Photo: Hector Bottai / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
White-shouldered Antbird
Akletos melanoceps
White-shouldered Antbird (Akletos melanoceps) — Songbirds & Perching Birds of South America.
Found across 8 guides in our atlas — open any for the full checklist, photos and what's around right now.
The White-shouldered Antbird (Akletos melanoceps) is a member of the Thamnophilidae family found in South America. Adults weigh 38.5 g. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.
Conservation status
IUCN Red List (opens in a new tab)Widespread and abundant — not currently at risk.
Where it fits
- Class Aves
- Order Passeriformes
- Family Thamnophilidae Antbirds
- Genus Akletos
- Species melanoceps
Quick facts
- Weight
- 38.5 g
- Diet
- Invertebrate-eaters
- Family
- Thamnophilidae
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Habitat
- Woodland
How to identify
Similar birds
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Biology & behaviour
Diet
The White-shouldered Antbird is a invertivore — it feeds mainly on invertebrates such as insects and other small prey.
Behaviour
A bird of dense forest, it spends much of its time perched in trees and shrubs.
Migration
The White-shouldered Antbird is largely sedentary, staying within its range year-round rather than making regular long-distance migrations.
The White-shouldered Antbird (Akletos melanoceps) belongs to the Thamnophilidae family of the order Passeriformes. It is found across South America. Its distribution covers SA w Amazonia.
It is a small bird. Adults weighs around 38.5 g, with a wing length of about 8.6 cm and a tail of around 6.2 cm.
The IUCN Red List currently assesses it as Least Concern. That category covers species that remain widespread and reasonably abundant in the wild.
Its mapped global range covers an estimated 1.3 million km².
Frequently asked questions
How big is the White-shouldered Antbird?
The White-shouldered Antbird is a small bird that weighs around 38.5 g.
Where does the White-shouldered Antbird live?
The White-shouldered Antbird is found across South America with a range covering SA w Amazonia, where it favours woodland, forest and well-treed country.
What family does the White-shouldered Antbird belong to?
The White-shouldered Antbird (Akletos melanoceps) belongs to the Thamnophilidae family, in the order Passeriformes.
What does the White-shouldered Antbird eat?
The White-shouldered Antbird is a invertivore — it feeds mainly on invertebrates such as insects and other small prey.
Does the White-shouldered Antbird migrate?
The White-shouldered Antbird is largely sedentary, staying within its range year-round rather than making regular long-distance migrations.
Is the White-shouldered Antbird endangered?
The IUCN Red List currently assesses it as Least Concern That category covers species that remain widespread and reasonably abundant in the wild.
How large is the White-shouldered Antbird's range?
The White-shouldered Antbird has a mapped global range of about 1.3 million km².
Conservation
Every bird benefits from bird-safe windows, native plants, and keeping cats indoors. Small changes at home add up to real protection.
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Guides for this bird
Best Bird Feeders for Garden Songbirds
How to choose a bird feeder for garden songbirds — the feeder styles compared, the seed they prefer, where to hang it, and how to keep birds safe. A decision framework grounded in real data, with no mystery picks.
Meet the Thamnophilidae
A field guide to the Thamnophilidae family — 240 species in the Birbs encyclopedia, with the best-known members to start with.