Star-throated Antwren

The star-throated antwren is 8.5 to 9.5 cm (3.3 to 3.7 in) long and weighs 10 to 12 g (0.35 to 0.42 oz). Adult males have a grayish forehead and rufous-brown crown, upperparts, and tail with a hidden white patch between the scapulars. Their wings are mostly rufous-brown with white at the bend and blackish brown coverts dotted with pale cinnamon. Their throat is black with white spots, their breast and belly gray, and their flanks and undertail coverts pale rufous-brown. Females have a buffy forehead, larger white throat spots than males, and no white patch between the scapulars.

The star-throated antwren is found in coastal southeastern Brazil from southeastern Bahia south into northeastern Rio Grande do Sul and inland to western Paraná. It inhabits the understorey of evergreen forest. It favors dense vegetation along streams in the lowlands and in shady ravines in the foothills. In elevation it mostly occurs between 300 and 1,550 m (1,000 and 5,100 ft) but does occur down to sea level.

The star-throated antwren's diet has not been detailed but is known to include insects and spiders. It mostly forages singly or in pairs, and sometimes joins mixed-species feeding flocks. It typically forages from the ground up to about 5 m (15 ft) above it but will feed as high as 8 m (25 ft). It actively gleans from leaves and stems by reaching from a perch and making short jumps. It also jumps from a perch to take prey from leaf litter the ground and works through tangles of fallen branches. There is one record of a pair following an army ant swarm.