Ant thrushes

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Ant thrushes
Rust-capped ant thrush (Formicarius colma)

Rust-capped ant thrush ( Formicarius colma )

Systematics
Subclass : New-jawed birds (Neognathae)
Order : Passerines (Passeriformes)
Subordination : Screeching Birds (Tyranni)
Partial order : Screaming birds of the New World (Tyrannides)
without rank: Tracheophonic shrieking birds (Furnariida)
Family : Ant thrushes
Scientific name
Formicariidae
Gray , 1840
Stripe-breasted ant thrush ( Chamaeza campanisona )

The ant thrushes (Formicariidae) are a family in the order of the passerine birds (Passeriformes). It includes the two genera Formicarius and Chamaeza , each with six species that occur in Central and South America.

features

The plumage is mostly earth-colored. The representatives of the genus Formicarius have larger proportions of color in the plumage, while the species of the genus Chamaeza are more finely patterned and darker. The wings are of medium length. The short tail is held upright when walking. The body is medium-sized at 10 to 20 cm, egg-shaped and generally in a horizontal position. The beak of medium length is straight and strong. The medium-sized head often has a featherless eye ring. The neck is thick. The legs are long. The toes are medium to long and thick. The sexes are similar.

habitat

Ant thrushes inhabit dense, moist, tropical forests from the plains to the middle heights of the mountain regions.

Eating behavior

The diet consists mainly of invertebrates. Occasionally, snails enrich the food supply. Although the ant thrushes occasionally follow the columns of the ant soldiers, this hunting tactic is rather unusual. Individuals who use this hunting tactic generally stay near the columns. The ant thrushes usually search the leaves for food on the ground. Their long footsteps are interrupted by pauses to look for prey. Each footstep is emphasized by the synchronized lifting of the head and tail.

Reproductive behavior

Little is known about the reproductive biology of the ant thrush. You are monogamous. The parents share brood care. They build their nests in tree hollows that are not far from the ground. The nest consists of a dense platform of leaves, flower stalks, sticks, dried flowers, and occasionally even stripped snakeskin. Usually the female lays two white eggs. The young hatch after two weeks and leave the nest after another two weeks. In the genus Formicarius , the hatched chicks have dark skin and long, fluffy, gray down plumage.

Systematics

In older systematics, ant thrushes and ant pittas were placed together in the family Formicariidae. However, recent DNA studies showed that ant thrushes and ant pittas do not form a sister group, but that the ant thrushes represent a sister group of the pottery birds (Furnariidae). The clade of the ant thrushes and the potter birds forms the sister group of the clade of the ant pittas (Grallariidae) and rump wilts (Rhinocryptidae). The relationships within the Formicariidae family have not yet been adequately researched. It has been proven that the two genera Formicarius and Chamaeza form a monophyletic sister group.

Species and their distribution

  • Formicarius
    • Gray-breasted ant thrush ( Formicarius analis ). Distribution: Costa Rica, Honduras to Panama, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad, Guyana, French Guiana, Suriname, Brazil, Bolivia.
    • Mexico ant thrush ( Formicarius moniliger ). Distribution: Mexico.
    • Rust-capped ant thrush ( Formicarius colma ). Distribution: Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela, Guyana, French Guiana, Suriname, Brazil.
    • Red-breasted ant thrush ( Formicarius rufipectus ). Distribution: Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru.
    • Rust-fronted ant thrush ( Formicarius rufifrons ). Distribution: Extreme western Brazil to southeastern Peru and northwestern Bolivia.
    • Black-headed ant thrush ( Formicarius nigricapillus ). Distribution: Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and Ecuador.

Hazard and protection

The IUCN lists eleven species as "not endangered" ( least concern ). One species - the rust-forehead ant thrush ( Formicarius rufifrons ) - is on the warning list ( near threatened ) due to habitat loss and fragmentation .

literature

  • David W. Winkler, Shawn M. Billerman & Irby J. Lovette: Bird Families of the World , The CornellLab of Ornithology & Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, ​​2015. ISBN 978-84-941892-0-3 , pp. 296-297

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Krabbe, NK & Schulenberg, TS 2003. Families Formicariidae (ground antbirds) . Pp. 682-731 in J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott and D. Christie, eds. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 8. Barcelona, ​​Spain: Lynx Edicions.
  2. ↑ a b c Chesser, RT 2004. Molecular systematics of New World suboscine birds. Mol. Phylogen. Evol. 32: 11-24.
  3. ↑ a b Rice, Nathan H. (2005a): Phylogenetic relationships of antpitta genera (Passeriformes: Formicariidae). Auk 122 (2): 673-683. doi : 10.1642 / 0004-8038 (2005) 122 [0673: PROAGP] 2.0.CO; 2
  4. ↑ a b Rice, Nathan H. (2005b): Further Evidence for Paraphyly of the Formicariidae (Passeriformes). Condor 107 (4): 910-915. doi : 10.1650 / 7696.1
  5. ↑ a b c Irestedt, M., Fjeldså, J., Dalén, L. & Ericson, PGP (2009): Convergent evolution, habitat shifts and variable diversification rates in the ovenbird-woodcreeper family (Furnariidae). BMC Evolutionary Biology, 9: 268.
  6. ↑ a b c d Moyle, RG, RT Chesser, RT Brumfield, JG Tello, DJ Marchese, & J. Cracraft (2009). Phylogeny and phylogenetic classification of the antbirds, ovenbirds, woodcreepers, and allies (Aves: Passeriformes: infraorder Furnariides) . Cladistics. 25 (4): 386-405. doi : 10.1111 / j.1096-0031.2009.00259.x .
  7. ↑ a b c Ohlson, Jan; Irestedt, Martin; Ericson, Per GP; Fjeldså, Jon .: Phylogeny and classification of the New World suboscines (Aves, Passeriformes) In: Zootaxa, Vol. 3613, 2013, pp. 1–35.

Web links

Commons : Ant Thrushes  - Collection of images, videos and audio files