Myrmotherula longipennis Pelzeln, 1869

Isler, Morton L., Chesser, R. Terry, Stryjewski, Katherine Faust & Whitney, Bret M., 2025, Systematics of three pan-Amazonian antwren lineages (Aves: Passeriformes: Thamnophilidae: Myrmotherula and Isleria), Zootaxa 5722 (1), pp. 45-78 : 53-54

Myrmotherula longipennis Pelzeln, 1869 , sensu stricto

Northern Long-winged Antwren

Includes study populations designated longipennis- E and longipennis- W in the analysis.

Diagnosis. Myrmotherula longipennis ( sensu stricto) is distinguished from M. garbei and M. paraensis by vocalizations and female plumage. Notes in Songs of M. longipennis differ structurally from those of M. garbei and M. paraensis ( Fig. 2). Notes in M. longipennis Songs decline in frequency, whereas those of M. garbei and M. paraensis rise in frequency, and notes in Series Calls of M. longipennis differ structurally from those of M. garbei and M. paraensis ( Fig. 3). In addition, the pace of M. longipennis Songs is significantly slower than the pace of Songs of M. paraensis . Plumage differences are limited to females. M. longipennis females are diagnosable primarily by having extensively white posterior underparts which in M. garbei and M. paraensis are either a color similar to the breast, or whitish tinged with brownish- or olive yellow (in some subspecies of M. paraensis ). Furthermore, M. longipennis differs from M. garbei in having upperparts brown rather than gray and from M. paraensis in having wings and tail brown rather than grayish brown or reddish brown.

Description of female plumage. Females have upperparts olive-brown to yellowish-brown (2.5Y4/3–10Y4/4); wings and tail dark brown (10YR3/3–4/4); wing edgings contrasting light reddish yellow-brown (7.5R6/6); throat and breast pale yellowish buff (2.5Y8/4–7/4); posterior underparts white; and flanks olive-gray (2.5Y5/1–5/2).

Distribution. North of the Rio Amazonas (Solimões), Brazil, and the Rio Napo, Peru and Ecuador; south of the region immediately south of the Rio Orinoco, Venezuela, and the north bank of the Rio Guaviare, Colombia, extending south of the headwaters of the Rio Guaviare along the base of the Andes.

Remarks. Compared to M. garbei and M. paraensis , males tend to have a more restricted throat patch, darker underparts, and fewer white-tipped feathers on the sides of the head. No diagnostic differences were found between subpopulations designated longipennis- E and longipennis- W. The companion molecular-based phylogeny found sequence divergence of 5.9% between M. longipennis ( sensu stricto) and both M. garbei and M. paraensis .