White-breasted Antbird
Rhegmatorhina hoffmannsi
Striking antbird with a conspicuous white throat and breast. Males have a black cap, brown back, and gray belly, while females have a cinnamon cap and underparts scaled black-and-chestnut. Note the bare yellowish eyering in both sexes. Found in humid forest, where it forages in the understory, exclusively around army-ant swarms. The song is a descending series of whistled notes, finishing with a few harsh sharp notes.
Identification
The white-breasted antbird is 14 to 15 cm (5.5 to 5.9 in) long and weighs 28 to 34 g (0.99 to 1.2 oz). Both sexes have a crest and a pale greenish yellow ring of bare skin around the eye. Adult males have a black forehead, crown, and nape. Their upperparts, wings, and tail are olive-brown with rufous edges on the wing feathers. Their face, throat, and breast are white and the rest of their underparts olive-gray. Adult females have a similar pattern to males but with black-streaked chestnut on the crown, a rufous-chestnut nape, and buff-edged black tips on the feathers of their upperparts, wing coverts, and belly.
Taxonomy
The five members of genus Rhegmatorhina are sisters to the three species of genus Gymnopithys. The white-breasted antbird frequently hybridizes with the congeneric harlequin antbird (R. berlepschi). The white-breasted antbird is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Rhegmatorhina hoffmannsi
- Authority
- (Hellmayr, 1907)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thamnophilidae
- Genus
- Rhegmatorhina
Range and habitat
The white-breasted antbird is found in central Amazonian Brazil from the east bank of the lower Rio Madeira in Amazonas south through Rondônia into western Mato Grosso. It primarily inhabits the understorey of humid terra firme evergreen forest though it also occurs in transitional forest between it and seasonally flooded areas. Its range is entirely below 300 m (1,000 ft) of elevation.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The white-breasted antbird is believed to be a year-round resident.<p>The white-breasted antbird is an obligate ant follower that feeds on a variety of arthropods that flee foraging army ant swarms, such as those of Eciton burchelli. It typically forages individually, in pairs, and in family groups, perching within about 1 m (3 ft) of the ground and sallying or pouncing to the ground after prey. Several family groups may attend an ant swarm. It is dominant over smaller antbirds but subordinate to larger antbirds and species of other families such as woodcreepers.<p>The white-breasted antbird is believed to breed in the rainy season, perhaps beginning in December or January. Nothing else is known about the species' breeding biology.<p>The white-breasted antbird's song "begins with long, slurred whistle, followed by 6–7 shorter whistles that become more downslurred, ending with 2–4 burry notes at lower pitch"; the final notes are sometimes omitted. Its calls include a "harsh, vibrant 'chirr' [and an] abrupt 'chip' ".
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Large-tailed Antshrike
Mackenziaena leachii
Medium-sized antshrike with a rather small head, a short robust bill, and a long tail. Males are black with white spots and an entirely black tail while females are black with cinnamon spots and barring throughout. Mostly seen in pairs in the dense understory of humid forests closer to bamboo, can be active but hard to see. The song is a loud and clear series of ascending and descending notes.
Eurasian Jay
Garrulus glandarius
An inhabitant of woodland, forest, parkland, and gardens with larger trees, especially oaks. Note stout black bill, thick black mustache, and black-and-white wing pattern with a patch of blue on the shoulder. White rump usually obvious in flight. Varies significantly across wide geographic range. Typically rather shy and difficult to see well, but sometimes feeds out on open ground; often seen flying across roads. Wide vocal repertoire: typical call a dry “scaaaaak,” as well as varied warbling and hooted notes.
Chestnut-and-black Weaver
Ploceus castaneofuscus
Males have an unusual and distinctive coloration: mostly black, with a chestnut back and belly. Females are brownish-olive, with paler underparts, and a rufous tinge to the rump. Both sexes have a pale eye: yellow in males and pale-brown in females. Found in wet scrub, cultivation, and along forest edge. Usually found in flocks and bustling breeding colonies. Vocalizations are typical of weavers: “chet” notes and a sizzling, “radio static” song. Females could be confused with various other weaver species, but are usually identified by their association with the distinctive males.
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