Red-throated ant-tanager

Habia fuscicauda

(Photo from Birders Without Borders)

Common name:
red-throated ant-tanager (en); tiê-de-garganta-vermelha (pt); habia à gorge rouge (fr); tangara hormiguera gorjirroja (es); rotkehl-ameisentangare (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Thraupidae

Range:
This species is found in Central America, from south-eastern Mexico to Panama and marginaly into northern Colombia.

Size:
These birds are 17-20 cm long. The males tend to be larger, weighing 37-47 g while the females weigh 32-40 g.

Habitat:
The red-throated ant-tanager is found in humid to semiarid, evergreen to semi-deciduous forests and forest edges. They also use swamp forests, second growths and scrublands. They are present from sea level up to an altitude of 1.200 m.

Diet:
They are omnivorous, taking insects and other small arthropods, fruits and small lizards. They are known to et the fruits of Annonaceae, Melastomataceae, Rubiaceae and Moraceae.

Breeding:
These birds breed in March-June. They are socially monogamous, with other group members sometimes helping the breeding pair defending the nest and feeding the young. The female builds the nest alone, which consists of a bulky bowl made of dead leaves, pieces of bark and palm fronds, mosses and small twings. The nest is lined with plant fibres, spider webs and rhizomorphs, and often decorated with fungus. It is placed in a vine, bamboo clump or small tree, up to 4 m above the ground. The female lays 2-4 white eggs, which she incubates alone for 12-14 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge about 10 days after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a large breeding range and the global population is estimated at 0,5-5 million individuals. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.