The
Antbirds of family
Thamnophilidae occur in tropical and subtropical Central and South America. There are more than 200 species, known variously as
antwrens,
antbirds and
antshrikes (here ordered by size with antwrens the smallest and antshrikes the largest). Other miscellaneous names for some of the species in the
Thamnophilidae family are:
antvireos, bare-eyes, bushbird, fire-eyes.
Collective, members of the
Thamnophilidae family are known as antbirds. They not closely related to the wrens, vireos or shrikes.
Most species live in forests and most feed in the understory and midstory of the forest, although a few feed in the canopy and a few on the ground. They feed on ants and other insects. They use a number of techniques to obtain prey. The majority of antbirds are arboreal, with most of those feeding in the understory, many in the middle story and some in the canopy. A few species feed in the leaf litter; The antbirds that forage arboreally show a number of techniques and specialisations. Some species perch-glean, perching on a branch watching for prey and snatching it by reaching forward, where others sally from a perch and snatch prey on the wing.
Thamnophilidae are related to antpittas of family
Grallariidae and the antthrushes of family
Formicariidae.
Genus Epinecrophylla
Antwren,_Brown-backed Epinecrophylla fjeldsaai Found: southeast Ecuador, northern Peru
Image by: 1)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Dusan_Brinkhuizen
Antwren,_Brown-bellied Epinecrophylla gutturalis Found: Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela
Image by: 1, 2)
Sylvain_Uriot 2)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Kester Clarke
1) Female 2) Male
Antwren,_Checker-throated Epinecrophylla fulviventris Found: Honduras south to northern Columbia
Image by: 1, 2, 3)
Nick_Athanas 4)
Dominic_Sherony
1) Female 2) Juvenile male 3, 4) Male
Antwren,_Foothill Epinecrophylla spodionota Found: Ecuador, Columbia, Peru
Image by: 1)
hbw.com
Antwren,_Ornate Epinecrophylla ornata Found: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
Image by: 1)
Jose_Loiza - Ecuador 2)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Bruno_Renno in Brazil
Antwren,_Roosevelt Epinecrophylla dentei Found: Brazil
Image by: 1)
Fabio_Schunck
Antwren,_Rufous-tailed Epinecrophylla erythrura Found: Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
Image by: 1)
brendagaylebush 2)
Nick_Athanas
1) Female 2) Male
Antwren,_Stipple-throated also
Rufous-backed Antwren Epinecrophylla haematonota Found: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela
Image by: 1) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Daniel_Lane 2)
Ivan_Sjogren
Antwren,_White-eyed Epinecrophylla leucophthalma Found: Bolivia, Brazil, Peru
Image by: 1)
Maria_Ogrzewalska 2)_
Joao_Quental
Genus Euchrepomis
Antwren,_Ash-winged Euchrepomis spodioptila Found: northern South America
Image by: 1)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Andrew Whittaker
Antwren,_Chestnut-shouldered Euchrepomis humeralis Found: Bolivia, western Brazil, Ecuador, Peru,
Image by: 1)
John_Gerrard_Keulemans
Antwren,_Rufous-rumped Euchrepomis callinota Found: Costa Rica, Panama, northwest South America
Image by: 1)
Nick_Athanas 2)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Juan_Pablo_Lopez_Ordonez
1) Female 2) Male
Antwren,_Yellow-rumped Euchrepomis sharpei Found: western Bolivia, southeast Peru
Image by: 1)
Angie_Cederlund
Genus Formicivora
Antwren,_Black-bellied Formicivora melanogaster Found: Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay
Image by: 1)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Cal_Martins
2) Hector_Bottai - Brazil 2)
Dave_Curtis
Antwren,_Black-hooded Formicivora erythronotos Found: state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Image by: 1)
Rick_elis_simpson 2)
Nick_Athanas 3)
Hector_Bottai
1) Female 2, 3) Male
Antwren._Narrow-billed Formicivora iheringi Found: eastern Brazil
Image by: 1)
Arthur_Grosset 2)
Ciro_Albano 1)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Arthur_Grosse, Ciro_Albanot
1) Female 2) Male
Antwren,_Restinga Formicivora littoralis Found: Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil
Image by: 1)
Savio_Freire_Bruno 2)
Nick_Athanas
1) Female 2) Male
Antwren,_Rusty-backed Formicivora rufa Found: central South America
Image by: 1)
Hector_Bottai - Brazil 2, 3)
