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Order
Passeriformes
Family
Thamnophilidae
Genus
Dysithamnus
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Spot-crowned Antvireo Dysithamnus puncticeps Scientific name definitions

Kevin Zimmer and Morton L. Isler
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated January 1, 2003

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Originally Appeared in

HBW Alive

Introduction

The Spot-crowned Antvireo is an endemic of the Chocó region extending from central Panama south through the Pacific lowlands of Colombia and into northwestern Ecuador. It is the only antvireo with a streaked crown and pale eye, which are present in both sexes. It occurs in evergreen forest in lowlands and foothills, generally at lower elevations than the sympatric Plain Antvireo (D. mentalis). It inhabits the understory and is easiest to detect by checking through mixed flocks or listening through its song, a loud, fast, accelerating series of whistles. It feeds largely on arthropods gathered by gleaning or with short sallies. The only documented nest was a cup in a tree fork 2 m above the ground.

Field Identification

11–12 cm; 15–17 g. Male has forehead to nape dark grey, heavily dotted white; upperparts greyish-olive, concealed white interscapular patch; remiges dark greyish-olive, broadly edged buffy greyish, wing-­coverts blackish, tipped white, tail dark greyish-olive, tipped white; throat to upper belly white with dark streaks, sides olive-grey, lower underparts tinged ochraceous. Differs from D. striaticeps in having crown and nape dotted whitish rather than streaked, also streaks below paler, less distinct. Female differs from male in dark-spotted rufous crown to nape, pale buff head side, throat and central belly, ochraceous rest of underparts, thinner streaks below, less black on wing-coverts.

Systematics History

See D. stictothorax. Birds from S Panama and W Colombia described as race intensus and others from SW Colombia and W Ecuador as flemmingi on basis of darkness of plumage, but apparently intergrade broadly with each other and with other populations. Monotypic.

Subspecies

Monotypic.

Distribution

SE Costa Rica (SE Limón), Panama (Caribbean slope, also Pacific slope in extreme E Panamá Province and Darién), W Colombia (Pacific slope, and lower Cauca Valley in Antioquia) and NW Ecuador (S to Manabí).

Habitat

Understorey and mid-storey of lowland and foothill evergreen forest, to 1000 m. Replaced at higher elevations by D. mentalis throughout much of range.

Movement

Presumed resident.

Diet and Foraging

Little published. Feeds on various insects, including small grasshoppers and relatives (Orthoptera), and other arthropods, including spiders. Usually in pairs or family groups, with individuals associating closely, frequently with mixed-species flocks of other insectivores, but perhaps a less faithful flock-follower than D. striaticeps. Forages mostly in crowns and upper strata of understorey trees, 3–8 m above ground, moving deliberately through branches by short hops, with pauses to scan; appears to have preference for somewhat open foliage where it can visually examine the surroundings. Frequently hover-gleans prey from undersides of overhanging leaves; also perch-gleans from mostly live foliage, or makes short upward-directed sallies to vegetation. Occasionally noted as following army ants (Eciton burchelli) for brief periods, typically only when mixed-species flock intercepts a swarm; then usually sticks to periphery of swarm in more open understorey, 1–6 m above ground (rarely descending to 0·5 m), and sallies to glean flushed arthropods from foliage, stems and branches.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Loudsong a rapid (e.g. 28 notes, 2·7 seconds) trill, notes not countable, pitch first rising slightly, falling slightly terminally, pace constant initially, then accelerating slightly towards end. Calls include short descending “chirr”.

Breeding

Apr–Jul in Panama; nest-building noted in late Aug in Colombia (upper Anchicayá Valley). A nest in Panama was a cup suspended by rim in horizontal fork 2 m above ground; 2 eggs; both sexes incubated during day. In another Panamanian study (Canal Zone), three monitored nests were all lost to predation.

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife LC Least Concern
Not globally threatened. Not well known; considered fairly common to uncommon throughout most of its range. Range encompasses some large protected areas, examples of which are Soberanía, Darién and Chagres National Parks and Comarca Kuna Yala Indigenous Reserve, in Panama, Ensenada de Utría and Los Katíos National Parks, in Colombia, and Bilsa Biological Station, in Ecuador. No immediate threats.
Distribution of the Spot-crowned Antvireo - Range Map
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  • Year-round
  • Migration
  • Breeding
  • Non-Breeding
Distribution of the Spot-crowned Antvireo

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Spot-crowned Antvireo, Abundance map
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Data provided by eBird

Spot-crowned Antvireo

Dysithamnus puncticeps

Abundance

Relative abundance is depicted for each season along a color gradient from a light color indicating lower relative abundance to a dark color indicating a higher relative abundance. Relative abundance is the estimated average count of individuals detected by an eBirder during a 1 hour, 1 kilometer traveling checklist at the optimal time of day for each species.   Learn more about this data

Relative abundance
Year-round
0.04
0.14
0.27
Modeled area
(0 abundance)
No prediction
Learn more about predictions

eBird data from -. Estimated for .

Fink, D., T. Auer, A. Johnston, M. Strimas-Mackey, S. Ligocki, O. Robinson, W. Hochachka, L. Jaromczyk, A. Rodewald, C. Wood, I. Davies, A. Spencer. 2022. eBird Status and Trends, Data Version: 2021; Released: 2022. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. https://doi.org/10.2173/ebirdst.2021

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Recommended Citation

Zimmer, K. and M.L. Isler (2020). Spot-crowned Antvireo (Dysithamnus puncticeps), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.spcant1.01
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