Spotted antbird

Hylophylax naevioides

Photo by Paul Jones (Surfbirds)

Common name:
spotted antbird (en); guarda-floresta-maculado (pt); fourmilier grivelé (fr); hormiguero moteado (es); rotmantel-ameisenwächter (de)


Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Thamnophilidae


Range:
This species is found in the Caribbean slopes of Honduras, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, in Panama, north-western Colombia and western Ecuador.


Size:
These birds are 11-12 cm long and weigh 16-19,5 g.


Habitat:
Spotted antbirds are found in lowland rainforests, from sea level up to an altitude of 900 m.


Diet:
They follow army ant swarms, taking the animals that try to escape the swarm. They are known to eat small spiders, scorpions, cockroaches, katydids, crickets, centipedes, sowbugs, moths, beetles, caterpillars, ants, bristletails and even small lizards and frogs.


Breeding:
The spotted antbird breeds in March-October. Both sexes build the nest, an open cup made of fungal rhizomorphs, leaves and small sticks, placed in open undergrowth, up to 2 m above the ground. There the female lays 2 white eggs with reddish-brown spots, which are incubated by both parents for 16-20 days. The chicks are raised by both parents and fledge 11 days after hatching.


Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a large breeding range and is described as fairly common. This population is suspected to be in decline owing to ongoing habitat destruction.