Blackish Antbird

Overview

The blackish antbird, Cercomacroides nigrescens, is a passerine bird belonging to the subfamily Thamnophilinae within the family Thamnophilidae. It is found across parts of South America, including Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, and Suriname.

Identification

• Males of the nominate subspecies are almost entirely blackish gray with a white patch between the scapulars and narrow white tips on the wing coverts; females have rufous-tinged olive-gray upperparts and an orange-rufous forehead and face.
• The bird measures 14 to 15 cm in length and weighs between 14 and 25 g.
• Males sing a single low 'wup' followed by a short rattle of variable length that usually becomes less intense, while females sing a rising series of countable 'wup' notes.
• Its call is described as a harsh, unmusical 'chirr' that is variable in length and usually flat but sometimes downslurred.

Habitat

The species inhabits a variety of densely vegetated but somewhat open landscapes, including forest edges, secondary forest, river islands, bamboo stands, and vine tangles. It has a disjunct distribution with distinct subspecies ranging from coastal regions and lowland forests to the eastern slopes of the Andes. Elevations range from near sea level up to 2,100 m in Peru.

Diet

The diet consists of a variety of insects and probably spiders, though it has not been fully detailed. The bird forages on the ground or within about 5 m of it, typically hopping through dense vegetation to glean, reach, lunge, or make short fluttery flights from a perch. It rarely joins mixed-species feeding flocks and seldom attends army ant swarms.

Did you know?

The species was previously classified with five subspecies, but significant vocal differences led to the riparian antbird, Cercomacra fuscicauda, being recognised as a separate full species. Its preference for second-growth and edge habitats makes it less vulnerable to disturbance than most other antbirds.