The rufous-breasted antthrush is a species of bird in the family Formicariidae. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.
Region
Central America and northern Andes
Typical Environment
Occurs from southern Central America through the Andean foothills of northern South America. It inhabits primary and mature secondary evergreen forests, favoring dense understory, thickets, and areas with abundant leaf litter. Often found along ravines, near streams, and on shaded slopes where it forages quietly on the ground. The species is patchily distributed but can be locally fairly common where suitable habitat persists.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1800 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
A secretive ground-dweller of humid forests, the rufous-breasted antthrush is most often detected by its ventriloquial, fluty song rather than seen. It walks or runs on the forest floor, flushing only for short, low flights when disturbed. Like many ant-followers, it forages in the leaf litter for insects and other small invertebrates, occasionally accompanying army-ant swarms.
Temperament
solitary and territorial
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats; prefers to run rather than fly
Social Behavior
Usually solitary or in pairs, maintaining territories year-round in suitable forest. Nests are placed close to the ground, and pairs are believed to be monogamous during the breeding season. Adults move deliberately while foraging and freeze when alarmed before slipping away on foot.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Ventriloquial, fluty whistles delivered in a simple, repeated series that can be difficult to locate. Songs are most frequent at dawn and dusk and carry well through dense forest.
Plumage
Olive-brown to dark brown upperparts with a contrasting warm rufous breast that grades to buffier underparts. Short tail and rounded wings typical of antthrushes, with smooth, unpatterned plumage overall. The face is rather plain with a subtle pale malar and dusky lores.
Diet
Feeds primarily on insects and other small arthropods gleaned from the leaf litter, including beetles, ants, spiders, and larvae. Will occasionally take small vertebrates such as tiny frogs or lizards. Sometimes accompanies army-ant swarms to capture prey flushed from cover, though it also forages independently.
Preferred Environment
Shaded forest floor with deep leaf litter, fallen logs, and root tangles that harbor invertebrates. Often along stream edges, gullies, and gentle slopes within mature humid forest.
