The Story
I photographed this Plumbeous Antbird (Myrmelastes hyperythrus) at Playa Rica Turismo Comunitario, by the Putumayo River near Puerto Asís, Putumayo, Colombia. It lives in the western Amazon Basin, reaching only about 500 meters in Colombia and 300 meters in Ecuador. It belongs to the typical antbirds, family Thamnophilidae, and is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. It forages alone, in pairs or in small family groups, mostly within about 3 meters of the ground, and its diet includes insects, other arthropods and snails. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I photographed it with a Canon R5 and the RF 800mm f/11, at 1/60 sec, f/11, ISO 6400. Playa Rica is about 20 minutes from Puerto Asís, and its trails include the walk to the Árbol que Camina, the walking tree.
©2022 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Plumbeous Antbird (Myrmelastes hyperythrus) belongs to the family Thamnophilidae (Typical Antbirds) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2024), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List