The white-bibbed antbird is a species of passerine bird in subfamily Thamnophilinae of family Thamnophilidae, the "typical antbirds". It is endemic to Brazil.
Region
Atlantic Forest of eastern Brazil
Typical Environment
Occurs in lowland and foothill evergreen forests along Brazil’s eastern Atlantic Forest belt. Prefers dense, shaded understory with abundant vine tangles, bamboo, and sapling thickets, often near stream gullies. Found in primary forest and older secondary growth but is less common in heavily degraded fragments. Typically keeps close to the ground, foraging from near the forest floor up to mid-understory.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1200 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The white-bibbed antbird is a skulking understory specialist of Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, often moving in pairs through dense vine tangles and thickets. It primarily gleans arthropods from low vegetation and occasionally attends army-ant swarms to capture flushed prey. Males show a bold white throat and upper-breast “bib,” while females are browner with a subtler throat patch. Sensitive to habitat fragmentation, it benefits from protected, mature forest tracts.
Temperament
solitary and territorial
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Usually found in pairs that maintain year-round territories in dense understory. Nests are typically low, with both sexes participating in incubation and chick-rearing. It avoids open areas, moving methodically through cover and often remaining concealed.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Delivers a clear, whistled series that starts slightly louder and tapers off, with evenly spaced notes. Calls include sharp chips and soft contact notes exchanged between pair members.
Plumage
Males are dark slate to blackish with a crisp white bib on the throat and upper breast; females are warm brown with a smaller, paler throat patch and subtle scaling on the underparts. Both sexes show subdued rufous tones on the wing coverts and a darker tail.
Diet
Feeds mainly on insects and other small arthropods such as spiders and beetles, gleaned from leaves, twigs, and vine tangles near the ground. Occasionally sallies to capture disturbed prey. At times follows army-ant swarms to exploit flushed invertebrates, though it is not an obligate ant-follower.
Preferred Environment
Forages in the shaded lower strata of humid forest, especially in dense thickets, bamboo patches, and along stream gullies. Avoids open edges and heavily disturbed understory.
