Red-fronted Antpecker Parmoptila rubrifrons Scientific name definitions

11 cm; 8–10·5 g. Male has forehead and forecrown red, hindcrown olive with pale grey scaly markings, upperparts dark greyish-tinged olive-brown, upperwing and tail brown; face olive to deep brown with blackish markings and small white streaks, chin buffy, grading to unmarked rufous-chestnut on throat and entire underparts ; iris reddish-brown; bill black; legs light brown. Female is unmarked dark grey-brown above, face dark grey with fine white spots, throat and underparts buffy white with small black spots, spots forming irregular bars on flanks. Juvenile has crown and upperparts like adult female, underparts uniformly rufous-brown.

Sierra Leone, SE Guinea, Liberia, S Ivory Coast and S Ghana.

Mature and secondary forest, also logged forest, not far from water or at border of high-forest swamps; preference for primary forest. Sometimes in forest above swamp or inundated ground.

Resident.

Insects, especially red ants (Formicidae), also small beetles (Coleoptera) reported; some small seeds. Forages mostly at lower levels, generally below 5 m. Feeds at ant nest for as long as a minute; gleans insects on stems. Forages in pairs and family parties; often in mixed-species flocks.

Call "pee-you".

Several nests in Oct–Nov, female with oviduct egg in Apr and birds in breeding condition in Sept and Jan–Apr, and juveniles in Ivory Coast in Dec, Jan and Jun. Nest a large mass (17–25 x 25–40 cm) of vegetation, placed 2·5-3·5 m above swamp or inundated ground in understorey tree; one built solely by male, work taking c. 8 days. No other information.

Not globally threatened. Currently considered Near-threatened. Scarce or rare to locally fairly common; one record also from extreme SW Mali. Possibly often overlooked owing to unobtrusive habits, but mist-netting data indicate genuine scarcity. This species' range is already fragmented, and population probably in moderately rapid decline because of continuing deforestation and logging. Occurs in several protected areas, including Gola Forest, in Sierra Leone, Taï Forest National Park, in Ivory Coast, and Kakum and Ankasa National Parks and Subri River and Tano Offin Forest Reserves, in Ghana.