Yellow-browed Antbird

Overview

The yellow-browed antbird, or yellow-browed antwarbler, is a species of bird in the family Thamnophilidae, often referred to as typical antbirds. It is found in the Amazonian regions of Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.

Identification

• Small bird measuring 11 to 13 cm in length and weighing 10 to 13 g.
• Males have a black crown with white central spots, a bright lemon yellow supercilium and ear coverts, a black eye-line, and a black malar 'moustache'.
• Upperparts are light grayish olive, while the throat and underparts are bright lemon yellow with black streaks on the side of the breast.
• Females resemble males but are paler, with light buff crown centres and wing covert tips, and possess a gray mandible compared to the male's black one.
• Song consists of an evenly and slow-paced, descending series of modulated whistles, transcribed as 'DCHEET djeet djeer djeer djeer djeer djer'.

Habitat

This species inhabits the understorey to mid-storey of the interior of terra firme forest and mature secondary forest in the lowlands. Its elevation rarely exceeds 400 m in Colombia and Ecuador. It has a disjunct distribution, with the nominate subspecies ranging from southern Colombia through eastern Ecuador into northern and western Amazonian Brazil, and a second subspecies found south of the Amazon in Brazil.

Diet

The specific diet is not known in detail, but the bird feeds on insects and spiders. Pairs forage together, moving slowly through vegetation, taking prey from foliage by gleaning and by short hops and sallies. They sometimes join mixed-species feeding flocks and occasionally attend army ant swarms.

Did you know?

The specific epithet 'hypoxantha' is derived from Ancient Greek, meaning 'beneath yellow', referring to the bird's plumage. It is the only species in the genus Hypocnemis that was not formerly part of the warbling antbird complex and may be more closely related to members of the genus Drymophila.