| Plain Antvireo |
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The Plain Antvireo, ''Dysithamnus mentalis'', is a Passerine Bird in the Antbird family. It is a resident breeder in tropical Central and South America from southern Mexico south to northern Argentina , and on Trinidad and Tobago . This is a common and confiding bird of primary and second growth forest, usually found in pairs or small groups. The female lays two cinnamon-marked white eggs in a small deep cup nest in the lateral fork of a sapling. The eggs are incubated by both parents for 15 days to hatching, with a further 9 days to fledging. If the nest is approached, an incubating bird will drop to the ground and flutter weakly to distract the potential predator. It then shows a white (male) or buff (female) shoulder stripe which is not normally visible. The Plain Antvireo is typically 11.4 cm long, and weighs 13.5 g. The adult male has a slate grey head and upperparts, blackish cheeks, three narrow white wing bars, pale grey underparts and a white belly. The female has olive brown upperparts, a rufous crown, yellowish-buff underparts and weakly buff-barred rufous wings. Immature males are much like the adult male, but have brown edgings to the flight feathers, an olive rump and yellowish underparts. There are a number of subspecies of this antvireo, so the appearance is very variable throughout its range. The Plain Antvireo feeds like a Vireo on small Insect s and other Arthropod s taken from twigs and foliage in the lower branches of trees. It has a musical ''buu-bu-bu-bu-u-u-u'' song, and calls include a weak ''naaa'' and a questioning ''bu-u-u-u-u?'' REFERENCES
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