The Rio Madeira stipplethroat (''Epinecrophylla amazonica'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

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

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 ...

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 ...

, 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 26 November 2023. Species Lists of Birds for South American Countries and Territories. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCCountryLists.htm retrieved November 27, 2023 In the past it has also been called eastern stipple-throated antwren, Madeira stipple-throated antwrenGill, F and D Donsker (Eds). 2018. IOC World Bird List (v 8.1). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.8.1. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/, Rio Madeira antwrenGill F, D Donsker and P Rasmussen, P (Eds). 2020. IOC World Bird List (v 10.1). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.10.1. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/, and Madeira antwrenClements, J. F., et al. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ retrieved August 20, 2018.

Taxonomy and systematics

The Rio Madeira stipplethroat was long treated as a subspecies of the

rufous-backed stipplethroat The rufous-backed stipplethroat (''Epinecrophylla haematonota'') is a species of bird in subfamily Thamnophilinae of family Thamnophilidae, the "typical antbirds". It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. In its complex ta ...

(previously called rufous-backed antwren ''Myrmotherula haematonota'', now ''Epinecrophylla haematonota''). Beginning in 2014 taxonomists recognized it as a full species.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 26 November 2023. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved November 27, 2023 The Rio Madeira stipplethroat has two subspecies, the

nominate Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to a public office, or the bestowing of an honor or award. A collection of nominees narrowed from the full list of candidates is a short list. Political office In th ...

''E. a. amazonica'' ( von Ihering, 1905) and ''E. a. dentei''
Whitney, BM
et al, 2013). Subspecies ''E. a. dentei'' was originally described as a species but was soon recognized in its current placement.

Description

The Rio Madeira stipplethroat is long and weighs . Adult males of the nominate subspecies have a mottled yellowish brown face and a white throat with black streaks. They have a dark yellowish brown crown, a slightly redder nape, and a dark red mantle, back, rump, and uppertail

coverts A covert feather or tectrix on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts (or ''tectrices''), which cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail. Ear coverts The ear coverts are small feathers behind t ...

. Their tail is olive-gray. Their primary wing

are blackish with reddish tips, the rest of the wing coverts dark brown with yellowish buff tips, and the flight feathers dark red. Their underparts are gray. Their iris is brownish red. Adult females have duller red upperparts than males. Their throat is dull yellow-brown with obscure dark marks. Their underparts are pale yellowish brown. Their iris is grayish or pale beige. Both sexes have a dark gray bill, legs, and feet. Males of subspecies ''E. a. dentei'' have a buffy throat with black streaks and a tail that is almost as red as the back. Females have a paler and grayer belly than the nominate.del Hoyo, J., N. Collar, and G. M. Kirwan (2020). Rio Madeira Stipplethroat (''Epinecrophylla amazonica''), 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.madant1.01 retrieved January 13, 2024

Distribution and habitat

The nominate subspecies ''E. a. amazonica'' of the Rio Madeira stipplethroat is found in south-central Amazonian Brazil from the watershed of the

Juruá River The Juruá River ( ; ) is a southern affluent river of the Amazon River west of the Purus River. The Juruá emerges from highlands in east-central Peru, then winds its way through lowlands in Brazil, sharing with this the bottom of the immense in ...

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 ...

, in Peru's

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 ...

, and in far northern Bolivia's

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 ...

.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 Subspecies ''E. a. dentei'' is found in Brazil in the watershed of the

Aripuanã Aripuanã is a municipality in the state of Mato Grosso in the Central-West Region of Brazil. It is located on the banks of the Aripuanã River. The city is served by Aripuanã Airport. The municipality contains the Rio Flor do Prado Ecolog ...

and Machado rivers east of the Madeira. The area spans southern Amazonas, northwestern

Mato Grosso Mato Grosso ( – ) is one of the states of Brazil, the List of Brazilian states by area, third largest by area, located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible ...

, and northeastern

Rondônia Rondônia () is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the northern subdivision of the country (central-western part). It is bordered by Acre (state), Acre in the west, Amazonas, Brazil, Amazonas in the north, Mato Grosso in the east, and Bo ...

states. The species primarily inhabits lowland '' terra firme''

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 ...

. In Bolivia it also occurs in more upland forest. In elevation it ranges only up to .

Behavior

Movement

The Rio Madeira stipplethroat is believed to be a year-round resident throughout its range.

Feeding

The Rio Madeira stipplethroat feeds on

arthropod Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an arthropod exoskeleton, exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often Mineralization (biology), mineralised with calcium carbonate, a body with differentiated (Metam ...

s, especially insects and spiders. It typically forages singly, in pairs, or in small family groups, and usually as part of a

mixed-species feeding flock A mixed-species feeding flock, also termed a mixed-species foraging flock, mixed hunting party or informally bird wave, is a flock of usually insectivorous birds of different species that join each other and move together while foraging. These ar ...

. It mostly forages in the forest understory up to about above the ground. It takes its prey almost entirely by gleaning from dead leaves on trees but also from dead leaves caught in vine tangles and small palms.

Breeding

Nothing is known about the Rio Madeira stipplethroat's breeding biology.

Vocalization

The Rio Madeira stipplethroat's song is similar to that of the rufous-backed stipplethroat, which is an "extr. high, very thin, descending, rapid shiver 'tsititi---' " that lasts two or three seconds but slower and with longer notes and intervals between them. Its calls appear to be the same as the rufous-backed's, a "doublet of abrupt notes, second higher-pitched", an "abrupt single note", and a "high-pitched rattle".Zimmer, K., M.L. Isler, and G. M. Kirwan (2020). Rufous-backed Stipplethroat (''Epinecrophylla haematonota''), 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.rubsti1.01 retrieved January 12, 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 Rio Madeira stipplethroat 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 appears to be fairly common throughout its range, "which contains large, contiguous expanses of intact habitat which, although not formally protected, appear to be at minimal risk of development in the near term".

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q18088249 Epinecrophylla Birds of the Brazilian Amazon Birds of the Bolivian Amazon Birds of Southern Amazonia Taxa named by Hermann von Ihering Birds described in 1905