The dusky antbird or tyrannine antbird is a passerine bird in subfamily Thamnophilinae of family Thamnophilidae, the "typical antbirds". It is found from Mexico south through Central America and in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela.
Region
Central America and northern South America
Typical Environment
Occurs from southern Mexico through Central America into northern and western Amazonia, including Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, Ecuador, and Brazil. Prefers dense, tangled understory in lowland forests, forest edges, second growth, and gallery forests. Often near streams, light gaps, and vine or bamboo thickets. Typically forages 0–3 m above ground and avoids open habitats.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1200 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The dusky antbird typically moves in pairs through dense understory, often keeping to low perches and cocking its long tail. Males and females perform antiphonal duets, with tightly coordinated phrases that help maintain pair bonds and territories. It occasionally attends army-ant swarms to snatch flushed insects but is not an obligate ant follower.
Female in NW Ecuador
Temperament
solitary and territorial
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Usually seen in pairs that maintain year-round territories in dense understory. Nests are typically low, cup-shaped, and concealed in tangles or shrubs. Both sexes share incubation and nestling care. They keep to low strata and move methodically through cover rather than joining mixed-species flocks.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Pairs deliver antiphonal duets: the male gives a series of clear, whistled notes to which the female answers with sharp notes or a chatter. Calls include dry chips and rattles. The song is loud for the bird’s size and carries well through thick vegetation.
Plumage
Male is largely uniform slaty to dark gray with darker face and tail; female is warm rufous-brown above with buffy to cinnamon underparts. Both sexes lack bold wingbars and show a relatively long tail often held cocked. Overall appearance is plain but with strong sexual dimorphism.
Diet
Primarily small arthropods, including beetles, ants, spiders, cockroaches, and caterpillars. Forages by gleaning from leaves, twigs, and vine tangles, and by short sallies to capture prey. Occasionally attends army-ant swarms to take flushed insects but spends much time independently searching dense cover.
Preferred Environment
Feeds in dense understory of secondary growth, forest edges, gallery forest, and vine or bamboo thickets. Stays close to the ground, often within 0–3 m, where leaf litter, low foliage, and tangles provide abundant prey and concealment.
