Atlantic forest.

The 6" male Squamate Antbird (Myrmeciza squamosa). He has a brown top of head and back, black throat and a black breast with white scalloped pattern.

Squamate Antbird - male

The 5.3" Ochre-rumped Antbird (Drymophila ochropyga) has a black crown, streaked underparts and an ochre rump which is not visible in this photo.

Ochre-rumped Antbird - male

His cousin, the 5.5" female Rufous-tailed Antbird (Drymophila genei) looks like a wren to me. The male would have black streaking on the breast.

Rufous-tailed Antbird - female

The 5.5" male Ferruginous Antbird (Drymophila ferruginea) was very cooperative sitting in the open with his crest raised in response to the tape. He is a beautiful bird with a boldly patterned face and bright orange underparts.

Ferruginous Antbird - male

This genus, drymophila, have a white interscapular patch on the back that gets exposed when the bird is excited. Here is the same bird and the patch can be seen in this pic.

Ferruginous Antbird - male

I put the different bird/mammal families in single folders for easy viewing

I have photos of 42 of the 238 species of antbirds

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald

dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2023 David McDonald

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