Spot-winged Antshrike (Pygiptila stellaris)

Identification & Behavior: ~13.5 cm (5.2 in). The male Spot-winged Antshrike is uniformly gray with a black cap. The wing coverts are tipped with small white spots that form wing bars.  The female has a gray nape and mantle, rufous wings, and rufous-brown underparts. Both sexes have a thick straight bill and a short roundish tail that they often twitch from side to side. It forages in the midstory and sub-canopy of the forest in Amazonia, often in the company of mixed species flocks. The female is superficially similar to a female Plain-winged Antshrike but is distinguished by having contrasting rufous wings and dark iris.

Status: The Spot-winged Antshrike is fairly common and widespread in Amazonia where it is known to range up to 600 m along the foothill of the Andes. It also occurs in Co, Ec, Br, and Bo.

Name in Spanish: Batará de Ala Moteada.

Sub-species: Spot-winged Antshrike (Pygiptila stellaris stellaris), (Spix, 1825).

Meaning of Name: Pygiptila: Gr. Puge= rump and ptilon= feather. stellaris: L. stella= star, stellaris= starred.

See more of the Family Thamnophilidae