- Formicarius analis
Includes Panamanian Antthrush
Identification
18–19 cm
- Upperparts brown to rufous brown (northern end of distribution)
- Underparts grey to brown, usually a little paler than upperside
- Black face and throat
- Rear side of head rufous in northern populations becoming more ochre or buff or plain brown in the south east
- Rufous under the tail
Sexes similar
Similar species
Mayan Antthrush differs in presence of a rufous band below the black throat and absence of rufous on undertail coverts.
Distribution
Central and South America
Central America: Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama
South America: Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad, the Guianas, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia
Taxonomy
Mayan Antthrush was formerly included in this species.
Subspecies[1]
This is a polytypic species:
The hoffmanni Group
- F. a. umbrosus: Caribbean slope of Honduras to western Panama
- F. a. hoffmanni: Lowlands of south-western Costa Rica to western Panama (western Chiriquí)
- F. a. panamensis: Eastern Panama (Choclé and Darién) and adjacent north-western Colombia
- F. a. virescens: West base of Santa Marta Mountains (north-eastern Colombia)
- F. a. griseoventris: Mountains of northern Colombia and north-western Venezuela in west Maracaibo basin
The analis Group
- F. a. saturatus: Northern Colombia to north-western Venezuela; winters to Trinidad
- F. a. connectens: Eastern Colombia east of the Andes
- F. a. crissalis: Extreme eastern Venezuela to the Guianas and adjacent north-eastern Brazil
- F. a. zamorae: Eastern Ecuador to north-eastern Peru and western Brazil (north of River Solimões)
- F. a. analis: Amazonian Peru south of River Amazon to western Brazil and northern Bolivia
- F. a. paraensis: Eastern Brazil (River Tapajós to Belém and western Maranhão)
The Hoffmanni group is sometimes split as Panamanian Antthrush. See also the information in Vocalizations, below, remembering that in Antthrushes a different song normally equals a different species.
Habitat
Tropical broadleaf forest interior ground and understory.
Behaviour
Breeding
The nest is lined with leaves and built into a cavity in a hollow branch or tree stump. The clutch consists of 2 white eggs.
Diet
The diet includes ants and other insects. They can be found following columns of army ants.
Vocalisation
Differs significantly between populations:
1. Birds from Honduras south to somewhere in northern Columbia (hoffmanni group) typically have a song of one note followed by two lower notes.
2. Birds from the rest of their South American range (analis group) have a song of one note followed by seven or so notes that ascend slightly and then descend in pitch.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Gill F, D Donsker & P Rasmussen (Eds). 2021. IOC World Bird List (v11.1). doi : 10.14344/IOC.ML.11.1. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
- Wikipedia
- BirdForum Member observations
- Birdforum thread containing discussion of the vocalizations of this species
- Patten, M. A., J. van Dort, and P. F. D. Boesman (2021). Black-faced Antthrush (Formicarius analis), version 1.1. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.blfant1.01.1
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Black-faced Antthrush. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 11 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Black-faced_Antthrush
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
