Sclater's antwren (''Myrmotherula sclateri'') 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, Brazil, and Peru.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

Taxonomy and systematics

Sclater's antwren 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 ...

. It and the yellow-throated antwren (''M. ambigua'' form a

superspecies In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

. The yellow-throated antwren's original author considered them likely to be

conspecific Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species. Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organism ...

but that treatment has not gained acceptance.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 English name and

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

of Sclater's antwren commemorate the British zoologist

Philip Lutley Sclater Philip Lutley Sclater (4 November 1829 – 27 June 1913) was an English lawyer and zoologist. In zoology, he was an expert ornithologist, and identified the main zoogeographic regions of the world. He was Secretary of the Zoological Society ...

Description

Sclater's antwren is long and weighs . It is a smallish bird with a short tail. Adult males have a black and white streaked face and neck with yellow cheeks and a wide black "moustache". Their crown is black with light yellow streaks; the rest of their upperparts are black with whitish streaks. They have a light yellow patch between the shoulders. Their tail is black with white edges and tips to the feathers. Their wings are black with wide white edges on the

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 ...

and narrower white edges on the flight feathers. Their throat and breast are yellow and the rest of their underparts paler; there are a few black streaks on the side of the breast. Adult females have somewhat more ochraceous streaks on the face, head, and upperparts than males. They do not have the male's patch between the shoulders. Their underparts have more streaks than the male's.Zimmer, K. and M.L. Isler (2020). Sclater's Antwren (''Myrmotherula sclateri''), 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.sclant1.01 retrieved February 10, 2024

Distribution and habitat

Sclater's antwren is found in the upper

Amazon Basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributary, tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries ...

south of the Amazon River, in eastern Peru, northern Bolivia, and western Brazil east to the

Xingu River The Xingu River ( ; ; ) is a river in north Brazil. It is a southeast tributary of the Amazon River and one of the largest clearwater rivers in the Amazon basin, accounting for about 5% of its water. __TOC__ Description and history The fir ...

and south to

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 ...

state. It inhabits the mid-storey to canopy of lowland

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 ...

including '' terra firme'', '' várzea'', and transitional types. It tends to favor the forest interior rather than its edges. In elevation it ranges up to about .

Behavior

Movement

Sclater's antwren is believed to be a year-round resident throughout its range.

Feeding

The diet of Sclater's antwren has not been detailed but is known to include insects and probably spiders. It typically forages in pairs or family groups and almost always 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 feeds in dense foliage in or just below the forest canopy at least up. It actively seeks prey mostly by gleaning leaves, and also takes prey from vine tangles and along branches by gleaning, reaching, lunging, and hovering.

Breeding

The breeding season of Sclater's antwren is not known but dependent young have been observed in June. The species appears to have larger territories than many other antwrens but nothing else is known about its breeding biology.

Vocalization

The song of Sclater's antwren is a "short, slow series of 4-6 well-separated 'peuw' notes".

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 Sclater's antwren as being of Least Concern. It has a very large range; its population size is not known and is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified. It is considered fairly common throughout its range and occurs in several large protected areas. "In addition, extensive intact habitat remains which, although not formally protected, appears to be at little near-term risk of development."

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1258904 Sclater's antwren Birds of Southern Amazonia Sclater's antwren Sclater's antwren Taxonomy articles created by Polbot