Nick_Athanas - Brazil 4)
Claudio_Timm - Brazil
1,2) Female 3, 4) Male
Antwren,_Sao_Paulo Formicivora paludicola Found: Brazilian state of Paraná
Image by: 1) Dario_Sanches
1) Male
Antwren,_Serra Formicivora serrana Found: mountains of southeast Brazil
Image by: 1) Savio_Bruno 2)
Nick Athanas 3)
correodesalas
1) Female 2, 3) Male
Antwren,_Sincora Formicivora grantsaui Found: eastern Brazil
Image by: 1, 2, 3)
Nick_Athanas
1) Female 2, 3) Male
Antwren,_White-fringed Formicivora grisea Found: South America
Image by: 1)
New Jersy Birds 2)
Ron_Knight - Columbia 3)
Nick_Athanas - Columbia 4)
Fernando_Flores - Venezuela
1, 2) Female 3, 4) Male
Genus Herpsilochmus
Antwren,_Ancient Herpsilochmus gentryi Found: Ecuador, Peru
Image by: 1)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Jose_Alvarez_Alonso
Antwren,_Aripuana Herpsilochmus stotzi Found: central Amazonian Brazil
Image by: 1, 3)
Neotropical_Birds_Online - Fabio_Schunck 2)
Fabio_Schunck
1) Female 2, 3) Male
Antwren,_Ash-throated Herpsilochmus parkeri Found: northern Peru
Image by: 1)
Nick_Athanas
Antwren,_Black-capped Herpsilochmus atricapillus Found: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay
Image by: 1)
Hector_Bottai 2)
Nick_Athanas 3) Claudio_Timm
1) Female 2, 3) Male
Antwren,_Bahia Herpsilochmus pileatus Found: narrow coastal strip in Bahia, in eastern Brazil
Image by: 1. 2)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Joao Quental, Bruno_Renno
Antwren,_Caatinga Herpsilochmus sellowi Found: eastern Brazil
Image by: 1)
Nick_Athanas - Brazil 2)
Hector_Bottai
Antwren,_Creamy-bellied Herpsilochmus motacilloides Found: east slope Peruvian Andes
Image by: 1)
hbw.com 1)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Ashley_Banwell
Antwren,_Dugand's Herpsilochmus dugandi Found:
Image by: 1, 2)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Eduardo_Carrion_Letort
1) Female 2) Male
Antwren,_Large-billed Herpsilochmus longirostris Found: mainly Brazil, also northwest Bolivia
Image by: 1)
Claudio_Timm - Brazil 2)
Hector_Bottai - Brazil 3)
Andrey_Miranda - Brazil
Antwren,_Pectoral Herpsilochmus pectoralis Found: northeast Brazil
Image by: 1, 2)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Anselmo_d'Affonseca
3)
Arthur_Grosset 4)
Nick_Athanas
1) Female 2, 3, 4) Male
Antwren,_Predicted Herpsilochmus praedictus Found: Amazonian Brazil
Image by: 1)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Christian_Borges_Andretti
Antwren,_Roraiman Herpsilochmus roraimae Found: Brazil, Guyana, and Venezuela
Image by: 1)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Thiago_Laranjeiras
Antwren, Rufous-winged Herpsilochmus rufimarginatus Found: South America
Image by: 1) Hector_Bottai 2)
Dario Sanches
1) Female 2) Male
Antwren,_Spot-backed Herpsilochmus dorsimaculatus Found: northern Brazil, eastern Colombia, sothern Venezuela
Image by: 1,2)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Anselmo_d'Affonseca
1) Female 2) Male
Antwren,_Spot-tailed Herpsilochmus sticturus Found: northeast South America
Image by: 1)
hbw.com
Antwren,_Todd's Herpsilochmus stictocephalus Found: northeast South America
Image by:
1, 2) Marc_Chretien
Antwren,_Yellow-breasted Herpsilochmus axillaris Found: Columbia, Ecuador, Peru
Image by:
1, 2) Gary Clark - Ecuador 3)
Nick_Athanas 4)
Dave_Curtis
Genus Isleria
Antwren,_Plain-throated Isleria hauxwelli Found: north-central South America
Image by: 1)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Susana_Cubas_Poclin, Luiz_Matos
Arthur_Grosset - Brazil 2)
Marianne_Batchelder - Peru 3)
Bruno_Renno
1) Female 2) Male
Antwren,_Rufous-bellied Isleria guttata Found: northern Brazil, Venezuela
Image by: 1)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Joao_Quental, Kurazo Okada 3)
Hector_Bottai
1) Female 2, 3) Male
Genus Microrhopias - 1 species
Antwren,_Dot-winged Microrhopias quixensis Found: Mexico south to western Ecuador, northern Bolivia and central Brazil
Image by: 1) Dave_Curtis - Panama 2, 3) Jorge_Montejo - Mexico 4) Nick_Athanas - Ecuador
1, 2) Female 3, 4) Male
Genus Myrmotherula
Antwren,_Alagoas Myrmotherula snowi Found: east Brazil
Image by: 1) Arthur_Grosset
Antwren,_Amazonian_Streaked Myrmotherula multostriata Found: northern South America
Image by: 1) Hector_Bottai - Brazil 2) Claudio_Timm - Brazil
Antwren,_Ashy also Yungas Antwren Myrmotherula grisea Found: Bolivia
