Collared Gnatwren

Overview

The collared gnatwren, Microbates collaris, is a small bird belonging to the family Polioptilidae. It is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List and has a wide distribution across northern and eastern South America.

Identification

• Approximately 11 cm in length with a weight of 10 to 12 g.
• The nominate subspecies features brown upperparts and creamy white underparts, with a white supercilium, cheek, and throat contrasting with a thick black line through the eye.
• A wide black band encircles the chest, while the flanks are olive-brown.
• Song consists of a series of soft, thin notes described as 'peeee' or 'eeeeea'.

Habitat

Found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. It generally inhabits the undergrowth of wet, humid, terra firme forest, usually near water and mostly below 500 m elevation. It seldom occurs in forest edges and in French Guiana and Suriname is found in primary rainforest.

Diet

The diet is almost exclusively composed of small arthropods. Foraging takes place very near the ground by picking prey from foliage and probing leaf litter. It often joins mixed-species foraging flocks and may follow army ant swarms.

Did you know?

Breeding information is sparse, but a bulky cup nest made of rotted leaves was found hidden close to the ground in a palmetto, containing two eggs.