White-bearded Antshrike

Overview

The white-bearded antshrike (Biatas nigropectus) is a Vulnerable species of bird in the family Thamnophilidae. It is the only member of its genus and is endemic to south-eastern Brazil and north-eastern Argentina.

Identification

• Males have a black forehead, crown, and upper nape, with a faint white line through the eye, while the chin and face are white transitioning to pale buff around the lower nape.
• Females possess a rufous-brown crown, a distinct white supercilium, and lack the black throat and breast seen in males.
• The bird measures 17 to 18 cm in length, featuring reddish yellow-brown upperparts and rufous wings and tail.
• The song is described as a slow series of six to eight mournful yet melodious notes that first rise and then lower in pitch.

Habitat

This species is a bamboo specialist, inhabiting bamboo in evergreen and mature secondary forests, as well as ecotones between cerrado and secondary forest and Araucaria forest, always in association with bamboo. It is found intermittently in south-eastern Brazil and north-eastern Argentina, favouring the forest understory to mid-storey at elevations between 500 and 1,200 m.

Diet

The diet includes insects, spiders, and seeds. The bird forages singly or in pairs, often joining mixed-species feeding flocks. It hops along bamboo stems and branches, gleaning prey and occasionally making short upward sallies from a perch.

Did you know?

Its conservation status is complicated by the periodic die-off characteristic of bamboo, which makes habitat conservation difficult. It was originally assessed as Threatened in 1988 and has been Vulnerable since 1994.