Birds of the World

    PASSERIFORMES: Thamnophilidae (Antbirds)  
Genus: Myrmotherula (25 species)


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Yellow-throated Antwren (Myrmotherula ambigua)
Range: SA: nc Amazonia
   


A difficult canopy species with a distinctive sound.


Leaden Antwren
Leaden Antwren (Myrmotherula assimilis) Male
Range: SA: c, s Amazonia
Leticia, Amazonas, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Leaden Antwren
Leaden Antwren (Myrmotherula assimilis) Female
Range: SA: c, s Amazonia
Leticia, Amazonas, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Found only in varzea habitat, as seen on map.
A male from the side.

White-flanked Antwren
White-flanked Antwren (Myrmotherula axillaris heterozyga) Male
Range: MA, SA: se Honduras through Amazonia
Puerto Maldonado, Peru  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

White-flanked Antwren
White-flanked Antwren (Myrmotherula axillaris albigula) Female
Range: MA, SA: se Honduras through Amazonia
Bahia Solano, Choco, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Generally common. White flank often hidden.

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Plain-winged Antwren (Myrmotherula behni)
Range: SA: n, nw Amazonia
   


Plain-winged means unspotted or without wing bars. Male is grey with a black chest and female is cream/rufous similar to White-flanked Antwren female.

Pygmy Antwren
Pygmy Antwren (Myrmotherula brachyura)
Range: SA: Amazonia
Amacayacu National Park, Amazonas, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Very similar to the Moustached Antwren but with a thinner malar stripe and roughly even black and white stripes on crown.

Cherrie's Antwren
Cherrie's Antwren (Myrmotherula cherriei) Male
Range: SA: nc Amazonia
Inírida, Guainía, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Cherrie's Antwren
Cherrie's Antwren (Myrmotherula cherriei) Female
Range: SA: nc Amazonia
Inírida, Guainía, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Eating stick bug.

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Rio de Janeiro Antwren (Myrmotherula fluminensis)
Range: SA: se Brazil
   


Not well known and only found in the area of the REGUA reserve. Believed by some to be a form of the Silvery-flanked Antwren.

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Yungas Antwren (Myrmotherula grisea)
Range: SA: w Bolivia
   



Moustached Antwren
Moustached Antwren (Myrmotherula ignota ignota) Male
Range: MA, SA: e Panama to nw Ecuador and w Amazonia
Panama Rainforest Discover Center, Colón province, Panama  
   
Photograph by Tropical Birding (Nick Athanas)   © All Rights Reserved.

Very similar to the Pygmy Antwren but with a thicker malar stripe, and smaller (ProAves). The Moustached Antwren is also found in the Pacific coast lowlands, unlike the Pygmy Antwren. The male's crown is more black than white, and almost all black in the Amazon race.
This male Amazonian subspecies has an almost completely black cap.

Ihering's Antwren
Ihering's Antwren (Myrmotherula iheringi heteroptera) Male
Range: SA: w, c Amazonia
Los Amigos Biological Station, Peru  
   
Photograph by Joe Tobias   © All Rights Reserved.

Ihering's Antwren
Ihering's Antwren (Myrmotherula iheringi heteroptera) Female
Range: SA: w, c Amazonia
Los Amigos Biological Station, Peru  
   
Photograph by Joe Tobias   © All Rights Reserved.


Klages's Antwren
Klages's Antwren (Myrmotherula klagesi) Male Vulnerable
Range: SA: c Amazonia
Brazil  
   
Photograph by Philip Stouffer   © All Rights Reserved.


Stripe-chested Antwren
Stripe-chested Antwren (Myrmotherula longicauda) Male
Range: SA: w, sw Amazonia
Manu National Park, Peru  
   
Photograph by Francesco Veronesi     Copyright and usage info

Stripe-chested Antwren
Stripe-chested Antwren (Myrmotherula longicauda) Female
Range: SA: w, sw Amazonia
Manu National Park, Peru  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.


Long-winged Antwren
Long-winged Antwren (Myrmotherula longipennis) Male and Female
Range: SA: Amazonia
Brazil  
   
Photograph by Philip Stouffer   © All Rights Reserved.

Long-winged Antwren
Long-winged Antwren (Myrmotherula longipennis longipennis) Female
Range: SA: Amazonia
Mitu, Vaupes, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.


Silvery-flanked Antwren
Silvery-flanked Antwren (Myrmotherula luctuosa) Male
Range: SA: e, se Brazil
REGUA, Cachoeiras de Macacu, RJ, Brazil  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Silvery-flanked Antwren
Silvery-flanked Antwren (Myrmotherula luctuosa) Female
Range: SA: e, se Brazil
REGUA, Cachoeiras de Macacu, RJ, Brazil  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

A lowland species seen in mixed understory forest flocks.

