Santa Marta Antbird

Overview

The Santa Marta antbird (Drymophila hellmayri) is a Near Threatened species of bird in the family Thamnophilidae. It is endemic to the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in northern Colombia and is currently classified as monotypic.

Identification

• Length of 14.5 to 15.5 cm with a black crown and back in males, featuring thin white streaks, while females have cinnamon-buff streaks.
• White face, throat, and breast in males with bold black streaks, contrasting with pale buff underparts in females.
• Bright rufous flanks and crissum, with a rump that is gray with a reddish tinge in males.
• Song consists of two short introductory notes followed by two or more longer raspy notes described as 'cheeyt-cheeyt, wheeyz-wheeyz-wheeyz'.

Habitat

Found exclusively in the foothills of the isolated Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in northern Colombia. It inhabits the understorey to mid-storey of evergreen and secondary forests, favouring dense undergrowth and bamboo thickets at elevations between 500 and 1,500 m.

Diet

Its diet is thought to consist primarily of insects and possibly spiders. It typically forages in pairs or family groups and does not join mixed-species feeding flocks.

Did you know?

Although its population is decreasing due to habitat loss for coffee and illegal marijuana plantations, the species does occur in the private El Dorado Bird Reserve.