The scaled antbird is a species of bird in subfamily Thamnophilinae of family Thamnophilidae, the "typical antbirds". It is endemic to Brazil.
Region
Eastern Brazil (Atlantic Forest)
Typical Environment
Found in the lowland and foothill Atlantic Forest from southern Bahia through Espírito Santo to Rio de Janeiro. It favors dense understory, restinga scrub, forest edges, and secondary growth with tangled vegetation. The species typically keeps to shadowy thickets, bamboo patches, and vine tangles where it can move unobtrusively. It occurs patchily where suitable understory structure remains, including in some protected reserves and regenerating forests.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 900 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The scaled antbird is a shy understory specialist of Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, named for the scalloped or “scaled” look created by pale feather edges. It forages close to the ground, often in pairs, and may occasionally attend army-ant swarms without being an obligate follower. Habitat loss in coastal forests is a concern, but the species remains locally common where dense thickets persist.
Temperament
solitary and territorial
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Usually found in pairs or small family groups, keeping close contact calls while moving through dense cover. Nests are placed low in shrubs or vines; both sexes participate in care. It is generally non-gregarious and defends small territories year-round.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Song is a series of thin, slightly accelerating notes that may end in a short rattle. Calls include sharp, dry tchik or tsip notes used for contact in thick vegetation.
Plumage
Fine pale edging on feathers gives a scaled or scalloped appearance, most pronounced on the underparts and mantle. Males are darker with strong black-and-white scaling, while females are warmer brown with more subtle scaling on the breast and flanks.
Diet
Primarily hunts arthropods such as insects and spiders gleaned from leaves, twigs, and vine tangles. It often forages within a meter or two of the ground, probing bark, dead leaves, and bamboo culms. It may opportunistically attend army-ant swarms to capture flushed prey but is not an obligate ant follower.
Preferred Environment
Feeds in dense understory, restinga scrub, and secondary forest edges with abundant leaf litter and vine tangles. Often selects microhabitats with bamboo and thorny shrubs that provide cover and foraging substrates.
