Black-headed Antbird (Percnostola rufifrons)

Identification & Behavior: ~13.5 cm (5.2 in). The male Black-headed Antbird is dark gray with a black throat and a blackish crown. The wing coverts are black with multiple white wing bars. The tail feathers are blackish narrowly fringed with whitish on the tips. The female has a gray head and upperparts. The wing coverts are black with rufous wing bars. The underparts are light rufous. Both sexes have a light gray iris. It forages in dense understory, along streams, treefalls, and other gaps. It is very similar to the closely related Allpahuayo Antbird but their ranges do not overlap.

Status: The Black-headed Antbird is seemingly rare and restricted a small area in north and west of the Amazon and Napo Rivers. It also occurs in Co and Br.

Name in Spanish: Hormiguero de Cabeza Negra.

Sub-species: Black-headed Antbird (Percnostola rufifrons jensoni), Caparella, Rosenberg, and Cardiff, 1997.

Meaning of Name: Percnostola: Gr. Perknos= dark-coloured, dusky and stole= dress, clothing. rufifrons: L. rufus= red, rufous and frons, frontis= forehead, brow.

See more of the Family Thamnophilidae