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Rufous-tailed Antthrush | Chamaeza ruficauda
Roodstaartmierlijster | Chamaeza colirrufa | Tovaca-de-rabo-vermelho
The Rufous-tailed Antthrush is a brown, streaked ground bird of montane Atlantic Forest in southeastern Brazil and northeastern Argentina. For the guide area the species is at most a rare vagrant: records from Colombia go back to the former treatment in which Schwartz's Antthrush was included in this species. It is a sedentary bird that does not migrate, so genuine occurrence in the Andes is not to be expected.
Voice
A long, accelerating series of short, low notes that rises slightly in pitch and ends abruptly. Sings mainly at dawn and dusk, from the ground or a low branch.
Recording: Marcelo J Feliti — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · xeno-canto
Identification
19–20 cm, with a fairly long tail. The upperparts are warm brown; the rump and tail are clearly rufous. A narrow whitish stripe runs behind the eye. The underparts are yellowish white, with dark, scale-like streaks on the breast and flanks. The tail has no black band and no pale tip. The sexes are alike.
Confusion species
Schwartz's Antthrush Chamaeza turdina of Colombia and Venezuela is very similar and was formerly treated as the same species; the song differs. Short-tailed Antthrush Chamaeza campanisona has a shorter tail with a blackish band and pale tip. A streaked Chamaeza in Colombian montane forest is almost certainly one of these two species.
Habitat
Within its own range the floor of humid montane forest, roughly between 800 and 2000 m, lower in the south. It eats insects and other invertebrates from the leaf litter. It nests in a tree cavity.
Where the bird is most at home, classified by the vegetation units of the Andes and the west coast.
Range and movements
No confirmed records in the guide area. The few reports from Colombia (Cauca and Huila) almost certainly refer to Schwartz's Antthrush, which was formerly included in this species. Absent from Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and the Galápagos. Outside the guide area in the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil and in Misiones in northeastern Argentina.
How and when to look
A record in the guide area would be exceptional. A streaked antthrush in Colombian montane forest is almost certainly Schwartz's Antthrush; document any unusual bird with sound recordings, as the song is the clearest feature.
Conservation status
Least Concern. Much of the Atlantic Forest has been cleared, but the species still occurs widely in the remaining mountain areas.
Scientific name
Chamaeza ruficauda | Cabanis & Heine, 1860
Cabanis & Heine described the species in 1860 and placed it straight away in the genus where it still stands. The genus Chamaeza was introduced in 1825 by Vigors. The genus name comes from Greek chamai, 'on the ground', and zaō, 'to live', after the ground-dwelling habits. The species name comes from Latin rufus, 'rufous', and cauda, 'tail': 'rufous-tailed'. The specimen the first description was based on came from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.