Plain Antvireo (Dysithamnus mentalis)

Identification & Behavior: ~11.5 cm (4.5 in). The male Plain Antvireo is gray with a yellowish lower belly. It has narrow white wing bars. The female is mostly olive-brown with narrow brown wing bars. It has a rufous crown and a narrow whitish eye-ring. Both sexes have a relatively short tail. It forages in the mid-story of humid montane forests and also in semi-deciduous forest. It somewhat resembles a female Foothill Stiplethroat but is distinguished by a chunkier body and shorter tail.

Status: The Plain Antvireo is fairly common in humid montane forests of the east slope of the Andes at elevations ranging between 700-2100 m. It also occurs in the humid and semi-deciduous forest of extreme northwest Peru, in Tumbes, at elevations ranging between 300-900 m. It also occurs in Co, Ec, Br, and Bo.

Name in Spanish: Batarito de Cabeza Gris.

Sub-species: Plain Antvireo (Dysithamnus mentalis aequatorialis), Todd, 1916.  Pacific slope in W Ecuador and extreme NW Peru (Tumbes).
(Dysithamnus mentalis napensis), Chapman, 1925.  extreme S Colombia (E slope of Andes in Putumayo) S to extreme N Peru (N Amazonas).
(Dysithamnus mentalis tambillanus), Taczanowski, 1884. E slope in N & C Peru (E Piura, S Amazonas and SW Loreto S to Huánuco and & W Ucayali).
(Dysithamnus mentalis olivaceus), (Tschudi), 1844.  E slope in C Peru (Pasco S to Cuzco and W Madre de Dios).
(Dysithamnus mentalis tavarae), J. T. Zimmer, 1932. SE Madre de Dios S to C Bolivia (S La Paz, S Beni, Cochabamba, SW Santa Cruz).

Meaning of Name: Dysithamnus: Gr. Duo= to plunge and thamnos= bush. mentalis: L. mentum= chin, mentalis= pertaining to the chin.

See more of the Family Thamnophilidae