Streak-headed antbird

Steak-headed antbird
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Thamnophilidae
Genus: Drymophila
Species:
D. striaticeps
Binomial name
Drymophila striaticeps
Chapman, 1912

The streak-headed antbird (Drymophila striaticeps) is a species of bird in subfamily Thamnophilinae of family Thamnophilidae, the "typical antbirds". It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.[2]

Taxonomy and systematics

The streak-headed antbird and two other antbird species were previously considered subspecies of what was then called the long-tailed antbird (D. caudata); the reduced D. caudata is now called the East Andean antbird.[3][4][5]

The streak-headed antbird's further taxomony is unsettled. The International Ornithological Committee (IOC) and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) treat it as monotypic, with no subspecies.[2][6] The Clements taxonomy splits it into four subspecies on the basis of a 2012 study. The study's authors do caution that further research is needed.[7][3] Before the split of the long-tailed antbird, all four of them were treated as separate subspecies of it, but the IOC and HBW combined them into the monotypic streak-headed antbird.[8]

This article follows the no-subspecies model.

Description

The streak-headed antbird is 14.5 to 15.5 cm (5.7 to 6.1 in) long and weighs 11 to 13 g (0.39 to 0.46 oz). Adult males have a black crown and back with white streaks and a white patch between the scapulars. Their rump is deep rufous. Their flight feathers are black with rufous edges and their wing coverts black with white tips. Their tail is blackish gray with white tips to the feathers. Their face, throat, and breast are white with heavy black streaks. Their belly is unstreaked white and their flanks and crissum are rufous. Females have the same pattern but different colors than males. Their crown is streaked with cinnamon-rufous and black. They do not have the white interscapular patch. Except for the white tail tips, the areas that are white on the male are rufous-buff on the female. Their underparts have a rufous-buff tinge and their flanks are paler than the male's.[8][9][10][11]

Distribution and habitat

The streak-headed antbird has a disjunct distribution. One population is found in the Colombian Central Andes and on the west slope of the country's Western Andes south along the Andean west slope to central Ecuador. Another is found on the east slope of the Western Andes and south on the Andes' east slope through Ecuador into northern Peru as far as the Department of San Martín. The third is found on the Andes' east slope from central Peru's Department of Huánuco south into Bolivia's La Paz Department. The streak-headed antbird inhabits the understorey to mid-storey of montane evergreen forest and secondary forest. It especially favors bamboo thickets and occurs less frequently in other dense undergrowth such as vine tangles and shrubby forest borders. In elevation it ranges between 1,200 and 3,150 m (3,900 and 10,300 ft) in Colombia, mostly between 1,500 and 2,600 m (4,900 and 8,500 ft) in Ecuador, and between 1,600 and 2,500 m (5,200 and 8,200 ft) in Peru.[8][9][10][11]

Behavior

Movement

The streak-headed antbird is believed to be a year-round resident throughout its range.[8]

Feeding

The streak-headed antbird feeds primarily on insects and probably also on spiders. It typically forages by itself, in pairs, or in family groups and sometimes joins mixed-species feeding flocks. It mostly forages between 1 and 15 m (3 and 50 ft) above the ground, and primarily in bamboo. It takes most of its prey by reaching or lunging from a perch and also makes short sallies to overhanging vegetation. It is not known to follow army ants.[8][9][10][11]

Breeding

The streak-headed antbird's nesting season has not been defined but in northeastern Ecuador includes August. The one known nest was a cup made of thin bamboo leaves with green moss on the outside, suspended from an arched bamboo stem about 2 m (7 ft) above the ground. It contained two nestlings; both parents provisioned them. The incubation period, time to fledging, and other details of parental care are not known.[8]

Dickcissel male perched on a metal pole singing, with neck stretched and beak open.

Songs and calls
Listen to the streak-headed antbird on xeno-canto

Vocalization

The male streak-headed antbird's song is "a loud tchip! tchip! djzzew-djzzew-djzzed-djzew" that the female often answers with a "descending, less buzzy tchip tchip tew-tew-tew". Its calls include "a sharp, ringing pi-pit! and a paired series of descending mewing whistles: dew-dew".[11]

Status

The IUCN has assessed the streak-headed antbird as being of Least Concern. It has a large range; its population size is not known but is believed to be stable. No immediate threats have been identified.[1] It is generally considered fairly common but local, though uncommon in Peru.[8][11] It occurs in several protected areas, and the "ability of this species to utilize some second-growth habitats may render it less vulnerable than other members of the genus".[8]

References

  1. ^ a b BirdLife International (2016). "Stgreak-headed Antbird Drymophila striaticeps". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T103658699A112311911. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T103658699A112311911.en. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  2. ^ a b Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2024). "Antbirds". IOC World Bird List. v 14.1. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  3. ^ a b Isler, M. L., A. M. Cuervo, G. A. Bravo, & R. T. Brumfield. 2012. An integrative approach to species-level systematics reveals the depth of diversification in an Andean thamnophilid, the Long-tailed Antbird. Condor 114: 571–583
  4. ^ South American Classification Committee (September 2012). "Proposal (542) to South American Classification Committee – Split Drymophila caudata into four species". Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  5. ^ South American Classification Committee (November 2012). "Proposal (567) to South American Classification Committee – Change English name of Drymophila caudata". Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  6. ^ HBW and BirdLife International (2022) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 7. Available at: https://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v7_Dec22.zip retrieved December 13, 2022
  7. ^ Clements, J. F., P.C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2023. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2023. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ retrieved October 28, 2023
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h del Hoyo, J., N. Collar, and G. M. Kirwan (2020). Streak-headed Antbird (Drymophila striaticeps), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.sthant1.01 retrieved June 20, 2024
  9. ^ a b c McMullan, Miles; Donegan, Thomas M.; Quevedo, Alonso (2010). Field Guide to the Birds of Colombia. Bogotá: Fundación ProAves. p. 135. ISBN 978-0-9827615-0-2.
  10. ^ a b c Ridgely, Robert S.; Greenfield, Paul J. (2001). The Birds of Ecuador: Field Guide. Vol. II. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. pp. 412–413. ISBN 978-0-8014-8721-7.
  11. ^ a b c d e Schulenberg, T.S., D.F. Stotz, D.F. Lane, J.P. O’Neill, and T.A. Parker III. 2010. Birds of Peru. Revised and updated edition. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. Platge 168.

Media related to Drymophila striaticeps at Wikimedia Commons