Grey Antwren

Overview

The grey antwren, Myrmotherula menetriesii, is a small bird species belonging to the subfamily Thamnophilinae. It is found throughout parts of South America and is currently classified as Least Concern by the IUCN.

Identification

• Smallish bird measuring 8.5 to 10.5 cm long with a short tail.
• Adult males are almost entirely bluish gray, featuring a black throat and upper breast, white-tipped wing coverts, and a black bar above them.
• Adult females display olive-tinged gray upperparts with buff throats and rich olive-buff underparts.
• Song in Brazil is an ascending series of 6-8 eerie, two-syllabled 'wueeih' notes, while in Ecuador it is a wavering series of 10-12 'ree' or 'shree' notes that rise in pitch.

Habitat

Inhabits the mid-storey to subcanopy of terra firme and transitional lowland evergreen forests. The range covers Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Altitudes range from near sea level to 1,000 m, though locally lower in Colombia and Ecuador.

Diet

Diet consists mostly of insects and spiders. Forages singly, in pairs, in family groups, or within mixed-species feeding flocks. Feeds between 6 and 20 m above the ground by reaching, hanging, lunging, and fluttering from perches onto live leaves, vines, stems, and branches.

Did you know?

The grey antwren constructs its nest as a bundle or ball of dead leaves situated in the fork of a branch. Although its breeding season varies geographically, it is observed in February in Colombia and Venezuela, December in French Guiana, and July in Bolivia.