Plain antvireo

Dysithamnus mentalis

Photo by Carmelo López (Internet Bird Collection)

Common name:
plain antvireo (en); choquinha-lisa (pt); batara gorgeret (fr); batarito cabecigrís (es); olivgrauer würgerling (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Thamnophilidae

Range:
This species is found in Central and South America, from southern Mexico and Guatemala to Venezuela and western Colombia, through Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia and into central, eastern and south-eastern Brazil. The plain antvireo is also found in Paraguay and extreme northern Argentina, as well as in Trinidad and Tobago.

Size:
These birds are 11-12 cm long and weigh 12,5-15 g.

Habitat:
The plain antvireo is found in both rainforests and dry savannas, and to a lesser extent in swamp forests, at altitudes of 600-2.500 m.

Diet:
They forage on the lower branches of the trees taking insects and other arthropods, namely bees, moths, ants, katydids and spiders.

Breeding:
Plain antvireos breed in February-July. The nest is a deep cup made of made of small twigs and plant fibres, placed in an horizontal fork in a sapling up to 2 m above the ground. The female lays 2 white eggs with purple-brown spots, which are incubated for about 15 days. The chicks fledge 9 days after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and a global population estimated at 500.000-5.000.000 individuals. This population is suspected to be in decline owing to ongoing habitat destruction, but it appears to tolerate some degree of habitat disturbance and human activity.