#antbird

[herpsandbirds]

Black-spotted Bare-eye (Phlegopsis nigromaculata), family Thamnophilidae, order Passeriformes, Brazil

photograph by Andres Vasquez Noboa

[birdstudies]

May 31, 2026 - Castelnau's Antshrike (Thamnophilus cryptoleucus) Found only along the upper Amazon River and its major tributaries in parts of Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, these antshrikes live in forests. Foraging alone or in pairs, they eat insects, though the details of their diet are unknown. They build deep cup-shaped nests from grass, seed heads, and vines in shrubs, saplings, or vines. Females lay clutches of two eggs.

[all-bird-creechur]

Black-spotted Bare-eye Phlegopsis nigromaculata

It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The black-spotted bare-eye is an obligate ant follower that feeds on a variety of arthropods that flee foraging army ant swarms. The black-spotted bare-eye's song is "a short series of moderately long, flat, rich whistles, each slightly lower in pitch and becoming harsher in quality"; the number of notes varies. It has been written as "zhweé, zhwu, zhwu" and "HEEEW heer heer".

image by Bradley Davis

[best-bird-tournament]

Tyrannides infraorder - round 1, section 1

Which is the best bird?

Peruvian antpitta

Chestnut-crowned gnateater

Caatinga cacholote

Ocellated tapaculo

White-breasted tapaculo

Rufous-capped antthrush

Speckle-breasted antpitta

White-plumed antbird

Ash-winged antwren

Black-cheeked gnateater

Sharpbill

Voting ended onJan 5

[daily-bird-facts]

this is the lovely but elusive East Andean antbird. it's endemic to the eastern slope of the Colombian Andes. you'd be rather hard pressed to find photos of these critters, let alone good ones - less than a hundred on eBird, and even yet, only around ten met my standards! and what's more, the better ones are all of the more conspicuous males, with their high-contrast black-and-white head feathers - females replace the white with a rusty-red, and are as such both much harder to spot and, i suspect, less interesting to birders. that last photo down there is the best photo of a female that eBird's got. yikers!!

in other news, it's an insectivore, which you might have picked up on from its hook-tipped beak; whether or not it engages in its family's namesake ant-following behavior hasn't been concretely recorded yet. it's distinguished from its local relatives by its remarkably long tail, immortalized in its scientific name Drymophila caudata. drymophila means "woods lover", while its specific name caudata means, very simply, "tail". "it likes the woods and has a tail". real groundbreaking stuff here. indeed, it keeps to the deeper parts of the woods, and its activities within remain a fairly complete mystery. at the very least, it seems to like hanging out in bamboo thickets, and doesn't mind foraging in woods where human activity's seen the trees thinned out a bit.

20 July 2026

[every-day-creechur]

Black Bushbird Neoctantes niger

It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. It favors dense undergrowth along edges, in treefalls, and along swampy streams. The black bushbird is thought to feed on insects and other arthropods.

Least Concern

image by Juan Carlos,Narváez Dobronski

[na-bird-of-the-day]

BOTD: Spotted Antbird

Photo: Carmelo López Abad

"Stunning antbird, small and boldly patterned. Rotund and short-tailed. Male has white belly with band of black spots across chest, gray head, and rufous back. Female more washed out, but similar pattern. Usually seen singly or in pairs in understory of forest, often following a mixed flock or army ant swarm. Stuttered song is a series of slightly wheezy whistles, descending in pitch."

- eBird

[wingedjewels]

Hormiguero Moteado - Spotted Antbird - (Hylophylax naevioides) by Raúl Vega Via Flickr: La Fortuna, Costa Rica