Image by: 1) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Daniel_Lane. Joe_Tobias
1) Female 2) Male
Antwren,_Band-tailed Myrmotherula urosticta Found: coastal southeast Brazil
Image by: 1, 2) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Arthur Grosset, Rafael_Alves
Antwren,_Cherrie's Myrmotherula cherriei Found: northwest Brazil, eastern Columbia, southwest Venezuela
Image by: 1, 3) Nick_Athanas - Columbia 2) Tony_Morris - Venezueal
1) Female 3, 4) Male
Antwren,_Gray Myrmotherula menetriesii Found: South America
Image by: 1) Claudio_Timm 2) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Susana_Cubas_Poclin
1) Female 2) Male
Antwren,_Guianan_Streaked Myrmotherula surinamensis Found: northeast South America
Image by: 1) Feroze_Omardeen 2, 3) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Timothy_Boucher, Daniel_Hinckley
1, 2) Female 3) Male
Antwren,_Ihering Myrmotherula iheringi Found: Bolivia, Brazil, Peru
Image by: 1, 3) Joe Tobias 2) Lars_Petersson
Antwren,_Klages's Myrmotherula klagesi Found: northern Brazil
Image by: 1) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Thiago_Laranjeiras
Antwren,_Leaden Myrmotherula assimilis Found: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Peru
Image by: 1) Thiago_Laranjeiras 2) Claudio_Timm
1) Female 2) Male
Antwren,_Long-winged Myrmotherula longipennis Found: north-central South America
Image by: 1) Philip_Stouffer - Brazil 2) Rafael_De_La_Colina 3) Angelica_Hernandez_Palma 4) Bruno_Renno
Antwren,_Moustached Myrmotherula ignota Found: Panama, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru
Image by: 1, 2) Nick_Athanas - Panama 3) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online-Trevor_Ellery - Columbia
1, 2) Male
Antwren,_Pacific Myrmotherula pacifica Found: Panama, Columbia, Ecuador
Image by: 1, 2) Nick_Athanas - Columbia 3) Aaron_Maizlish - Panama
1) Female 2, 3) Male
Antwren,_Plain-winged Myrmotherula behni Found: Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Venezuela
Image by: 1, 2) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Roger_Ahlman, Bigal River_Conservation_Project
Antwren, Pygmy Myrmotherula brachyura Found: northern South America
Image by: 1, 4) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Edward Landi, Henry_Cook 2) Hector_Bottai 3) Claudio_Timm
1) Female 2, 3, 4) Male
Antwren,_Rio_de_Janeiro Myrmotherula fluminensis Found: Brazil
Image by: 1) hbw.com
Antwren,_Salvadori's Myrmotherula minor Found: southeast Brazil
Image by: 1, 2) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Ciro_Albano 3) Nick_Athanas
Antwren,_Sclater's Myrmotherula sclateri Found: western Brazil, northern Bolivia, eastern Peru
Image by: 1) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Joao_Quental
Antwren,_Silvery-flanked Myrmotherula luctuosa Found: eastern Brazil
Image by: 1) Nick_Athanas
Antwren,_Slaty Myrmotherula schisticolor Found: Mexico south to Ecuador, Peru
Image by: 1) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Will_Sweet 2, 4) Nick_Athanas - Ecuador 3) Francesco_Veronesi
1, 2) Female 3, 4) Male
Antwren,_Star-throated Myrmotherula gularis Found: Brazil
Image by: 1, 2) Dario Sanches 3) Nick_Athanas
Antwren,_Stripe-chested Myrmotherula longicauda Found: Bolivia, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru
Image by: 1) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Roger_Ahlman 2) Francesco_Veronesi
1) Female 2) Male
Antwren, Unicolored Myrmotherula unicolor Found: southeast Brazil
Image by: 1, Marcel Holyoak 2, 3) Dario Sanches - Brazil 4) Nick_Athanas
Antwren,_White-flanked Myrmotherula axillaris Found: Central America, northern and middle South America
Image by: 1, 3) Andres_Cuervo 2, 4) Nick_Athanas
1, 2) Female 3, 4) Male
Antwren,_Yellow-throated Myrmotherula ambigua Found: northwest Brazil, easterm Columbia, southwest Venezuela
Image by: 1) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Ian_Davies
Genus Stymphalornis - 1 species
Antwren,_Parana Stymphalornis acutirostris Found: Brazilian state of Paraná
Image by: 1) Aaron_Maizlish 2) Joao_Quental
1) Female 2) Male
Genus Terenura
Antwren,_Orange-bellied Terenura sicki Found: Brazil
Image by: 1) Ciro_Albano 2) Lars_Petersson
Antwren,_Streak-capped Terenura maculata Found: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay
Image by: 1) Claudio_Timm 2) Nick_Athanas 3) Aisse_Gaertner
1) Female 2, 3) Male