Riparian Antbird

Overview

The riparian antbird (Cercomacroides fuscicauda) is a passerine bird in the family Thamnophilidae, known as the typical antbirds. It is a monotypic species classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, though its population is believed to be decreasing.

Identification

• Males are almost entirely dark gray with slightly lighter underparts, a concealed white patch between the scapulars, and narrow white tips on wing coverts.
• Females feature a rufous-tinged tawny crown, orange-tawny forehead and face, brownish olive upperparts, and orange-rufous underparts with gray-tinted flanks.
• The bird measures 14 to 15 cm (5.5 to 5.9 in) in length.
• The male's song consists of a low-pitched introductory note followed by a rattle of descending notes, described as sounding like 'what cheer'.

Habitat

Found in southern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, eastern Peru, southwestern Amazonian Brazil, and northeastern Bolivia, the species almost exclusively inhabits riverside várzea forest and thickets on river islands. In southeastern Peru, it also occurs in bamboo stands. It typically ranges in elevation between 100 and 600 m, though locally reaching up to 850 m.

Did you know?

Its preference for second-growth and edge habitats renders it less vulnerable to disturbance than most antbirds.