The short-tailed antthrush is a species of bird in the family Formicariidae. It is found in every mainland South American country except Chile, French Guiana, and Uruguay.
Region
Tropical South America
Typical Environment
Occurs widely across the Amazon Basin and Andean foothills, extending into the Guianas (excluding French Guiana), Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, northern Argentina, and much of Brazil including parts of the Atlantic Forest. Prefers humid primary and mature secondary forests with dense understory. Most frequently found on shaded, leaf-littered floors, along forest edges, gullies, and near streams. Also uses bamboo thickets and vine tangles and can persist in selectively logged forests if understory remains intact.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 2200 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
A secretive ground-dwelling bird, the short-tailed antthrush is renowned for its clear, bell-like song—reflected in its scientific name. It walks and hops through leaf-littered forest floors, often heard long before it is seen. Though it may attend army-ant swarms occasionally, it more often forages independently.
Temperament
solitary and secretive
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats, low to the ground
Social Behavior
Usually solitary or in pairs, keeping close to dense cover. Nests are placed on or near the ground, often well concealed among roots or banks; clutch size is typically small. Territorial singing males deliver persistent, ringing notes from low perches or hidden spots.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Song is a series of clear, resonant, bell-like whistles delivered at measured intervals, carrying far through the forest. Calls include soft, sharp notes used in contact or alarm.
Plumage
Warm brown upperparts with a grayish face; underparts buff to whitish with dusky scalloping or spotting, especially on the breast. Tail notably short; wings rounded. Feathering appears dense and sleek, suited to moving through understory.
Diet
Primarily consumes arthropods such as beetles, ants, spiders, and other ground-dwelling insects. Also takes small invertebrates under logs and in leaf litter, occasionally small vertebrates like tiny frogs or lizards. Forages by walking and pausing, then flipping leaves and probing the ground.
Preferred Environment
Feeds on the dim forest floor of humid lowland and foothill forests, especially where leaf litter is deep. Often near fallen logs, root tangles, and along quiet trails or stream edges. May visit army-ant swarms but is not strictly dependent on them.
