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Ancient Antwren | Herpsilochmus gentryi
Antieke miersluiper | Tiluchí antiguo | Chorozinho-antigo
The Ancient Antwren was described only in 1999, from forest on poor sandy soil around Iquitos in northeastern Peru. It lives in the canopy of this nutrient-poor forest and is one of the species tied to white-sand forest (varillal). The scientific name honours the botanist Alwyn Gentry.
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Voice
The song is a series of short notes that accelerates into a dry trill. Calls are short, nasal notes.
Recording: Juan Freile — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · xeno-canto
Identification
11 cm, with a fairly short tail. The male has a black crown, a white supercilium and a black eyestripe. The back is grey with black; the wings are black with white wingbars. The tail is black with white tips. The underparts are whitish with a yellowish tinge. The female has a spotted crown and warmer underparts.
Confusion species
Dugand's Antwren Herpsilochmus dugandi has greyer underparts without a yellow tinge and lives in forest on richer soils. Sclater's Antwren Myrmotherula sclateri has a black-and-white streaked back and yellow underparts. Pygmy Antwren Myrmotherula brachyura is smaller, with a streaked back and a shorter tail.
Habitat
Canopy of low and medium-height forest on nutrient-poor sandy and clay soils (varillal and terra firme on poor soils) in the lowlands. It searches in pairs for insects in foliage, often with mixed flocks. Little is known about the nest.
Where the bird is most at home, classified by the vegetation units of the Andes and the west coast.
Range and movements
Peru: in the northeast, in Loreto, mainly around Iquitos. Ecuador: a few records from Pastaza, in the southeast. Absent from Colombia, Bolivia and the Galápagos. Does not occur outside the guide area.
- Resident
- dark = core range, pale = thinly spread
How and when to look
Search in Allpahuayo-Mishana National Reserve near Iquitos; follow mixed flocks in the canopy of the white-sand forest and listen for the accelerating trill.
Conservation status
Least Concern. Its habitat is fragmented and restricted to forest on poor soils; logging and the growth of Iquitos are local threats.
Scientific name
Herpsilochmus gentryi | Whitney & Álvarez A, 1998
Whitney & Álvarez A described the species in 1998 and placed it straight away in the genus where it still stands. The genus Herpsilochmus was introduced in 1847 by Cabanis. The genus name combines Greek herpō, 'to creep about', and lokhmē, 'thicket, copse'. The species name honours the American botanist Alwyn Gentry (1945–1993), a specialist in Neotropical forests. The specimen the first description was based on came from Río Tigre, Loreto, Peru.