Red-throated Ant Tanager - BirdForum Opus

Subspecies fuscicauda
Photo © by Stanley Jones
Location: Selva Verde Lodge, Sarapiqui, Heredia Province, Costa Rica, March 2006

Habia fuscicauda

Identification

18–20 cm (7-8 in)

• Dark red head
• Scarlet crown patch (generally concealed)
• Dusky upperparts
• Bright red throat
• Paler underparts
• Strong dark bill
  

Female: brownish-olive overall plumage, paler and greyer underparts, yellow throat and small pale yellow crown stripe.
Young birds are brown, lacking the throat and crown patches.

Similar Species

Female
Photo © by Cedric K.
Parque Natural Metropolitano, Panama, April 2009

Very difficult to distinguish from the Red-crowned Ant Tanager. However, this species has darker lores, and the red or yellow crown stripe lacks the black edge found on the Red-crowned Ant Tanager. Both these differences are subtle; best differentiation is voice.

Distribution

Central and South America: found from Mexico to Panama and Colombia

Taxonomy

Subspecies

Subspecies insularis
Photo © by firecrest15
Reserve Toh, Quintana Roo, Mexico, 29 April 2019

Six subspecies are recognized:^[1]

• H. f. salvini:

• South East Mexico (San Luis Potosí and Veracruz) to El Salvador

• H. f. insularis:

• Yucatán Peninsula, Meco I., Isla Mujeres and northern Guatemala

• H. f. discolor:

• Tropical Nicaragua

• H. f. fuscicauda:

• Extreme southern Nicaragua to extreme western Panama

• H. f. willisi:

• Central Panama (north-eastern Coclé and Colón to western San Blas)

• H. f. erythrolaema:

• Caribbean coast of northern Colombia

Habitat

Older second growth, forest borders and surrounding shrubby areas.

Behaviour

Breeding

They construct a cup shaped nest in the fork of a shrub or tree. Their clutch consists of 2-3 white eggs. It is thought that at times they are co-operative breeders.

Diet

Their main diet consists of insects, arthropods such as ants and caterpillars. They will also eat some fruit.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved June 2019)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Red-throated Ant Tanager. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 18 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Red-throated_Ant_Tanager

External Links

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