The white-shouldered antbird (Akletos melanoceps) is a species of bird in subfamily Thamnophilinae of family Thamnophilidae, the "typical antbirds".[2] It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.[3]
| White-shouldered antbird | |
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| Male | |
;_River_Moa,_Mancio_Lima,_Acre,_Brazil.jpg)
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| Female | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Thamnophilidae |
| Genus: | Akletos |
| Species: | A. melanoceps
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| Binomial name | |
| Akletos melanoceps (Spix, 1825)
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| Synonyms | |
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Taxonomy and systematics
editThe white-shouldered antbird was described and illustrated by the German naturalist Johann Baptist von Spix in 1825 and given the binomial name Thamnophilus melanoceps.[4] It was subsequently moved to the genus Myrmeciza. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2013 found that Myrmeciza was polyphyletic. In the resulting rearrangement to create monophyletic genera, this species was moved to a newly created genus Inundicola.[5] A year later the same authors determined that by the principle of priority the older genus Akletos, which had been introduced by the Polish ornithologist Andrzej Dunajewski in 1948, was proper.[6][7]
The white-shouldered antbird shares genus Akletos with Goeldi's antbird (A. goeldii). It is monotypic.[2]
Description
editThe white-shouldered antbird is 17 to 18.5 cm (6.7 to 7.3 in) long and weighs 36 to 40 g (1.3 to 1.4 oz). Both sexes have a ring of bare blue skin around their eye and a red iris. Adult males are mostly black with a small white patch on their shoulder that is usually visible only in flight. Adult females have a black head, neck, upper mantle, and upper breast. The rest of their upperparts are rufous that is somewhat darker on the ends of their wings and tail. Their underparts are cinnamon-tawny that is lighter in the center of their belly.[8][9][10][11][12][excessive citations]
Distribution and habitat
editThe white-shouldered antbird is a bird of the western Amazon Basin. It is found from Meta Department in south-central Colombia south through eastern Ecuador into northeastern and east-central Peru as far as northern Ucayali Department and east into western Brazil as far as the Japurá and Juruá rivers. It primarily inhabits the floor and understorey of várzea evergreen forest but also transitional forest and nearby mature secondary forest. It mostly favors the shrubby vine-tangled areas immediately adjoining rivers and to a lesser extent similar edges of forest away from water. In elevation it reaches 500 m (1,600 ft) in Colombia and Ecuador.[8][9][10][11][12][excessive citations]
Behavior
editMovement
editThe white-shouldered antbird is believed to be a year-round resident throughout its range.[8]
Feeding
editThe white-shouldered antbird feeds on insects and probably other arthropods. It typically forages singly, in pairs, or in family groups in dense vegetation, mostly on the ground and within about 5 m (16 ft) above it. It hops between short feeding stops, pumping its tail. It captures prey by reaching, lunging from a perch, and with short flutter-flights. It occasionally follows army ant swarms to capture prey fleeing the ants and occasionally joins mixed-species feeding flocks.[8][9][10][11][excessive citations]
Breeding
editThe white-shouldered antbird's breeding season has not been defined but appears to span July to February in Ecuador. Its one known nest was a deep cup woven of dead plant material and palm fibers placed in dead fronds of a live palm about 1 m (3 ft) above the ground. It contained two eggs that were white with purplish spots. Both parent incubated the clutch but other details of parental care are not known. The incubation period is also unknown; fledging occurred 10 to 11 days after hatch.[8]
Vocalization
editThe white-shouldered antbird is more often heard than seen. Its song is "a short series...that begins with 2 soft notes, first longer than second, followed by mostly flat notes that become more intense and lengthen slightly".[8] The song has been written as "pur, pee-ur pee-ur pee-ur pee-ur"[10] and "her-her hEEr hEEr hEEr hEEr"[11]. Its calls include a "short (e.g. 0·09 seconds) 'chirp' ", a "short (e.g. 1·8 seconds) rattle beginning with [an] emphatic note, followed by evenly spaced notes", and a "slower, more melodic series of c. 6 notes that also starts with [an] emphatic note".[8]
Status
editThe IUCN has assessed the white-shouldered antbird as being of Least Concern. It has a very large range; its population size is not known and is believed to be stable. No immediate threats have been identified.[1] It is considered common in Colombia, "numerous" in Ecuador, and fairly common in Peru and Brazil.[8][9][10][11][excessive citations] Its range includes several large protected areas and also "encompasses extensive areas of intact habitat which, although not formally protected, appear unlikely to be threatened by development in the near future".[8]
References
edit- ^ a b BirdLife International (2018). "White-shouldered Antbird Akletos melanoceps". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T22701835A130217378. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22701835A130217378.en. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
- ^ a b Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2024). "Antbirds". IOC World Bird List. v 14.1. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
- ^ Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, G. Del-Rio, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 27 July 2024. Species Lists of Birds for South American Countries and Territories. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCCountryLists.htm retrieved July 28, 2024
- ^ von Spix, Johann Baptist (1825). Avium species novae, quas in itinere per Brasiliam annis MDCCCXVII-MDCCCXX (in Latin). Vol. 2. Monachii (Munich): Typis Franc. Seraph. Hübschmanni. p. 28, Plate 39 fig. 1.
- ^ Isler, M.L.; Bravo, G.A.; Brumfield, R.T. (2013). "Taxonomic revision of Myrmeciza (Aves: Passeriformes: Thamnophilidae) into 12 genera based on phylogenetic, morphological, behavioral, and ecological data" (PDF). Zootaxa. 3717 (4): 469–497. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3717.4.3. PMID 26176119.
- ^ Dunajewski, A. (1948). "New races of the Brown Owl, Hedge-Sparrow and a new species of Attila; also a new genus of Cotingidae". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 68: 130–132.
- ^ Isler, M.L.; Bravo, G.A.; Brumfield, R.T. (2014). "Inundicola Bravo, Isler, and Brumfield 2013 is a junior synonym of Akletos Dunajewski 1948 (Aves: Passeriformes: Thamnophilidae)". Zootaxa. 3779 (3): 399–400. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3779.3.10. PMID 24871736.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Zimmer, K. and M.L. Isler (2020). White-shouldered Antbird (Akletos melanoceps), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.whsant1.01 retrieved August 19, 2024
- ^ a b c d McMullan, Miles; Donegan, Thomas M.; Quevedo, Alonso (2010). Field Guide to the Birds of Colombia. Bogotá: Fundación ProAves. p. 138. ISBN 978-0-9827615-0-2.
- ^ a b c d e Ridgely, Robert S.; Greenfield, Paul J. (2001). The Birds of Ecuador: Field Guide. Vol. II. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. pp. 426–427. ISBN 978-0-8014-8721-7.
- ^ a b c d e Schulenberg, T.S., D.F. Stotz, D.F. Lane, J.P. O’Neill, and T.A. Parker III. 2010. Birds of Peru. Revised and updated edition. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. Plate 172
- ^ a b van Perlo, Ber (2009). A Field Guide to the Birds of Brazil. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 258–259. ISBN 978-0-19-530155-7.