Family Polioptilidae
Tawny-faced Gnatwren
Microbates cinereiventris
In Spanish: Soterillo Caricafé
- Resident
Tiny, rusty-faced, wren-like bird of the Caribbean slope understory
The Tawny-faced Gnatwren (Soterillo Caricafé) is a tiny bird, about 9 to 11 cm long, that lives low in the humid forest of Costa Rica's Caribbean slope. Birds of the World calls it unmistakable, though it rarely sits still long enough to prove the point.
It is easy to overlook because it is quiet and stays in dense growth. Listening for its calls, and for the mixed flocks it joins, is the best way in. On trips we build, Braulio Carrillo National Park is where guests look for it.
How to find it
Look low in the understory and listen for its calls in forest, since they often point to a mixed flock moving through with birds such as Tawny-crowned Greenlet and Yellow-margined Flycatcher. Tour groups find it at Braulio Carrillo, where it flutters low along trails. It is common to fairly common over most of its range, but on some trips only part of a group has seen it well.
How to recognise it
A tiny bird, about 9 to 11 cm long, with a rusty face, a brown back and gray underparts. The throat is white with a bold black stripe on each side, and fine dark streaks on the upper breast form a partial collar, which explains its other English name, Half-collared Gnatwren. It looks wren-like, with a very short tail and a fairly long, slender bill that is orange. The tail is rarely still and is often flicked about.
What it sounds like
Recording: Ryan F. Mandelbaum, CC BY 4.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.
Behaviour and diet
It hops through undergrowth near the ground, searching foliage and leaf litter for ants and other insects, plus some spiders. It is usually found in pairs or small groups. It often joins mixed-species flocks of foraging birds, though it rarely follows army ant swarms. Harsh, nasal scolding notes sometimes come before the song.
Where it lives
It lives in the lower levels of humid forest, both wet primary and secondary growth, in the lowlands and foothills, mostly below about 750 m elevation across its range. In Costa Rica it is found on the Caribbean slope, part of a range that runs from southeastern Nicaragua into Panama. Quebrada Gonzalez in Braulio Carrillo, at about 500 m, still has it.
When to see it
Nesting has been recorded in April in Costa Rica, though breeding information for the species is sparse.
Similar birds
The Trilling (formerly Long-billed) Gnatwren is the other small, long-billed gnatwren on the Caribbean slope. It is plainer grey-brown above with a buff underside, rufous only on the sides of the head, and a trilled call.
Names and lore in Costa Rica
The Spanish name used in Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia is Soterillo Caricafé. The genus name Microbates means 'small walker' in Greek, and cinereiventris means 'ash-colored belly' in Latin, a nod to the gray underparts.
Status and conservation
Listed as resident (R) on the AOCR list, and rated Least Concern by the IUCN.
Photography tips
It is hard to photograph. One birder at Quebrada Gonzalez found it hyperactive and it would not stop for a photo, and on a Braulio Carrillo tour a pair usually showed only as small flitting shapes in the undergrowth. Following a mixed flock and watching low along trails gives the best chance.
How we know this 19 sources, each read on the date shown
- Wikipedia read 2026-11-04
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tawny-faced_gnatwren - Cornell Birds of the World read 2026-11-04
https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/tafgna1/cur/introduction - STRI Research Portal (Panama) read 2026-11-04
https://panamabiota.org/stri/taxa/index.php?taxauthid=1&taxon=3302&clid=23 - Birds Colombia (quoting Birds of the World) read 2026-11-04
https://birdscolombia.com/2020/06/11/curruca-rubicunda-half-collared-gnatwren-microbates-cinereiventris/ - Aves Ibericas, Aves observadas en Costa Rica read 2026-11-04
https://www.avesibericas.es/costaricaaves8.htm - Wikipedia read 2026-11-04
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trilling_gnatwren - Birding Craft read 2026-11-04
https://birdingcraft.com/wordpress/2014/10/24/a-few-hours-birding-at-quebrada-gonzalez-costa-rica/ - Field Guides trip list 2017 read 2026-11-04
https://fieldguides.com/triplists/cos17.html - Field Guides trip list read 2026-11-04
http://fieldguides.com/triplists/cos12.html - Birding Craft read 2026-11-04
https://birdingcraft.com/wordpress/tag/great-curassow/ - Birding Craft read 2026-11-04
http://birdingcraft.com/wordpress/2008/08/31/my-favorite-rain-forest-in-costa-rica/ - Field Guides Classic Costa Rica itinerary read 2026-11-04
https://fieldguides.com/itineraries/cos26-ITIN.pdf - Mark Pretti Nature Tours read 2026-11-04
https://www.markprettinaturetours.com/costa-rica-ii - Birding Craft read 2026-11-04
https://birdingcraft.com/wordpress/category/caribbean-foothills/ - Animalia.bio (from Spanish Wikipedia) read 2026-11-04
https://animalia.bio/es/tawny-faced-gnatwren - Birdfinders trip report read 2026-11-04
https://www.birdfinders.co.uk/news/costa-rica-2005.html - Birding the Americas trip report repository read 2026-11-04
https://maybank.tripod.com/CentralAmerica/CostaRica/CostaRica-09-99.htm - Scientificlib (from Wikipedia) read 2026-11-04
https://www.scientificlib.com/en/Biology/Animalia/Chordata/Aves/MicrobatesCinereiventris01.html - Rockjumper trip report 2017 read 2026-11-04
https://app.rockjumperbirding.com/sites/rockjumper/attachments/9/Trip%20Report%20-%20RBL%20Costa%20Rica%20-%20Cloud%20Forest%20&%20Quetzals%20and%20Ext%202017.pdf