Silvered Antbird
Encyclopedia
The Silvered Antbird is a passerine
bird
in the antbird
family, the only member of the genus Sclateria. It is a resident breeder in tropical South America
from Colombia
and Trinidad
south to Peru
, Bolivia
and central Brazil
.
This is a skulking terrestrial bird of wet shaded areas, such as in undergrowth or under overhanging vegetation near streams, lagoons or swamps. It is usually found in pairs, foraging on the ground for small insect
s and other arthropod
s taken from leaf litter or the water’s surface.
The Silvered Antbird is typically 15 cm long, and weighs 20 g. The adult male of the nominate northern form S. n. naevia has dark grey upperparts and dusky wings with two rows of white spots. The underparts are white, extensively and broadly streaked with grey. The female has dark brown upperparts, with buff wing spots and extensively grey-streaked underparts.
Males of the distinctive Amazonian
subspecies S. n. argentata have the flanks and upper chest grey-white with grey mottling, and the females have white central underparts with rufous sides to the head, neck and body.
The Silvered Antbird has a loud pi-pi-pi-pi-pi-pi-pi call, often the first indication of its presence in its difficult habitat.
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
in the antbird
Antbird
The antbirds are a large family, Thamnophilidae, of passerine birds found across subtropical and tropical Central and South America, from Mexico to Argentina. There are more than 200 species, known variously as antshrikes, antwrens, antvireos, fire-eyes, bare-eyes and bushbirds...
family, the only member of the genus Sclateria. It is a resident breeder in tropical South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
from Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
and Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
south to Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
and central Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
.
This is a skulking terrestrial bird of wet shaded areas, such as in undergrowth or under overhanging vegetation near streams, lagoons or swamps. It is usually found in pairs, foraging on the ground for small insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s and other arthropod
Arthropod
An arthropod is an invertebrate animal having an exoskeleton , a segmented body, and jointed appendages. Arthropods are members of the phylum Arthropoda , and include the insects, arachnids, crustaceans, and others...
s taken from leaf litter or the water’s surface.
The Silvered Antbird is typically 15 cm long, and weighs 20 g. The adult male of the nominate northern form S. n. naevia has dark grey upperparts and dusky wings with two rows of white spots. The underparts are white, extensively and broadly streaked with grey. The female has dark brown upperparts, with buff wing spots and extensively grey-streaked underparts.
Males of the distinctive Amazonian
Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
subspecies S. n. argentata have the flanks and upper chest grey-white with grey mottling, and the females have white central underparts with rufous sides to the head, neck and body.
The Silvered Antbird has a loud pi-pi-pi-pi-pi-pi-pi call, often the first indication of its presence in its difficult habitat.