Red-throated Ant-Tanager
Encyclopedia
The Red-throated Ant-tanager, Habia fuscicauda, is a medium-sized passerine
bird
. This species
is a resident breeder on the Caribbean
slopes from southeastern Mexico
to eastern Panama
. It was usually considered an aberrant kind of tanager
and placed in the Thraupidae, but is actually closer to the cardinals (Cardinalidae). Consequently, it can be argued that referring to the members of this genus as Ant-tanagers is misleading, but no other common name
has gained usage.
Red-throated Ant-tanager are 19 cm long and weigh 40 g. Adult males are dull dusky red, somewhat paler below, and with a bright red throat and central crown. The female is brownish olive, paler and greyer below, and with a yellow throat and small dull yellow crown stripe. Young birds are brown and lack the throat and crown patches.
Both sexes of this species are duller and darker than the related Red-crowned Ant-tanager
which occurs on the Pacific slope in its Central America
n range.
It occurs in thick undergrowth at the edge of forest, second growth or abandoned plantations at altitudes from sea level to 600 m. The large but untidy cup nest is usually built 1–3 m high in the fork of a shrub or tree, and is often decorated with living fern
s. The normal clutch is two or three white eggs laid from April to June.
These birds are found in pairs or small groups. They eat insect
s, arthropod
s and fruit like those of Cymbopetalum mayanum (Annonaceae
), and less often Trophis racemosa (Moraceae
), and will follow army ant
columns especially in lowlands where antbird
s are uncommon. The flock will give a defensive spread-wing-and-tail display to deter potential predators.
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
. This species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
is a resident breeder on the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
slopes from southeastern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
to eastern Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
. It was usually considered an aberrant kind of tanager
Tanager
The tanagers comprise the bird family Thraupidae, in the order Passeriformes. The family has an American distribution.There were traditionally about 240 species of tanagers, but the taxonomic treatment of this family's members is currently in a state of flux...
and placed in the Thraupidae, but is actually closer to the cardinals (Cardinalidae). Consequently, it can be argued that referring to the members of this genus as Ant-tanagers is misleading, but no other common name
Common name
A common name of a taxon or organism is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism...
has gained usage.
Red-throated Ant-tanager are 19 cm long and weigh 40 g. Adult males are dull dusky red, somewhat paler below, and with a bright red throat and central crown. The female is brownish olive, paler and greyer below, and with a yellow throat and small dull yellow crown stripe. Young birds are brown and lack the throat and crown patches.
Both sexes of this species are duller and darker than the related Red-crowned Ant-tanager
Red-crowned Ant-Tanager
The Red-crowned Ant-Tanager, Habia rubica, is a medium-sized passerine bird from tropical America. The genus Habia was long placed with the tanagers , but it is actually closer to the cardinals...
which occurs on the Pacific slope in its Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
n range.
It occurs in thick undergrowth at the edge of forest, second growth or abandoned plantations at altitudes from sea level to 600 m. The large but untidy cup nest is usually built 1–3 m high in the fork of a shrub or tree, and is often decorated with living fern
Fern
A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...
s. The normal clutch is two or three white eggs laid from April to June.
These birds are found in pairs or small groups. They eat insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s, arthropod
Arthropod
An arthropod is an invertebrate animal having an exoskeleton , a segmented body, and jointed appendages. Arthropods are members of the phylum Arthropoda , and include the insects, arachnids, crustaceans, and others...
s and fruit like those of Cymbopetalum mayanum (Annonaceae
Annonaceae
Annonaceae, also called the custard apple familyis a family of flowering plants consisting of trees, shrubs or rarely lianas.With about 2300 to 2500 species and more than 130 genera,...
), and less often Trophis racemosa (Moraceae
Moraceae
Moraceae — often called the mulberry family or fig family — are a family of flowering plants comprising about 40 genera and over 1000 species. Most are widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, less so in temperate climates...
), and will follow army ant
Army ant
The name army ant is applied to over 200 ant species, in different lineages, due to their aggressive predatory foraging groups, known as "raids", in which huge numbers of ants forage simultaneously over a certain area, attacking prey en masse.Another shared feature is that, unlike most ant...
columns especially in lowlands where antbird
Antbird
The antbirds are a large family, Thamnophilidae, of passerine birds found across subtropical and tropical Central and South America, from Mexico to Argentina. There are more than 200 species, known variously as antshrikes, antwrens, antvireos, fire-eyes, bare-eyes and bushbirds...
s are uncommon. The flock will give a defensive spread-wing-and-tail display to deter potential predators.