Alagoas Antwren
The Northern Einfarbameisenschlüpfer ( Myrmotherula snowi ) is a rare species of bird in the family of ant birds. It is endemic in the states of Alagoas and Pernambuco in Brazil. The specific epithet honors the British ornithologist David Snow.
Description
The Northern Einfarbameisenschlüpfer reaches a length of 9.5 centimeters. The male is completely gray. The throat is pale gray with a discreet little black spot. The female is reddish brown with a rusty-red tail. The throat is whitish, the lower reddish- tan. The Northern Einfarbameisenschlüpfer was until 1992 as a subspecies of the Southern Einfarbameisenschlüpfer ( Myrmotherula unicolor). However, since the taxa occur in different geographical areas, the Northern Einfarbameisenschlüpfer is considered a separate species since 1992. In Northern Einfarbameisenschlüpfer the tail is shorter and the beak longer than its relatives. The female of the Northern Einfarbameisenschlüpfer is also more reddish brown than the female of the Southern Einfarbameisenschlüpfer at the bottom. The song consists of a series of three to six down warped clear flute tones. His cry of alarm consists of a nyiih - nyeeh - nyaah and his contact call is a Kleek.
The life and habitat
The Northern Einfarbameisenschlüpfer inhabited in pairs or small mixed flocks (often together with the white edge ants panties ( Myrmotherula axillary ) ) are the average tree layers of the lowland rain forests on the Atlantic Ocean at altitudes of 400-550 m. When foraging it moves between 1.5 to 9 m above the ground. It feeds mainly on arachnids, beetles, ants and cockroaches. Brooding females were observed in February and young birds in May.
Status
1979 two males and two females in the Brazilian state of Alagoas in Murici were collected for the first time. In 1984, added another juvenile male. During the 1990s and in 2000, the researchers always observed only a very small number of individuals. In recent years copies have been discovered at Mata do Estado and free Caneca in the state of Pernambuco. In the 1970s the forest at Murici had an area of 70 km ². Until 1999, the area had shrunk to 30 km ². The forest is now highly fragmented and had to give sugar cane plantations and pasture. There are also bush fires that threaten the few forest fragments. To protect the Northern Einfarbameisenschlüpfer a private nature reserve planted with a forest area of 6 km ² was at Frei Caneca. BirdLife International estimates the total population of the species at between 50 and 250 copies.