Cercomacra manu, a New Species of Antbird from Southwestern Amazonia

Abstract

Cercomacra manu is a distinctive new species in the family Formicariidae. The species is distributed locally in southeastern Peru and adjacent Bolivia at elevations below 1,200 meters. C. manu is secretive and restricted largely to extensive bamboo thickets. The female is gray below; this unusual feature-along with other plumage and vocal characteristics-places C. manu within a species group that contains four other, allopatric South American taxa. We suggest that manu is closest to C. melanaria of eastern Bolivia and Mato Grosso, Brazil.