Scientific name:
Formicaiidae

Natural spread:
South America

this exclusively in South America of gave a home ant-birds is extraordinarily frequent and diverse. Today, 226 types are summarized in 53 types, with what is coordinated them names of birds, for whom they are the most similar, in general, like Z. B. Ant-stranglers or Ameisenpitta.

The large number of the types is interconnected with a just as severe variety. The ant-birds are only small until moderate-sized, d. h. 10-35 cm long. Most are inconspicuously colored. The plumage of the males is mainly gray or black, that often the females brown-red. The head-feathers can have trained so that they can be set up to a bonnet. With some types, the admittedly short tail can be raised ("gestelzt") (type Grallaria, Ameisenstelzer) steeply after type of the wagtail. The wings are usually short and rounded. At the waiter-beak, the strong beak with a "tooth" is equipped. Hereby, the loot can be killed. Deep in the plumage hidden white signals becomes use as communication-means in the twilight like Z. B. with the fire-eye.

Way of life In the warm jungle-areas of Mexico of Bolivia and North-Argentina, especially frequently in the Amazon-area, as typical ground-inhabitants, the ant-birds live. On the ground runs and jumps it on the search of insects back and forth; rarely, they fly up on that occasion, because they are bad planes. Only few types live also from plant-seeds.

The habit of accompanying the trains of the traveling-ants as "Ameisenfolger" led to the name of the ant-birds. Like Tangaren, tree-foremen and forest-cuckoos, they don't live namely from the insects and arachnids startled through the ants, sometimes also from lizards and even snakes, from ants usually however themselves. While some types follow the ant-trains as a "nomad", doesn't go others beyond the borders of its precinct.

Although the ant-birds don't belong to the Singvögeln, its reputations are according to and diverse. Trills and rhythmic stanzas like with throttles are to be heard. The chant of the ant-throttles is one of South America's most beautiful bird-voices.