Designed by Paul Smith 2006. This website is copyrighted by law.
Material contained herewith may not be used without the prior written permission of FAUNA Paraguay.
Material on this page was provided by Paul Smith, Hugo del Castillo and Alberto Madroño and is used with their permission.
BLACK-BELLIED ANTWREN Formicivora melanogaster
A rarely-observed skulking inhabitant of spiny Chaco woodlands, the male in the photos was the first individual of the species recorded in Paraguay. Since then it has been found in several localities in the northern part of the dry Chaco, a remote region where birders are few and far between. This is a sexually-dimorphic species and the Chaco equivalent of the cerrado region´s Rusty-backed Antwren.
Click on the images to enlarge them.

Click here to download Madroño, Abelaira y Jimenez de Miguel 1994 - Formicivora melanogaster una especie nueva para el Paraguay - Notulas Faunisticas Serie 1 Numero 65 which documented the occurrence of his species in Paraguay. Note however the locality error in the text! The locality given here for these images is the correct one!!
FIGURE 1 - (FPAVE1254PH) Adult male, Cerro León, Departamento Boquerón (Paul Smith September 2010).
FIGURE 2 - (FPAVE1255PH) Adult male, Cerro León, Departamento Boquerón (Alberto Madroño July 1990).
FIGURE 3 - (FPAVE1256PH) Same individual as (FPAVE1255PH) upperwing (Alberto Madroño July 1990).
FIGURE 4 - (FPAVE2826PH) Adult male dorsal, Madrejón, Departamento Boquerón (Hugo del Castillo September 2011).
FIGURE 5 - (FPAVE2827PH) Adult female ventral, Madrejón, Departamento Boquerón (Hugo del Castillo September 2011).
FIGURE 6 - (FPAVE2828PH) Adult female ventral, Madrejón, Departamento Boquerón (Paul Smith September 2011).
VIDEO - (FPAVE1257VI) Adult male, Cerro León, Departamento Boquerón (Paul Smith September 2010).
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