Ringed Antpipit (Corythopis torquata)
Brazilian name: Estalador-do-norte
Ringed Antpipit, Cristalino, Mato Grosso, Brazil, December 2006 - click for larger image Cristalino, Mato Grosso, Brazil
December 2006

The Ringed Antpipit is distributed in the Amazon Basin where it is found on the ground in humid forest, mainly terra firme. It feeds on beetles, ants, wasps, etc. which it gleans from the undersides of leaves. It produces a bill-snapping sound as it jumps up and feeds.

Ringed Antpipit, Cristalino, Mato Grosso, Brazil, December 2006 - click for larger image Above it is dark olive-brown with a grey crown (greyer on this sub-species C. t. anthoides). It has a white throat and a broad band of black with black streaks across the breast. The belly is whitish. The legs are long and strong reflecting its terrestrial habits. Most descriptions and illustrations mention that the bill is black above and flesh-coloured below but I couldn't see any such obvious paleness on this individual's bill.
Ringed Antpipit, Cristalino, Mato Grosso, Brazil, December 2006 - click for larger image It has only recently been placed in the family of tyrannid flycatchers. Previously it was thought to be more closely related to gnateaters.
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