Northern Chestnut-tailed Antbird

Sciaphylax castanea

Least ConcernRareInvertebratesForestSmall · 16 g

About the Northern Chestnut-tailed Antbird

The northern chestnut-tailed antbird, or Zimmer's antbird, is a species of bird in subfamily Thamnophilinae of family Thamnophilidae, the "typical antbirds". It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

ID tip

The northern chestnut-tailed antbird is 11 to 12 cm (4.3 to 4.7 in) long and weighs 16 to 17 g (0.56 to 0.60 oz). Males of the nominate subspecies have a mostly gray head with black centers to the feathers. Their hindcrown, nape, and upper mantle are a browner gray. The rest of their upperparts, their tail, and their flight feathers are dark yellowish red-brown. They have a white patch between the scapulars with black spots near the tips of the feathers. Their wing coverts are black with large white to buff-white tips. Voice: The northern chestnut-tailed antbird's song is "a slow but accelerating, rising series of loud whistled notes TEW TEW-tew-tu'ti'ti'ti'ter'tu" whose last note or two are occasionally at a lower pitch. Its calls are "a quiet, descending, throaty churred rattle" and "a dry tchit or tchit-it, often in a short series".

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

What the Northern Chestnut-tailed Antbird sounds like

Recording: Niels Krabbe · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto
Recording: Niels Krabbe · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto
Recording: Niels Krabbe · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

Where it lives

Regular rangeRare visitor

Recorded as a rare visitor in Colombia.

When to see it

Peak activity in October · a resident species across most of its range

Easily confused with

Learn the Northern Chestnut-tailed Antbird for real

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