ML445225091

Age and sex

Adult Female - 1

Observation details

Magical experience with a pair of Dull-mantled Antbirds. We stopped to do playback in an area where a small stream met a larger stream that we had been walking up and, as we would only discover at the very end, we wound up doing playback only 2-3 m away from an active nest that contained two young nestlings (pre pin-break). Even so, the initial response was rather muted. We must have played one or two bouts of song playback before we got a soft 'jeer' response somewhere in the distance. After another round of playback, one of the birds tore through the trailside vegetation, looking like a rodent racing over the ground. We then had both birds in close proximity for a while, although the female seemed to be more consistently aggressive and persistent in it’s vocalizations. The female arrived carrying food in its bill but eventually consumed it while scolding us (in retrospect, this should have been a larger red flag). And some point, the male left and we didn’t hear from him for probably 20 minutes or so. But before doing so, both birds were foraging on the ground within a few meters of us. The female continued to remain within 2-3 m of us, at times as close as 3-4 feet for what seemed like the better part of 20 minutes. She would often hop slowly on the ground, pausing and then deliberately searching the surrounding vegetation, at times perching up at slightly higher (but only a few inches off the ground, knee-high at maximum). Often pumps its tail downward rapidly and then slowly raises it back up to resting height. Also did a bunch of quick but short wing flicks. We heard a nice variety of different vocalizations in addition to male song. In total, three different calls: a soft purred trail that I believe only the female gave (incessantly at times; recorded), a snarling 'jeer' call that both the male and female gave, and a quick 'stick-tit' call particularly when one one of the birds took flight. The nest was perhaps 20-25 cm off the ground; a small hanging hammock-type open cup nest, typical of some Thamnophilids (like Thamnophilus). Reminds me a lot of Spot-winged Antbird (Myrmelastes leucostigma), including appearance, habit and habitat, and the 'stick-it' calls. We got some fantastic recordings and John got great photos!

Technical information

Dimensions

6081 pixels x 4054 pixels

Original file size

8.77 MB