Grey Antwren
Grey Antwren (Myrmotherula menetriesii)
Range: SA: Amazonia
Venezuela  
   
Photograph by David Ascanio - www.abtbirds.com   © All Rights Reserved.

Grey Antwren
Grey Antwren (Myrmotherula menetriesii menetriesii) Male
Range: SA: Amazonia
Puerto Maldonado, Peru
  A black-throated race.
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Grey Antwren
Grey Antwren (Myrmotherula menetriesii) Female
Range: SA: Amazonia
Brazil  
   
Photograph by Philip Stouffer   © All Rights Reserved.

A typical antwren that can be found in healthy forest but also fragments of secondary forest. Male has pale throat except in southeast Peru, south Brazil and Bolivia where the throat is black.

Salvadori's Antwren
Salvadori's Antwren (Myrmotherula minor) Male Vulnerable
Range: SA: se Brazil
São Sebastião, São Paulo, Brazil  
   
Photograph by Hector Bottai     Copyright and usage info

Compare to Unicolored Antwren and Silvery-flanked Antwren. Male has wing bars but no white flanks. Generally found a bit higher (500m.?). Female illustrated with sharp contrast in grey head and mantle to the body, and with wing bars by Birds of Brazil. It is very different in HBW, and most similar to Unicolored Antwren female.

Amazonian Streaked Antwren
Amazonian Streaked Antwren (Myrmotherula multostriata) Male
Range: SA: s, w Amazonia
Puerto Nariño, Amazonas, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Amazonian Streaked Antwren
Amazonian Streaked Antwren (Myrmotherula multostriata) Female
Range: SA: s, w Amazonia
Puerto Nariño, Amazonas, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.


Pacific Antwren
Pacific Antwren (Myrmotherula pacifica) Male
Range: MA, SA: Panama to w Ecuador
Farallones National Park, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Pacific Antwren
Pacific Antwren (Myrmotherula pacifica) Female
Range: MA, SA: Panama to w Ecuador
Bahia Solano, Choco, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Often found in secondary or degraded forest.

Slaty Antwren
Slaty Antwren (Myrmotherula schisticolor schisticolor) Male
Range: MA, SA: se Mexico to n Venezuela and Peru
Minga Ecolodge, Cali, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Slaty Antwren
Slaty Antwren (Myrmotherula schisticolor schisticolor) Female
Range: MA, SA: se Mexico to n Venezuela and Peru
Minga Ecolodge, Cali, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Found between 1000m and 2000m. Female may be unicolored or have a have grey back depending on subspecies.

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Sclater's Antwren (Myrmotherula sclateri)
Range: SA: s Amazonia
   


Canopy species. Male and female similar, but female less yellow and more streaked in front.

Alagoas Antwren
Alagoas Antwren (Myrmotherula snowi) Male Critically Endangered
Range: SA: e Brazil
Murici, Alagoas, Brazil  
   
Photograph by Ciro Albano - NE Brazil Birding   © All Rights Reserved.


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Rio Suno Antwren (Myrmotherula sunensis)
Range: SA: w Amazonia
   



Guianan Streaked Antwren
Guianan Streaked Antwren (Myrmotherula surinamensis) Male Vulnerable
Range: SA: ne Amazonia
Inírida, Guainía, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Guianan Streaked Antwren
Guianan Streaked Antwren (Myrmotherula surinamensis) Female Vulnerable
Range: SA: ne Amazonia
Venezuela  
   
Photograph by David Ascanio - www.abtbirds.com   © All Rights Reserved.

Male very similar to Amazonian Streaked Antwren, while female is darker. Species possibly overlap in east Colombia (Inirida).

Unicolored Antwren
Unicolored Antwren (Myrmotherula unicolor) Near Threatened
Range: SA: se Brazil
Vale do Ribeira, Registro-SP, Brazil  
   
Photograph by Dario Sanches     Copyright and usage info

A small lowland antwren, sometimes seen with the slightly larger Silvery-flanked Antwren. Note lack of wing bars and consistent head and back color.

Band-tailed Antwren
Band-tailed Antwren (Myrmotherula urosticta) Male Vulnerable
Range: SA: e, se Brazil
Porto Seguro, Brazil  
   
Photograph by Bradley Hacker   © All Rights Reserved.

A lowland species. Note white tip to tail and wing coverts on both sexes.


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