Rufous-breasted antthrush

Species of bird

Rufous-breasted antthrush
From Cordillera del Cóndor, Ecuador
Conservation status

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Formicariidae
Genus: Formicarius
Species:
F. rufipectus
Binomial name
Formicarius rufipectus
Salvin, 1866

The rufous-breasted antthrush (Formicarius rufipectus) is a species of bird in the family Formicariidae. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.[2]

Taxonomy and systematics

The rufous-breasted antthrush has these four subspecies:[2]

  • F. r. rufipectus Salvin, 1866
  • F. r. carrikeri Chapman, 1912
  • F. r. lasallei Aveledo & Ginés, 1952
  • F. r. thoracicus Taczanowski & Berlepsch, 1885

Description

The rufous-breasted antthrush is 18 to 19 cm (7.1 to 7.5 in) long. Males weigh 70 to 78 g (2.5 to 2.8 oz) and females 65 to 82 g (2.3 to 2.9 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies F. r. rufipectus have a dark chestnut crown, nape, and sides of their neck. Their face and throat are blackish with a bluish white ring of bare skin around their eye. Their back and wings are dark brown, their rump and uppertail coverts dark rufescent brown, and their tail blackish. Their flight feathers have dusky inner edges and a wide cinnamon band at the base. Their breast is rufous-chestnut, their belly pale rufous, their flanks olive-brown, and their vent area dark chestnut. They have a brown or reddish brown iris, a black bill, and dusky brown or dark gray legs and feet. Subspecies F. r. carrikeri has a dusky forecrown and more slaty upperparts and paler underparts than the nominate. F. r. lasallei has a black crown and less red on the head than the nominate. F. r. thoracicus has a black crown, less red on the head than lasallei, and a more olive (less rufous) belly than the nominate.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9]

Distribution and habitat

The rufous-breasted antthrush has a disjunct distribution. The subspecies are found thus:[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

  • F. r. rufipectus: Caribbean slope of Costa Rica from southern Guanacaste Province south on the Caribbean and Pacific slopes of Panama to Veraguas Province; separately in eastern Panama's Darién Province
  • F. r. carrikeri: Colombia's Western and Central Andes and south through western Ecuador as far as El Oro and western Loja provinces
  • F. r. lasallei: Venezuela, separately in the Sierra de Perijá in the northwest and in further south in far western Táchira
  • F. r. thoracicus: eastern Ecuador south to Peru's Department of Cuzco

The rufous-breasted antthrush inhabits inhabits humid to wet primary forest and mature secondary forest. It favors ravines, regrown landslide scars, steep slopes, and other areas that have dense undergrowth. In elevation it occurs between 800 and 1,800 m (2,600 and 5,900 ft) in Costa Rica, between 1,200 and 2,400 m (3,900 and 7,900 ft) in Colombia, mostly between 1,100 and 2,000 m (3,600 and 6,600 ft) in Ecuador, between 1,100 and 1,850 m (3,600 and 6,100 ft) in Peru, and between 1,100 and 2,200 m (3,600 and 7,200 ft) in Venezuela.[3][5][6][7][8][9][10]

Behavior

Movement

The rufous-breasted antthrush is a year-round resident throughout its range.[10]

Feeding

The rufous-breasted antthrush's diet and foraging behavior are not known. It is almost entirely terrestrial. It walks slowly and deliberately with its tail cocked like a little rail. It has been seen once at an army ant swarm but not seen at many others in its habitat.[3]

Breeding

The rufous-breasted antthrush's breeding season has not been detailed but includes June in Colombia and October in Ecuador. Nothing else is known about the species' breeding biology.[3]

Dickcissel male perched on a metal pole singing, with neck stretched and beak open.

Songs and calls
Listen to the rufous-breasted antthrush on xeno-canto

Vocalization

The rufous-breasted antthrush's song varies somewhat among the subspecies. It is "two clear whistles at 1·8–2 kHz, 'toot-toot', second note sometimes slightly higher-pitched in rufipectus, usually so in carrikeri.[3] The species' call is "a double-noted chirp"[3] written by one author as "TU'TCHOOP"[8].

Status

The IUCN has assessed the rufous-breasted antthrush as being of Least Concern. It has a large range; its estimated population of at least 500,000 mature individuals is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified.[1] It is considered very local throughout its range[3] and fairly common in Costa Rica, Colombia, and Venezuela and rare to uncommon in Peru[5][6][8][9]. It occurs in several protected areas.[3]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Formicarius rufipectus.
  1. ^ a b BirdLife International (2020). "Rufous-breasted Antthrush Formicarius rufipectus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T22703209A138233466. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22703209A138233466.en. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  2. ^ a b Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (August 2024). "Antthrushes, antpittas, gnateaters, tapaculos, crescentchests". IOC World Bird List. v 14.2. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Krabbe, N. and T. S. Schulenberg (2020). Rufous-breasted Antthrush (Formicarius rufipectus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.rubant1.01 retrieved August 26, 2024
  4. ^ a b vanPerlo, Ber (2006). Birds of Mexico and Central America. Princeton Illustrated Checklists. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. pp. Plate 61, map 61.15. ISBN 0691120706.
  5. ^ a b c d Garrigues, Richard; Dean, Robert (2007). The Birds of Costa Rica. Ithaca: Zona Tropical/Comstock/Cornell University Press. pp. 186–187. ISBN 978-0-8014-7373-9.
  6. ^ a b c d McMullan, Miles; Donegan, Thomas M.; Quevedo, Alonso (2010). Field Guide to the Birds of Colombia. Bogotá: Fundación ProAves. p. 141. ISBN 978-0-9827615-0-2.
  7. ^ a b c Ridgely, Robert S.; Greenfield, Paul J. (2001). The Birds of Ecuador: Field Guide. Vol. II. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. p. 434. ISBN 978-0-8014-8721-7.
  8. ^ a b c d e Schulenberg, T.S., D.F. Stotz, D.F. Lane, J.P. O’Neill, and T.A. Parker III. 2010. Birds of Peru. Revised and updated edition. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. Plate 176
  9. ^ a b c d Hilty, Steven L. (2003). Birds of Venezuela (second ed.). Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press. pp. Plate 42.
  10. ^ a b c Check-list of North American Birds (7th ed.). Washington, D.C.: American Ornithologists' Union. 1998. p. 370.
Taxon identifiers
Formicarius rufipectus