Ocellated Antbird

The Ocellated Antbird is the largest and most dominant member of the guild of obligate army-ant-following antbirds, ranking at the top of the swarm's social hierarchy above species like Bicolored and Spotted Antbirds. Its plumage is richly patterned: chestnut and black feathers edged with buff create a scaled or "ocellated" (eye-spot-like) look across the crown, back, and breast, while bare cobalt-blue skin surrounds the eye and extends onto the face.

Because it depends so heavily on shrinking tracts of undisturbed lowland forest with healthy army ant populations, the species is considered Near Threatened.

Key field marks

• Large size for an antbird, with a heavy build and long legs.
• Scaly, scalloped chestnut-and-black plumage pattern ("ocellations") on crown, back, and breast.
• Bare, bright blue skin around the eye and face.
• Blackish cap.

Similar species

Bicolored Antbird is smaller, plainer rufous-brown with a whiter breast and lacks the scaly ocellated pattern, though it also has blue facial skin. Spotted Antbird is much smaller with bold discrete spots rather than a scaled pattern. The Ocellated Antbird's larger size and scaly plumage combined with blue facial skin are diagnostic.

Ocellated Antbirds inhabit the understory of humid lowland and foothill forest from Honduras south through Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama to northwestern Colombia and Ecuador, generally below about 900-1,000 m. They require large tracts of relatively undisturbed forest to support the sustained army ant activity they depend on, and are sensitive to forest fragmentation.

Voice

A loud, ringing series of whistled notes, often given while attending ant swarms; calls carry well through dense understory.

Feeding

An obligate army-ant follower, it dominates access to the best perches over the swarm front, displacing smaller ant-following species, and sallies to catch insects, spiders, and small vertebrates fleeing the ants.

Nesting and breeding

Pairs build a low nest in the forest understory and share incubation and feeding of the young. Breeding activity is closely tied to territory quality and the availability of productive army ant colonies within the pair's home range.