Bicolored Antbird

The Bicolored Antbird is a mid-sized, understated antbird named for its simple two-tone plumage: warm rufous-brown upperparts contrasting with a whitish throat and breast fading to gray on the belly. Bare blue skin around the eye adds a splash of color to an otherwise plain bird. Sexes look similar.

It is one of the most reliable "professional" ant-following species in Central American forests, almost always found in the company of an active swarm of army ants.

Key field marks

• Rufous-brown upperparts; whitish throat and upper breast grading to gray belly.
• Bare blue skin around the eye.
• Fairly upright posture, often perched low over ant swarms.

Similar species

Spotted Antbird is smaller with bold black spotting on the breast. Ocellated Antbird is larger with a scaly, scalloped plumage pattern. The Bicolored Antbird's plain, unmarked underparts combined with blue facial skin help separate it from its ant-following relatives.

Bicolored Antbirds occupy the understory of humid lowland and foothill forest from Honduras through Central America to northwestern Colombia and Ecuador, mostly below about 1,000 m. Closely related, similar-looking populations occur further south in Amazonia (sometimes treated as a separate species). Birds are non-migratory residents, holding territories that overlap with the ranging patterns of local army ant colonies.

Voice

A series of sharp, clear whistled notes, often accelerating, given while attending swarms and during territorial interactions with other ant-following species.

Feeding

An obligate ant-follower, it perches low over the leading edge of army ant swarms and sallies to catch insects and other arthropods flushed by the ants, competing and interacting with other ant-following species for the best vantage perches.

Nesting and breeding

Pairs construct a low, open nest in dense understory vegetation. Both parents share incubation and chick-provisioning duties, timing nesting activity around the demands of following productive ant swarms.