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Epinecrophylla
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Foothill Stipplethroat Epinecrophylla spodionota 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 Foothill Antwren was formerly treated as a subspecies of the Stipple-throated Antwren (Epinecrophylla haematonota), with which species there seems to be no overlap; the two appear to be elevationally parapatric. In addition, the present species appears generally darker and has a brown, not rufous, mantle and back. Its overall altitudinal range covers 500 to 1600 m, and the Foothill Antwren occurs from southern Colombia south to southern Peru, entirely on the east slope of the Andes. Almost nothing is known about the breeding biology of this species, but its feeding behavior appears to be reasonably typical of the recently erected genus Epinecrophylla.

Field Identification

10·5–11 cm; 9–10·5 g. Male has crown and upperparts dark grey, tinged brown, rump dark reddish yellow-brown; wing-coverts blackish-brown, greater coverts tipped pale buff, median and lesser coverts tipped white; flight-feathers and tail dark brown; throat black, spotted white; head side, breast and upper belly grey, lower belly, flanks and crissum reddish yellow-brown. Female is olive-brown above, rump tinged buff, wings and tail brown with wing-coverts dark brown, pinkish-buff wing-covert tips, yellow-ochre head side, throat and underparts, lower underparts browner, throat with a few thin blackish streaks and dark feather bases giving mottled appearance. Race sororia barely differs from nominate, male more olive above, with rump, flanks and crissum less reddish, throat spots may average larger, female underparts paler.

Systematics History

Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.

Closely related to E. haematonota and E. amazonica (1), and previously considered conspecific with the former. Two subspecies recognized.

Subspecies

SUBSPECIES

Epinecrophylla spodionota spodionota Scientific name definitions

Epinecrophylla spodionota spodionota
E. s. spodionota +1

Distribution

E Andean slope from S Colombia (Cauca, Caquetá) S to N Peru (Amazonas N of R Marañón).
SUBSPECIES

Epinecrophylla spodionota sororia Scientific name definitions

Epinecrophylla spodionota sororia
E. s. sororia

Distribution

E slope in Peru S of R Marañón (San Martín S to Madre de Dios).

Distribution

Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Habitat

Understorey of foothill and montane evergreen forest, from 500 m (higher in some regions) to 1600 m.

Movement

Presumed resident.

Diet and Foraging

Feeds on variety of insects, probably also spiders; in Ecuador, observed to take small cockroaches (Blattidae), lepidopteran larvae, adult moths, and a katydid (Tettigoniidae) more than 5 cm long. Closely associated pairs, individuals or family groups forage 0·5–8 m above ground (activities concentrated at 1–4 m), almost always with mixed-species flocks of insectivores. Forages almost exclusively at isolated dead leaves and dead-leaf clusters hanging or trapped above ground in understorey; also sometimes probes in tufts of moss and in shaggy, dead bark of understorey vines. Hitches rapidly along slender limbs of trees, frequently flicking the wings shallowly, and flicking the tail up or down sharply through an irregular arc, only rarely scanning live leaves, and pausing only to investigate suspended or trapped dead leaves. Probes smaller dead leaves by reaching from nearby perches; gleans from dead-leaf clusters and larger, isolated dead leaves by perching atop them or by hanging acrobatically, often after first shaking the leaf with its bill; spends anything from several seconds to 1 minute (rarely longer) in rummaging audibly in clusters and larger single leaves, inserting the bill into curls and crevices. When larger item extracted, usually hops or flies to a nearby horizontal perch and bashes it hard against branch, sometimes for up to a minute, until prey is subdued. Protracted time devoted to searching individual leaves or clusters, as well as to handling large prey, often causes this species to be left behind after the flock has moved well away.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Loudsong a trill of abrupt, sibilant notes first ascending sharply and then gradually dropping in pitch, similar in pattern to that of E. gutturalis. Calls include short, high-pitched rattle.

Breeding

Almost nothing known. Family groups, and a food-begging juvenile with adults, recorded in late Mar in E Ecuador.

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife LC Least Concern
Not globally threatened. Uncommon to fairly common throughout its range. Although it occurs only in a narrow elevational belt, this does include some protected areas, e.g. Sumaco-Galeras and Sangay National Parks, in Ecuador. In general, the lower Andean slopes to which this species is restricted are some of the areas most at risk of deforestation and cultivation by an ever-expanding human population; even relatively common species living in this zone should, therefore, be considered worthy of monitoring.
Distribution of the Foothill Antwren - Range Map
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  • Year-round
  • Migration
  • Breeding
  • Non-Breeding
Distribution of the Foothill Antwren

eBird and Macaulay Library

Recommended Citation

Zimmer, K. and M.L. Isler (2020). Foothill Stipplethroat (Epinecrophylla spodionota), 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.fooant1.01
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