Salvadori's Antwren

Overview

Salvadori's antwren (Myrmotherula minor) is a small, near-threatened bird species endemic to the Atlantic Forest of eastern Brazil. It is a year-round resident and is currently classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN due to habitat destruction.

Identification

• Males: Mostly grey plumage, lighter on the underparts, with a black throat and upper breast centre; tail is grey with a black band near the end and white feather tips.
• Females: Grey head with olive-brown upperparts; dull rufous-brown tail and wings with russet tail edges and thin buff wing coverts; dingy white throat and deep buff underparts.
• Size: Approximately 9 cm (3.5 in) long with a short tail.
• Voice: Song described as 'short twittering, starting extr. high, completed by liquid "tyweet-tweet-tueet"'; calls include variable short whistles and sharp chips in short or widely spaced series.

Habitat

Found spottily in coastal eastern Brazil between Bahia and extreme northeastern Santa Catarina, inhabiting the understorey to mid-storey of evergreen and adjacent mature secondary forests. It favours forest interiors near running water, occurring mostly below 500 m but sometimes up to 900 m elevation.

Diet

Diet consists probably mostly of insects and spiders, foraged singly, in pairs, family groups, or as part of a mixed-species flock. It typically forages between 4 and 8 m above the ground around the crown and perimeter of trees, gleaning from live leaves and clusters of dead leaves, moss, and hanging lichen.

Did you know?

Salvadori's antwren was named after Tommaso Salvadori, the Italian zoologist and ornithologist who first described it.