The Humaita antbird (''Myrmelastes humaythae'') is a species of

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...

bird in subfamily Thamnophilinae of family

Thamnophilidae The antbirds are a large passerine bird family, Thamnophilidae, found across subtropical and tropical Central and South America, from Mexico to Argentina. There are more than 230 species, known variously as antshrikes, antwrens, antvireos, fire ...

, the "typical antbirds". It is found in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

, and

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, G. Del-Rio, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 27 July 2024. Species Lists of Birds for South American Countries and Territories. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCCountryLists.htm retrieved July 28, 2024

Taxonomy and systematics

The Humaita antbird has a complicated taxonomic history. It was described by

Carl Eduard Hellmayr Carl Eduard Hellmayr (29 January 1878 – 24 February 1944) was an Austrian ornithologist. Biography Hellmayr was born in Vienna and studied at the University of Vienna, although he did not complete his degree. After his studies he worked in Vie ...

as ''Sclateria schistacea humaythae'', a subspecies of the slate-colored antbird (now ''M. schistaceus''). Later authors placed it as a subspecies of the spot-winged antbird (now ''M. leucostigma''), which was successively placed in genera '' Percnostola'' and '' Schistocichla''.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, G. Del-Rio, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 27 July 2024. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved July 28, 2024 A 2007 study of the vocal characteristics of the then many subspecies of the spot-winged found significant differences between the taxa. Based on this evidence the Humaita antbird was promoted to species status and given its English name. A 2013 study finalized its move to genus ''

Myrmelastes ''Myrmelastes'' is a genus of passerine birds in the antbird family (Thamnophilidae). The eight recognised species inhabit the understorey of lowland and sub‑montane evergreen forests of the Amazon Basin and the Guiana Shield, from sea level to ...

''.Isler, M.L., Bravo, G.A. and Brumfield, R.T. (2013). Taxonomic revision of ''Myrmeciza'' (Aves: Passeriformes: Thamnophilidae) into 12 genera based on phylogenetic, morphological, behavioral, and ecological data. Zootaxa 3717(4): 469–497. The Humaita antbird is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

Description

The Humaita antbird is long. Males have medium gray upperparts with an olive-brown tinge. Their wings and tail are blackish gray with wide white tips on the wing

covert Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret. Secrecy is often controver ...

s. Their throat and underparts are paler gray. Females have a brown crown and upperparts. Their wings and tail are blackish brown with pale cinnamon-rufous tips on the wing coverts. Their face is gray. Their throat and belly are pale tawny and their flanks and undertail coverts olive-brown. Both sexes have pink legs and feet.del Hoyo, J., N. Collar, and G. M. Kirwan (2020). Humaita Antbird (''Myrmelastes humaythae''), 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.humant1.01 retrieved July 29, 2024Schulenberg, 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. Plate 171.

Distribution and habitat

The Humaita antbird is found in western Amazonian Brazil, the eastern part of the

Department of Madre de Dios Madre de Dios (, ) is a department and region in southeastern Peru, bordering Brazil, Bolivia and the Peruvian departments of Puno, Cusco and Ucayali, in the Amazon Basin. Its capital is the city of Puerto Maldonado. It is also the third large ...

in southeastern Peru, and in

Pando Department Pando is a Department (country subdivision), department in Northern Bolivia, with an area of , in the Amazon Rainforest, adjoining the border with Brazil and Peru, Perú. Pando has a population of 130,761 (2024 census). Its capital is the city o ...

in far northern Bolivia. In Brazil it occurs north of the Amazon between the lower

Japurá Japurá is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality located in the States of Brazil, Brazilian state of Amazonas (Brazilian state), Amazonas. Its population was 2,251 (2020) and its area is 55,791 km² (21541 Mi2). It forms the Japurá Micror ...

and lower

Negro In the English language, the term ''negro'' (or sometimes ''negress'' for a female) is a term historically used to refer to people of Black people, Black African heritage. The term ''negro'' means the color black in Spanish and Portuguese (from ...

rivers and south of the Amazon east to the

Madeira River The Madeira River ( ) is a major waterway in South America. It is estimated to be in length, while the Madeira-Mamoré is estimated near or in length depending on the measuring party and their methods. The Madeira is the biggest tributary of ...

.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 It primarily inhabits the floor and understorey of '' terra firem''

evergreen forest An evergreen forest is a forest made up of evergreen trees. They occur across a wide range of climatic zones, and include trees such as conifers and holly in cold climates, eucalyptus, live oak, acacias, magnolia, and banksia in more temperate zo ...

. Within the forest it favors poorly drained areas and areas along small watercourses.

Behavior

Movement

The Humaita antbird is believed to be a year-round resident throughout its range.

Feeding

The Humaita antbird's diet and foraging behavior are not known but are assumed to be very similar or identical to those of its former "parent" the spot-winged antbird, which see

here Here may refer to: Music * ''Here'' (Adrian Belew album), 1994 * ''Here'' (Alicia Keys album), 2016 * ''Here'' (Cal Tjader album), 1979 * ''Here'' (Edward Sharpe album), 2012 * ''Here'' (Idina Menzel album), 2004 * ''Here'' (Merzbow album), ...

Breeding

Nothing is known about the Humaita antbird's breeding biology.

Vocalization

The Humaita antbird's song is a long trill that rises in pitch from start to finish and whose pace increases at the beginning, is steady in the middle, and decreases towards the end. The species' calls apparently are the same as those of the spot-winged antbird, which include a "long, downslurred, typically frequency-modulated whistle", an "abrupt unclear note given singly or in series of 2–5", and a "short rattle".Zimmer, K., M.L. Isler, and G. M. Kirwan (2020). Spot-winged Antbird (''Myrmelastes leucostigma''), 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.spwant3.01 retrieved July 29, 2024

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

has assessed the Humaita antbird as being of Least Concern. It has a large range; its population size is not known and is believed to be stable. No immediate threats have been identified. It is considered uncommon in most of its range. It occurs in Brazil's Humaitá Reserve, and its range also includes "extensive areas of intact habitat which are not formally protected, but seem unlikely to be threatened by development in the near future".

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1265037 Humaita antbird Birds of the Brazilian Amazon Riverine birds of Amazonia Humaita antbird