Family Thamnophilidae

Typical Antbirds

Only subscribers have complete access to the families of the HBW Alive. To make the most of all of HBW's features, discover our subscriptions now!

HBW Alive Plans & Pricing Why subscribe

Vertical Tabs

General

Recent phylogenetic studies#R #R #R have led to internal clarification of family and its division into two subfamilies, Thamnophilinae and Myrmornithinae; subsequent work has erected a third, Euchrepomidinae (see below, Euchrepomis).

7-34 cm.

61 genera, 241 species, 522 taxa.

36 species threatened;
none extinct since 1600.

Systematics

Morphological studies carried out in the middle of the twentieth century demonstrated that the Thamnophilidae are a well-defined lineage, and this is supported by recent molecular analyses. With regard to relationships within the family, however, taxonomic confusion is found at all levels....

You are reading a trimmed version of the Systematics section.
Only members are able to see the rest of the text. To make the most of all of HBW's features, discover our subscriptions now.

HBW Alive Plans & Pricing Why subscribe

Morphological Aspects

Antbirds are a morphologically diverse family, ranging in size from the tiny Pygmy Antwren (Myrmotherula brachyura), 7·5-8 cm in length and weighing a mere 6-8 g, to the...

You are reading a trimmed version of the Morphological Aspects section.
Only members are able to see the rest of the text. To make the most of all of HBW's features, discover our subscriptions now.

HBW Alive Plans & Pricing Why subscribe

Habitat

The Thamnophilidae are entirely Neotropical in distribution, with only relatively few species reaching southern Mexico and northern Argentina. They occur on islands only near continental shores, such as Coiba...

You are reading a trimmed version of the Habitat section.
Only members are able to see the rest of the text. To make the most of all of HBW's features, discover our subscriptions now.

HBW Alive Plans & Pricing Why subscribe

General Habits

Antbirds are, without exception, diurnal. So far as is known, they roost in trees or shrubbery, and do not use dormitory nests or holes as nocturnal shelters. Of the few published accounts of the roosting behaviour of thamnophilids, the most detailed is that of A. M. Young’s observations of a...

You are reading a trimmed version of the General Habits section.
Only members are able to see the rest of the text. To make the most of all of HBW's features, discover our subscriptions now.

HBW Alive Plans & Pricing Why subscribe

Voice

For many fieldworkers, the sounds of antbird loudsongs, each distinctive in its proclamation of species identity, serve to epitomize tropical New World forests, and they are especially welcomed by those who...

You are reading a trimmed version of the Voice section.
Only members are able to see the rest of the text. To make the most of all of HBW's features, discover our subscriptions now.

HBW Alive Plans & Pricing Why subscribe

Food and Feeding

All antbirds feed primarily on a wide variety of insects and other arthropods, including spiders, scorpions, centipedes and isopods....

You are reading a trimmed version of the Food and Feeding section.
Only members are able to see the rest of the text. To make the most of all of HBW's features, discover our subscriptions now.

HBW Alive Plans & Pricing Why subscribe

Breeding

So far as is known, nearly all antbirds are monogamous, pair for life, and defend territories throughout the year. In an eight-year study of colour-ringed Dusky Antbirds in Panama, for example, Morton and B. J. M...

You are reading a trimmed version of the Breeding section.
Only members are able to see the rest of the text. To make the most of all of HBW's features, discover our subscriptions now.

HBW Alive Plans & Pricing Why subscribe

Movements

The Thamnophilidae are notably sedentary birds. With few exceptions (see Breeding), all species pair for life, and defend territories throughout the year. The majority of forest-dwelling antbirds are reluctant to cross even small open areas, and, as a result, even narrow roads through forested...

You are reading a trimmed version of the Movements section.
Only members are able to see the rest of the text. To make the most of all of HBW's features, discover our subscriptions now.

HBW Alive Plans & Pricing Why subscribe

Relationship with Man

Despite their abundance and ubiquity throughout much of the Neotropics, antbirds have little relationship with man. They are not hunted, nor are they kept as cagebirds, and they are not agricultural pests of fields or orchards. Other than a few conspicuous species, such as the...

You are reading a trimmed version of the Relationship with Man section.
Only members are able to see the rest of the text. To make the most of all of HBW's features, discover our subscriptions now.

HBW Alive Plans & Pricing Why subscribe

Status and Conservation

Antbirds are too small to be hunted, and, as mostly drably coloured insectivores with relatively simple songs, they are not targeted for commercial exploitation as cagebirds. Rather, the primary conservation threat for virtually all thamnophilids is habitat destruction. Most antbirds are...

You are reading a trimmed version of the Status and Conservation section.
Only members are able to see the rest of the text. To make the most of all of HBW's features, discover our subscriptions now.

HBW Alive Plans & Pricing Why subscribe

General Bibliography

Only subscribers are able to see the bibliography. Login or Subscribe to access to a lot of extra features!

Species list

List of species of the Typical Antbirds (Thamnophilidae) family. Each species provides information on taxonomy, descriptive notes, voice, habitat, food and feeding, breeding, movements, status and conservation and bibliography.

Sample species table image

A detailed list of the species of the family is displayed to our subscribers, showing the following columns: Genus, Species, Common name, Conservation Status, Figure, and the Check mark. Above the table, a tiny search engine is displayed to facilitate the filtering of the species.

You don't have any subscription to the HBW Alive. To make the most of all of HBW's features, discover our subscriptions now!

HBW Alive

Family Thamnophilidae

Vertical Tabs

Public comments

Recommended citation

About

Help

My account