Bird Species at Army Ant swarms (1 Viewer)

[the oilbird]

While doing another thread the topic of what species occasionally join army ant swarms to feed was mentioned.

Id be interested to see how things vary from place to place....what unusual, unsuspected species have been seen feeding around the swarms...

My experience of Ant Swarms is from the Pipeline Road, Soberania NP, panama.

The main species here are Bicoloured, Spotted & Ocellated Antbirds, usually joined by up to 4 species of woodcreeper, grey-headed tanager, and either keel-billed or rufous motmot.....and, if the swarm is really big, rufous-vented ground cuckoo!

Species Ive occasionally seen at swarms include cinnamon woodpecker, keel-billed toucan, bright-rumped atilia, slaty antshrike, dot-winged, white-flanked & checker-throat antwren, black-throated trogon, chestnut-backed antbird, and song wren

Then there have been one offs such as great currasow, barred-forest falcon, collared forest-falcon and double-tooth kite....even an agouti once!

So who else has seen what around army ant swarms???

 

[tomjenner]

We get a similar set of birds at ant swarms further north, especially on the Caribbean side. In the Caribbean rainforests of Honduras we mainly have the same three antbirds, plus I have seen Bare-crowned Antbird. The main woodcreepers that I can remember are Tawny-winged, Ruddy and Northern-barred. However, its a bit different on the Pacific slope in the tropical dry forests of El Salvador, where there are few antbirds and none of the species that are permanently associated with ant swarms. I have seen Ant-Tanagers and even Cley-coloured Thrushes, though antswarms seem to be far less common on the Pacific side. I guess there are a whole bunch of different species in South America, but I have never come across a good antswarm there.

Tom

 

[Motmot]

A good number of species try to share the benefits of feeding at an antswarm. Many are only occasionally found at them, others are more or less regular and a few others are almost only found with swarms. In Costa Rica, typical birds I´ve found at swarms in the caribbean and South Pacific lowlands and foothils include Ocellated, Bicoloured, Spotted and Bare-crowned Antbirds , with some Woodcreeper species also frequently found with them: Tawny-winged, Plain-brown and Northern Barred Woodcreepers. These antbird and woodcreeper species usually form the core of lowland and foothill flocks feeding with ants in deep forest, with the occasional Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo or Black-crowned Antpitta joining in well preserved areas. Usually they are aggresive and mob other species.Swarms at forest edge or semiopen are usually where you find more of the other species, most of them fairly irregularly (they are not "profesional" ant followers), The ones I´ve seen and remember now include Slaty-breasted Tinamou, Great Antshrike, Groove-billed and Smooth-billed Anis, Western Slaty Antshrike, Swainson´s Thrush, Veery, Checker-throated, Dotted-winged and White-flanked Antwrens, Chestnut-backed Antbirds, Cocoa Woodcreeper.

In the highlands (from 1000m up), flocks feeding at ant swarms are different. There are few "profesional" ant following antbirds and woodcreepers this high (ant swarms are not very common), so mobbing is not too strong and many other species can join swarms when present. The birds I´ve found at these highland ant swarms include: Clay-colored Robin, Swainson´s Thrush, Barred Forest-Falcon, Brown Jay, White-throated Robin, Orange-billed, Slaty-backed and Black-headed Nightingale-Thrushes, Immaculate Antbird, Black-banded and Ruddy Woodcreepers, Rufous and white, Rufous-breasted, Plain and Black-bellied Wrens, Grey-breasted Wood-Wren, Blue-crowned Motmot, Red-headed Barbet, Brown-billed Scythebill, Barred, Black Hooded and Russet Antshrikes, Red-crowned Ant-Tanager, Grey-headed, Summer and Cherrie´s Tanagers, Ovenbird, Slate-throated Redstarts. Many others can be found that I haven´t recorded.

Here´s an interesting study on birds feeding with army ants in the Monteverde area.