The spot-winged antbird (''Myrmelastes leucostigma'') 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 Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
Taxonomy and systematics
The spot-winged antbird has a complicated taxonomic history. It was described by the Austrian ornithologist
August von Pelzeln
August von Pelzeln (10 May 1825, Prague – 2 September 1891 in Oberdöbling) was an Austrian ornithologist. He was a grandson to novelist Karoline Pichler (1769-1843).Sclateria'' 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 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 ...
''.
As of 2024, the spot-winged antbird had these four
subspecies
In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...
:
*''M. l. subplumbeus'' ( Sclater, PL & Salvin, 1880)
*''M. l. leucostigma'' ( Pelzeln, 1868)
*''M. l. intensus'' ( Zimmer, JT, 1927)
*''M. l. infuscatus'' (
Todd
Todd or Todds may refer to:
Places Australia
* Todd River, an ephemeral river
United States
* Todd Valley, California, also known as Todd, an unincorporated community
* Todd, Missouri, a ghost town
* Todd, North Carolina, an unincorporated c ...
, 1927)
What are now the Humaita antbird (''M. humaythae''), brownish-headed antbird (''M. brunneiceps''), rufous-faced antbird (''M. rufifacies''), and Roraiman antbird (''M. saturatus'') were formerly treated as additional subspecies. They were separated from the spot-winged and each other primarily because of their very different vocalizations.
Description
The spot-winged antbird is long and weighs . Males of the
nominate subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics ( morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. ...
''M. l. leucostigma'' have dark gray upperparts. 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 face, throat, and underparts are pale gray to gray; their sides and belly are the darker parts. Females have a dark gray crown and dark cinnamon-brown 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 pinkish legs and feet.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
Males of subspecies ''M. l. subplumbeus'' have underparts almost as dark as their upperparts and smaller white tips on their wing coverts than the nominate. Females' throat and underparts are rufous-brown. Both sexes have bluish gray legs and feet. Males of ''M. l. intensus'' are similar to ''subplumbeus'' males but overall darker. Females have a blackish crown and deep brown upperparts. Males of ''M. l. infuscatus'' is similar to the nominate but with smaller spots on the wing coverts. Females have a brownish olive face. Both sexes have bluish gray legs and feet.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. Plate 171.
Distribution and habitat
The subspecies of the spot-winged antbird are found thus:
*''M. l. subplumbeus'': southwestern
Táchira
Táchira State (, ) is one of the 23 States of Venezuela, states of Venezuela. The state capital is San Cristóbal, Táchira, San Cristóbal.
Táchira State covers a total surface area of and as of the 2011 census, had a population of 1,168,9 ...
state in extreme western Venezuela south along the eastern base of the Andes through Colombia and Ecuador into northeastern Peru as far as southern
Department of Loreto
Loreto () is Peru's northernmost department and region. Covering almost one-third of Peru's territory, Loreto is by far the nation's largest department, slightly smaller than Japan; it is also one of the most sparsely populated regions due to ...
Acre
The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...
states
*''M. l. leucostigma'': from extreme eastern Bolívar state in eastern Venezuela east through the Guianas and northeastern Brazil to the Atlantic in
Amapá
Amapá (; ) is one of the 26 federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil. It is in the North Region, Brazil, North Region of Brazil. It is Federative units of Brazil#List, the second-least populous state and the eighteenth-largest state by area ...
state
*''M. l. intensus'': central Peru's
Huánuco
Huánuco (; ) is a city in central Peru. It had a population of 196,627 as of 2017 and in 2015 it had a population of 175,068. It is the capital of the Huánuco Region and the Huánuco District. It is the seat of the diocese of Huánuco. The met ...
Ucayali
The Ucayali River (, ) is the main headstream of the Amazon River. It rises about north of Lake Titicaca, in the Arequipa region of Peru and becomes the Amazon at the confluence of the Marañón close to Nauta city. The city of Pucallpa is lo ...
departments
*''M. l. infuscatus'': southwestern Amazonas state in southern Venezuela, eastern Colombia, and northwestern Brazil north of the upper Amazon
Some sources add extreme northwestern Bolivia to the range of ''intensus'' but the South American Classification Committee of the
American Ornithological Society
The American Ornithological Society (AOS) is an ornithological organization based in the United States. The society was formed in October 2016 by the merger of the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) and the Cooper Ornithological Society. Its ...
has no records from that countryRemsen, 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.
The spot-winged antbird primarily inhabits the floor and understorey of '' 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 ...
. Especially at lower elevations, within the forest it favors poorly drained areas and areas along small watercourses. In elevation it reaches in Brazil, in Venezuela, in Colombia, and in Peru. In Ecuador it mostly occurs below but locally reaches .
Behavior
Movement
The spot-winged antbird is believed to be a year-round resident throughout its range.
Feeding
The spot-winged antbird's diet has not been detailed but is known to be mostly insects and
arachnid
Arachnids are arthropods in the Class (biology), class Arachnida () of the subphylum Chelicerata. Arachnida includes, among others, spiders, scorpions, ticks, mites, pseudoscorpions, opiliones, harvestmen, Solifugae, camel spiders, Amblypygi, wh ...
s and also include small lizards. It forages as individuals, pairs, and small family groups and mostly within about of the ground and only rarely with
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 ...
s. It hops along the ground and among low branches, and takes prey mostly by picking from leaf litter and by reaching to leaves and twigs from the ground or a low perch. It regularly attends
army ant
The name army ant (or legionary ant or ''marabunta'') is applied to over 200 ant species in different lineages. Because of their aggressive predatory foraging groups, known as "raids", a huge number of ants forage simultaneously over a limited ...
swarms to capture prey disturbed by the ants, though more often forages away from ants.
Breeding
The spot-winged antbird's breeding season has not been fully defined but apparently includes October in French Guiana, January in Brazil, and February in Venezuela. In Ecuador it appears to span from March to October. Its only known nest was at least partly constructed of small rootlets.
Vocalization
Subspecies ''M. l. intensus'' of the spot-winged antbird sings "a rapid, fairly even-paced series of ringing notes: ''pi’i’i’i’i’i’I’I’I’i’i’i’i’i’i’i’i''". The song's pitch and pace slightly decrease at the end. The other subspecies' songs are similar, mostly differing in how much the song's end changes. The species' calls include a "long, downslurred, typically frequency-modulated whistle", an "abrupt unclear note given singly or in series of 2–5", and a "short rattle".
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 spot-winged 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 fairly common in Venezuela, fairly common in Colombia, "scarce" in Ecuador, and fairly common in Peru. Its range includes many protected areas and " gions inhabited by species also encompass extensive areas of intact habitat which are not formally protected, but seem unlikely to be threatened by development in the near future".