An otherwise gray body is finished off with beautifully placed small pearl-like spots on the shoulders.

Meet the Dull-mantled Ant Bird

The dull-mantled antbird (Sipia laemosticta) is 13–14 cm long and weighs around 24 g. The plumage of the male is blackish grey on the head, neck, upper mantle, and on the underside up to the upper belly, and reddish brown on most of the remaining upperparts and underparts. Flight feathers and rectrices (the long flight feathers of the tail) are somewhat darker, with dark reddish brown edges. The throat is black, extending onto the breast as irregular black spotting. The primary coverts are tipped cinnamon and the secondary and tertiary coverts are black with white tips on the upperwing, while the underwing coverts are all grey. As in many antbirds, there is a white patch between the shoulders; it has some black specks around it.

The iris is red, the bill black, and the feet are lead-grey.

The female is very similar to the male though slightly lighter overall. Her throat is black and has many white spots, though they don’t extend onto the breast. Her secondary coverts and sometimes the crown are tinged cinnamon.

Photo Courtesy of Francesco Veronesi / Some rights reserved

There are two subspecies currently recognized, differing little in plumage. Though the variation in appearance might be minimal the different songs argue against the species being monotypic. “Myrmeciza” laemosticta laemosticta Salvin, 1865 – Caribbean slope of E Costa Rica to Panama (on both slopes). The plumage on this species is generally darker. “Myrmeciza” laemosticta palliata Todd, 1917 – N Colombia and NW Venezuela, south to Department of Córdoba, east to Mérida and Zulia states. Includes bolivari and venezuelae. Their plumage is generally dull.

The Dull-mantled antbird’s natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forests, usually between 300-750 m ASL (Above mean sea level), but is occasionally seen almost at sea level as well as sometimes up to 1,500 m ASL. It occurs in the understory and forest floor, and particularly frequents deep damp ravines in the foothills, in slopes next to streams, and in other areas that have a densely vegetated herbaceous understory.

Photo Courtesy of ryanacandee / Some rights reserved

The diet of the Dull-mantled Antbird is composed of insects and other arthropods. The diet of the Dull-mantled Antbird is composed of insects and other arthropods.

Little is known about this bird’s breeding behavior. The only described nest was found in Colombia in March, was a simple flimsy cup placed low in a pepper plant (Piper sp.) growing on a steep gorge. The two eggs were white with cinnamon spots at the blunt end.

This bird’s population is described as of Least Concern on the IUCN red list.

Photo Courtesy of Michael Woodruff / Some rights reserved

You can watch and hear this bird right here in the video below: