Crested Ant-Tanager Habia cristata Scientific name definitions

The Crested Ant-Tanager is restricted to western Colombia; its range primarily is at 700-180o m on the western slopes of the Andes, but it also occurs locally on the eastern slope of the western cordillera. The adult is mostly red, with a long, prominent scarlet crest, and with grayish flanks and belly. The sexes are similar in appearance, although the crest of the female is shorter. Immatures are duller in color, and the plumage overall is washed with cinnamon. Crested Ant-Tanagers forage in pairs or small flocks (family groups?), often in dense vegetation such as along streams or in ravines, or in dense second growth over landslides. They also often associate with mixed-species flocks. Crested Ant-Tanagers forage up to 8 m above the ground, which is higher than most other species of ant-tanagers. Crested Ant-Tanagers occasionally forage over swarms of army ants, but, despite the name, are not a regular army ant follower. The Crested Ant-Tanager is fairly common and so, despite its restricted geographic range, it is not considered to be a threatened species.

W Colombia on both slopes of W Andes from Antioquia S to S Cauca (Cerro Munchique) and on both slopes of C Andes (Antioquia to Tolima) (1 Cuervo, A. M., P. C. Pulgarín, and D. Calderón (2008). New distributional bird data from the Cordillera Central of the Colombian Andes, with implications for the biogeography of northwestern South America. Condor 110(3):526–537. Close , 2 Freeman, B.G., Hilty, S.L., Calderón-F., D., Ellery, T. and Urueña, L.E. (2012). New and noteworthy bird records from central and northern Colombia. Cotinga 34: 33–42. Close ).