White-shouldered Antbird (Akletos melanoceps)

Identification & Behavior: ~18.5 cm (7.2 in). The male White-shouldered Antbird is uniformly black with a semi-concealed patch of white on the shoulder area under the scapulars. The female is uniformly rufous with a black head. Both sexes have a red iris and bluish bare skin on the upper half of the eye. It forages in the understory of seasonally flooded forests generally in pairs. The male is very similar to the male Goeldi’s Antbird, even their vocalizations, but these two antbirds replace each other geographically.

Status: The White-shouldered Antbird is fairly common and widespread in northern Amazonia south to Ucayali. It also occurs in Co, Ec, and Br.

Name in Spanish: Hormiguero de Hombro Blanco.

Sub-species: White-shouldered Antbird (Akletos melanoceps), (Spix), 1825.

Meaning of Name: Akletos: Gr. Klētos= called, chosen. With the prefix A the word turns negative, therefore Aklētos= uncalled, unbidden. melanoceps: L. melanos= blacka and ceps, caput = head, capped.

Formerly known as Myrmeciza melanoceps (2018).

See more of the Family Thamnophilidae