Chestnut-crested Antbird
Rhegmatorhina cristata
Striking, medium-sized antbird, brown above and rich chestnut below, with a black face and broad white bare eye-ring. Females have thin black bars above. Inhabits the understory of humid forest, where it is always found foraging at army-ant swarms. The song is a series of ascending whistles that finishes with harsh descending notes.
Identification
The chestnut-crested antbird is 14 to 15 cm (5.5 to 5.9 in) long. Both sexes have a pale bluish white ring of bare skin around the eye. Adult males have a rufous-chestnut crown, crest, and nape. Their forehead, lores, face, and throat are black. Their upperparts, wings, and tail are dark olive-brown with rufous edges on the wing feathers. Their breast is rufous-chestnut that becomes dark olive-brown on their belly. Adult females are like males with the addition of short black bars on their back feathers and lesser coverts.
Taxonomy
The chestnut-crested antbird was described by the Austrian ornithologist August von Pelzeln in 1868 and given the binomial name Pithys cristata. The five members of genus Rhegmatorhina are sisters to the three species of genus Gymnopithys. The chestnut-crested antbird is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Rhegmatorhina cristata
- Authority
- (Pelzeln, 1868)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thamnophilidae
- Genus
- Rhegmatorhina
Range and habitat
The chestnut-crested antbird is found from eastern Caquetá Department in Colombia east into western Brazil generally between the Vaupés, Negro, and Japurá rivers. It primarily inhabits the understorey of humid terra firme evergreen forest, especially that growing on sandy soils. Its range is entirely below 350 m (1,100 ft) of elevation.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The chestnut-crested antbird is believed to be a year-round resident.<p>The chestnut-crested 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 chestnut-crested antbird's breeding season appears to include May to at least July. Nothing else is known about the species' breeding biology.<p>The chestnut-crested antbird's song is a "slow, slightly accelerating series of 8-10 fluted notes, the 1st slightly lower, the following higher and drawn out, then calmly descending". Its calls include a "harsh, vibrant 'chirr' [and an] abrupt 'chip' ".
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Inconspicuous and uncommon woodpecker of coniferous forests, particularly spruces, often at high elevations (especially in the Rockies). Prefers recently burned areas or bogs with many dead trees. Distinctive habit of flaking bark off trees in search of grubs; behavior shared only by Black-backed Woodpecker. Generally dark with barred flanks and subtle white spots on wings and back. Face is black with white stripes above and below the eye and white speckles on the forehead. Eastern birds darker than western birds. Males show yellow patch on crown; sexes otherwise alike. Most similar to Black-backed Woodpecker but American Three-toed always shows some white on back and more white on head. Listen for soft, hollow "pweek" call and slow drumming that fades at the end.
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