Orange-bellied Antwren Terenura sicki Scientific name definitions

Primarily endemic to the highland forests of northeast Brazil, where it is known from c.10 localities in the states of Alagoas and Pernambuco, the Orange-bellied (or Sick’s) Antwren has recently been found at one site in the lowlands. Like several other species confined to this tiny region, this antwren’s conservation prospects are sufficiently dire that it is currently listed as Endangered by BirdLife International, based on its small and severely fragmented range. The Orange-bellied Antwren is considered to form a superspecies with the Streak-capped Antwren (Terenura maculata) of the southern Atlantic Forest. The two species chiefly differ in males, with Terenura sicki being mostly black above in this plumage, with a white-streaked head, nape, and mantle, blackish wings (with white wingbars) and tail, and white underparts with black stripes over the breast sides.

NE Brazil in fragmented forests of E Pernambuco and E Alagoas.

Canopy and subcanopy of semi-humid upland evergreen forest, at 200–700 m (2 Roda, S. A., G. A. Pereira, and C. Albano (2011) Conservação de aves endêmicas e ameaçadas do Centro de Endemismo Pernambuco. Editora Universitária da UFPE, Recife, Brazil. Close ), occasionally below 100 m (3 Albano, C. (2013). First record of the Orange-bellied Antwren (Terenura sicki) in the lowland Atlantic Forest of Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia. 17(2): 150–151. Close ).

Loudsong a long dry rattle, calls a sharp “chip” and slightly longer, lower downslurred note; both similar to those of T. maculata.

CRITICALLY ENDANGERED. Restricted-range species: present in Atlantic Slope of Alagoas and Pernambuco EBA. Locally uncommon to fairly common. Known from only a handful of forest fragments in foothills of Alagoas and Pernambuco; total range previously estimated at a mere 120 km², but a new method of calculation puts this at 12,800 km² within which it is extremely fragmented. Global population, orignally thought to number 1000–2500 individuals, has been revised downwards to fewer than 250 mature individuals, with no more than 50 in each subpopulation BirdLife International (2017) Species factsheet: Terenura sicki. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 28/04/2017. ; assumed to be declining as result of ongoing habitat destruction. Considered fairly common at Murici, common at Engenho Coimbra (also know as Usina Serra Grande), Engenho Água Azul and Mata do Estado (3 Albano, C. (2013). First record of the Orange-bellied Antwren (Terenura sicki) in the lowland Atlantic Forest of Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia. 17(2): 150–151. Close ) and regularly recorded at Pedra Talhada, with additional records from Novo Lino (1986) and Frei Caneca. In 2009, it was recorded at Usina Trapiche in lowland Pernamubuco (3 Albano, C. (2013). First record of the Orange-bellied Antwren (Terenura sicki) in the lowland Atlantic Forest of Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia. 17(2): 150–151. Close ). Three of these areas are in theory protected: Frei Caneca Private Nature Reserve (630 ha), Murici Ecological Reserve (also known as Pedra Branca, Serra Branca and, in part, Fazenda Bananeira; IUCN Cat. Ia; 6132 ha) and Pedra Talhada Biological Reserve (IUCN Cat. Ia; 4382 ha). Protection at latter is enforced by guards, and significant areas within the reserve are being reforested with native trees; reserve at Murici, however, is privately owned, and was still being selectively logged in Jan 2000, with several new jeep paths cut through the forest to remove timber. Selective logging a major threat, since this species has been shown not to persist in degraded second-growth woodland. Clear-cutting and burning of second-growth forest is also continuing around edges of Murici Reserve, and has successively reduced extent of forest each year since 1996. True protection of this key area (the type locality) is critical for the long-term survival of this species, as well as that of other threatened endemics such as Myrmotherula snowi and the Alagoas Foliage-gleaner (Philydor novaesi), both of which are known only from the Murici Reserve. Most of Alagoas has already been deforested (estimated 2% of original forest remains), primarily for sugar-cane production. In addition to enforced protection of existing reserves, surveys to locate additional patches of ridgetop forest with populations of this and other regional endemics need to be undertaken as a matter of priority. Usina Serra Grande is another potential key reservoir for this species; as such, its protection should also be ensured. Formerly considered Endangered at the national level (4 Silveira, L. F., and F. C. Straube (2008). Aves. Pp. 378–679 in:. Close ), it is now designated Critically Endangered under Brazilian legislation (5 MMA (2014). Lista Nacional Oficial de Espécies da Fauna Ameaçadas de Extinção. Portaria No 444, de 17 de dezembro de 2014. Diário Oficial da União - Seção 1. Nº 245, quinta-feira, 18 de dezembro de 2014. Close ). Similarly, in 2016 it was uplisted from globally Endangered to Critically Endangered after a reassessment of its total population.