The white-plumed antbird (Pithys albifrons ) is a small species of insectivorous bird found in the understories of rainforests. It is smaller than most species of its family (Thamnophilidae), weighing 26 grams on average. The family Thamnophilidae is known commonly as the antbirds, as they use the presence of ants (army ants in particular) to locate food. This species is largely solitary except during the breeding season, and different individuals will follow individual ant swarms.
An insectivore is a carnivorous plant or animal that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of e...
A carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
Te
TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
Generally solitary animals are those animals that spend their time separately but will gather at foraging areas or sleep in the same location or sh...
No
Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
W
starts withThe white-plumed antbird is monomorphic, meaning both sexes look the same. Adults have extensive rufous-chestnut plumage on their body, with contrasting black wings and head, and their signature white throats and feathered periocular tufts. Their feet and tarsus are bright orange. White-plumed antbirds have an average total body length of 13 cm, 4.6 cm of which is tail. Their bill is 1.16 cm long and only 0.47 cm wide on average, indicative of its insect food source. Young birds will have rufous coloured tips on their secondaries and a grayish head, without the white plumes or rufous collar.
The species is found in Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru; also the Guianas: Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana. Its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland rainforests. The white-plummed antbird appears in higher abundances in forests with high canopies, high vegetation complexity and many plant species
In the Amazon Basin proper, except in the headwaters of central Peru, the white-plumed antbird is found only north of the Amazon River, in the northeast (Guianas) and in the northwest, from Amapa and Cayenne westward to the Andes from southern Venezuela to northern Peru. They have been found at elevations of up to 2,250 m (7,380 ft) elevation (Mt. Duida, Venezuela) and 1,800 m (5,900 ft) (Cordillera Cutucu, Ecuador). They show higher survival in the eastern Amazon rainforest than in the western.
Each individual occupies a home range exceeding 200 ha (490 acres) in order to ensure that swarms of army ants to follow to food can be found at all times. They will avoid open habitats and will not cross rivers. They have, however, been found crossing roads to get from one patch of forest to another.
White-plumed antbirds are very persistent in holding on to territories and may remain even in case of conflict with other individuals, if enough food sources are available. They are generally solitary outside of the breeding season and will tend to follow individual ant swarms through the forest.Like other antbirds, they perform anting, which is the process of brushing small insects through their wing and tail feathers. It is still unknown whether the main function of this process is to ease irritation during moulting, kill mites, or detoxify distasteful insects.
The white-plumed antbird is an insectivore that eats insects, arthropods and at times lizards. Like all obligate antbirds, they rely on army ants to flush out these prey from the leaf litter.
The courtship of white-plumed antbirds is essentially the same as in other antbirds. Courtship involves the male feeding the female, mutual grooming and the male showing the female possible nest sites, a display known as "draping". Both the female and male help build the nest. White-plumed antbirds typically build their bottom-supported cup nests atop live vegetation such as small palms, sedges and tuberous plants. Although the plant chosen is alive, it will often have a mat of dead leaves at the crown. The nest is built sunken into these dead leaves to hide it from predators. The nests themselves are composed of dark-coloured fibrous rootlets (inner lining) and dead leaves (outer layers). Typically two eggs are laid per clutch. The eggs have a rosy-white base colour with many longitudinal rosy-brown flecks and a few rosy hairline markings covering the surface. After hatching, each fledgling is fed for about a month. In certain locations, such as Manaus, they breed for much of the year and females are known to leave their mate (caring for their offspring) in order to start a new nest with a new mate as quickly as possible.
