All species › Passerines › Antbirds › Pacific Antwren
Position in the tree Birds Aves › Birds with a flexible palate Neognathae › All other modern birds Neoaves › Landbirds Telluraves › Falcons, parrots and passerines Australaves › Falcons and passerines Eufalconimorphae › Parrots and passerines Psittacopasserae
Pacific Antwren | Myrmotherula pacifica
Pacifische miersluiper | Hormiguerito del Pacífico
The Pacific Antwren is a small, black-and-white streaked antwren of shrubby growth and forest edges, often near water. Male and female differ clearly: the female has an orange-buff head. In the guide area it lives only in Panama.
Voice
The song is a fast, dry series of short notes, like a rattling trill. Also short, sharp calls.
Recording: rudy gelis — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · converted to mono · xeno-canto
Identification
9–10 cm; tail short. Male streaked black and white throughout: upperparts black with white streaks, underparts white with black streaks; wings black with two white wing bars. Female with orange-buff head and breast, the crown finely streaked black, and a white belly; back and wings as in the male.
Confusion species
Moustached Antwren Myrmotherula ignota is smaller, almost tailless, has pale yellow underparts and lives high in the forest canopy. The male Dot-winged Antwren Microrhopias quixensis is plain black without streaks.
Habitat
Shrubby growth, forest edges, clearings and second growth, especially along rivers, streams and lakes, from the lowlands into low hills. It forages in pairs at middle levels among leaves and vines for insects.
Where the bird is most at home, classified by the vegetation units of Mexico and Central America.
Range and movements
Central and eastern Panama, on both slopes. Outside the guide area in western Colombia and Ecuador.
- Resident
- dark = core range, pale = thinly spread
How and when to look
Found in shrubby growth along rivers and lakes, for example around Gatún Lake in the Canal Area; the birds often show well on the outside of the vegetation.
Conservation status
Not threatened. Fairly common in suitable habitat; benefits from second growth along water.
Scientific name
Myrmotherula pacifica | Hellmayr, 1911
Hellmayr described the species in 1911 and placed it straight away in the genus where it still stands. The genus Myrmotherula was introduced in 1858 by Sclater. Myrmotherula is a diminutive of Myrmothera, Greek for 'ant-hunter' (murmos 'ant', -thēras 'hunter'): 'little ant-hunter'. pacifica is Latin for 'of the Pacific', after its range on the Pacific slope of Colombia and Panama. The specimen the first description was based on came from Buenaventura, western Colombia.