Justification This species is considered Critically Endangered as it is restricted to four known sites, where habitat is extremely limited, severely fragmented and rapidly declining in quality, extent and area. Urgent conservation action is required if it is to survive.

Family/Sub-family Thamnophilidae

Species name author Teixeira & Gonzaga, 1985

Taxonomic source(s) SACC (2005 + updates)

Taxonomic note Myrmotherula unicolor (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) has been split into M. unicolor and M. snowi following SACC (2005). Note that snowi was described as a new subspecies of M. unicolor by Teixeira and Gonzaga (1985).

Identification 9.5 cm. Small, uniform antwren. Male entirely grey, slightly paler below with inconspicuous small black patch on throat. Female entirely fulvous-brown above, russet tail. Rufous-buff underparts with white throat. Similar spp. Very similar to Unicoloured Antwren M. unicolor, but not sympatric and has shorter tail and longer bill, and female is more rufescent below. Voice Song is series of 3-6 downslurred, clear-whistled syllables. A kleek contact call and nyiih-nyeeh-nyaah alarm call have been described.

Population estimate

Population trend

Range estimate (breeding/resident)

Country endemic?

50-249

decreasing

41 km²

Yes

Important Bird Areas Click here to view map showing IBAs where species is recorded and triggers any of the IBA criteria.

Ecology: It forages in pairs and small mixed-species flocks in the middle strata of upland semi-humid forest at 400-550 m⁹. Birds range from 1.5-9 m above ground, keeping mostly at 5-8 m ⁵. Foraging flocks reportedly include White-flanked Antwren M. axillaris and a variety of other formicariids, though observers at Mata do Estado failed to locate it in mixed flocks⁹. The diet consists of arthropods, including spiders, beetles, ants and cockroaches. Breeding probably occurs in February, and juveniles have been recorded in May.

Threats Forest at Murici has been reduced from 70 km² in the 1970s to 30 km² of highly disturbed and fragmented habitat in 1999², largely as a result of logging and conversion to sugarcane plantations and pastureland. In January 1999, new logging roads were evident and such forest fragments are severely threatened by fires spreading from adjacent plantations^2,6. The Frei Caneca private reserve and BirdLife/SAVE Brasil area are also still suffering from illegal charcoal exploitation¹⁰. The massive clearance of Atlantic forest in Alagoas and Pernambuco has left few other sites likely to support populations of this species. Having a montane distribution that is close to the maximum altitude within its range, this species is also potentially susceptible to climate change¹³.

Conservation measures underway The efforts of conservationists resulted in the creation of the Murici Ecological Station in 2001, encompassing 6,116 ha. National and international efforts to ensure the effectiveness of this designation are ongoing². Frei Caneca is a private reserve protecting c.6 km² of forest⁸; an additional 360 ha of adjacent forest have been purchased by Birdlife/SAVE Brazil¹⁰.

Conservation measures proposed Survey other remnant patches of upland Atlantic forest in Alagoas (such as Usina Serra Grande) and Pernambuco, especially the BirdLife/SAVE Brasil forest, for this species. Ensure the de facto protection of Murici Ecological Station. Secure the long-term protected status and conservation of Mata do Estado. Investigate the expansion of Frei Caneca Private Reserve and BirdLife/SAVE Brazil forest area to include adjacent forest. Provide management infrastructure for the area purchased at Serra do Urubu. Implement environmental education programmes at Serra do Urubu and Murici Ecological Station. Conduct research into the species's ecology and breeding biology.

References Collar et al. (1992). 2. J. M. Goerck in litt. (1999, 2000). 3. Teixeira and Gonzaga (1985). 4. Whitney and Pacheco (1995). 5. Whitney and Pacheco (1997). 6. A. Whittaker in litt. (1999). 7. F. Olmos in litt. (2002). 8. Anon(2003). 9. Roda et al. (2003). 10. P. Develey in litt. (2007). 11. Roda in litt. (2007). 12. P. Develey in litt. (2009). 13. BirdLife International (unpublished data).

Further web sources of information

Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE) species/site profile. This species has been identified as an AZE trigger due to its IUCN Red List status and limited range.

Fully detailed species account from the Threatened birds of the Americas: the BirdLife International Red Data Book (BirdLife International 1992). Please note, taxonomic treatment and IUCN Red List category may have changed since publication.

Recuento detallado de la especie tomado del libro Aves Amenazadas de las Americas, Libro Rojo de BirdLife International (BirdLife International 1992). Nota: la taxonomoía y la categoría de la Lista Roja de la UICN pudo haber cambiado desde esta publicación.

Text account compilers Jeremy Bird (BirdLife International), Rob Calvert (BirdLife International), David Capper (BirdLife International), Simon Mahood (BirdLife International), Rob Pople (BirdLife International - European Division), Andy Symes (BirdLife International)

Contributors Pedro Develey (SAVE Brasil), J. M. Goerck (SAVE Brasil), Fabio Olmos, Sonia Roda, A Whittaker

IUCN Red List evaluators Stuart Butchart (BirdLife International), Rob Calvert (BirdLife International), Andy Symes (BirdLife International)

Recommended citation BirdLife International (2010) Species factsheet: Myrmotherula snowi. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 30/7/2010

This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.

To provide new information to update this factsheet or to correct any errors, please email BirdLife

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