Bird Guide

Black Antbird vs Dusky Antbird

Black Antbird (Cercomacroides serva)

Black Antbird

Cercomacroides serva

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The black antbird is 13.5 to 15 cm (5.3 to 5.9 in) long and weighs 15 to 17 g (0.53 to 0.60 oz). Males are almost entirely blackish to dark gray. They have a white patch between their scapulars, a small hidden white patch under the scapulars, gray edges on their flight feathers, and white tips on their wing coverts. Females have an olive-tinged dark gray crown, upperparts, wings, and tail with a small white interscapular patch. Their wing coverts and the edges of their flight feathers have a yellowish brown tinge. Their underparts are reddish brown to reddish yellow-brown. Voice: The male black antbird sings "a series of 4–7 countable...sharp notes rising in pitch and accelerating slightly" that has been written as "wor, chur, cheh-cheh-che-che-chi-chi-chi?". Females reply with a song that is "similar but lower-pitched and often followed by 2–4 soft abrupt notes". The species' calls include "a short to moderately long (e.g.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Black Antbird
Recorded by Manuel cabrera · Song · Pacto Sumaco, Napo, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: (c) eamonccorbett, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY
Dusky Antbird (Cercomacroides tyrannina)

Dusky Antbird

Cercomacroides tyrannina

Small16 gForest

The dusky antbird is 13 to 15 cm (5.1 to 5.9 in) long and weighs 15 to 19 g (0.53 to 0.67 oz). Males of the nominate subspecies C. t. tyrannina are mostly slate gray; their wings and tail are darker and their underparts lighter. They have a white patch between their scapulars and narrow white tips on their wing coverts and outer tail feathers. Their posterior underparts have a clay-colored tinge. Females have a tawny-tinged dark olive-gray crown, upperparts, and wings. They have a very small white interscapular patch. Their wing coverts have cinnamon edges. Their tail is dark grayish brown. Voice: The dusky antbird's song varies somewhat among the subspecies. The male's is generally "a series of relatively short notes at even pitch and pace except for lower-pitched initial and terminal notes". Female's song is typically "a series of long notes rising in pitch followed by series of abrupt notes typically remaining at same pitch".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Dusky Antbird
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Song · Esmeraldas: Canandé, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: no rights reserved · CC0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Black Antbird and Dusky Antbird.