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Ash-throated Antwren | Herpsilochmus parkeri
Grijskeelmiersluiper | Tiluchí de Parker | Chorozinho-de-garganta-cinza
The Ash-throated Antwren is a small antwren described only in 1986, found in a small area of northern Peru. It lives in the canopy of montane forest on the east slope of the Andes. The scientific name honours the ornithologist Theodore Parker.
Voice
The song is a series of short notes that accelerates into a dry trill. Calls are short, nasal notes.
Recording: Ross Gallardy — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · xeno-canto
Identification
11.5 cm, slender, with a fairly long 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 throat and breast are pale grey, the belly whitish. The female has a spotted crown and warmer underparts.
Confusion species
Creamy-bellied Antwren Herpsilochmus motacilloides has a white throat and a cream-tinged belly and lives further south. Yellow-breasted Antwren Herpsilochmus axillaris has yellow underparts and an olive back. Rusty-winged Antwren Herpsilochmus frater has rufous edges to the flight feathers.
Habitat
Canopy and upper mid-levels of humid montane forest and tall secondary forest on the east slope of the Andes, about 1000 to 1500 m. 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: only in the north of the San Martín region, with a single record from Amazonas. Absent from Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia and the Galápagos. Does not occur outside Peru.
- Resident
- dark = core range, pale = thinly spread
How and when to look
Search forested ridges around Moyobamba, such as at Waqanki, and the Alto Mayo Protection Forest near Afluente; follow mixed flocks in the canopy and look for an antwren with a grey throat.
Conservation status
Vulnerable. The range is small and forest on the slopes of San Martín is being cleared for agriculture, mainly coffee and pasture.
Scientific name
Herpsilochmus parkeri | Davis & O'Neill, 1986
Davis & O'Neill described the species in 1986 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 field ornithologist Theodore A. Parker III (1953–1993), known for his knowledge of Neotropical bird sounds. The specimen the first description was based on came from Jirillo, San Martín, Peru.