Antthrushes

Antthrushes, part of the Formicariidae family, are small to medium-sized forest-dwelling birds native to tropical and subtropical regions of Central and South America. They range in length from 10 to 20 cm (4 to 8 inches), bearing a muted color palette of browns, blacks, and whites. Closely related to ovenbirds and tapaculos, antthrushes have a distinctive upright stance due to their long legs and reduced tails, adaptations that suit their predominantly ground-based insectivorous lifestyle. Both sexes share the incubation duties, laying two or three eggs in nests situated in trees. The family consists of 12 species split across two genera. Previous classifications were reconfigured based on molecular phylogenetics, with some species formerly placed here now reassigned to the gnateater and Grallariidae families. Antthrushes, while resembling small rails and walking like starlings, are not actually related to true thrushes.

Species Categories

African & New World Parrots Albatrosses Anhingas, Darters Antbirds Antpittas Antthrushes Austral Storm Petrels Barn Owls Black-capped Donacobius Caracaras, Falcons Cardinals & Allies Chachalacas, Curassows, Guans Chats, Old World Flycatchers Cormorants, Shags Cotingas Crescentchests Crows, Jays Cuckoos Dippers Ducks, Geese, Swans Finches, Euphonias Finfoots Flamingos Frigatebirds Gannets, Boobies Gnatcatchers Gnateaters Grebes Gulls, Terns, Skimmers Herons, Bitterns Hoatzin Hummingbirds Ibises, Spoonbills Jacamars Jacanas Kingfishers Kites, Hawks, Eagles Larks Limpkin Magellanic Plover Manakins Mitrospingid Tanagers Mockingbirds, Thrashers Motmots New World Barbets New World Quail New World Sparrows New World Vultures New World Warblers Nightjars Northern Storm Petrels Oilbird Old World Parrots Old World Sparrows, Snowfinches Oropendolas, Orioles, Blackbirds Ospreys Ovenbirds Owls Oystercatchers Painted-snipes Pelicans Penguins Petrels, Shearwaters, Diving Petrels Pheasants & Allies Pigeons, Doves Plovers Potoos Puffbirds Rails, Crakes & Coots Rheas Sandpipers, Snipes Sapayoa Screamers Seedsnipes Seriemas Sheathbills Skuas Starlings, Rhabdornis Stilts, Avocets Stone-curlews, Thick-knees Storks Sunbittern Swallows, Martins Swifts Tanagers & Allies Tapaculos Thrushes Thrush-tanager Tinamous Tityras, Becards, Sharpbill Toucan Barbets Toucans Trogons Tropicbirds Trumpeters Tyrant Flycatchers, Calyptura Vireos, Greenlets, Shrike-babblers Wagtails, Pipits Waxbills, Munias & Allies Waxwings Weavers, Widowbirds Woodpeckers Wrens

Birda Blog

A passionate photographer is outdoors, equipped with a top-notch camera for bird photography.

14 best cameras for bird photography

August 9, 2022

John White

A woman in a jacket birdwatching out in nature, looking at her phone and considering the best birding app.

11 of the best birdwatching apps in the UK

August 8, 2022

John White

A large flock of Red-necked Stints, a great bird to look for when learning how to start birdwatching.

How to start birdwatching – a helpful guide for beginners

January 18, 2022

John White

People looking at a sunset in a Top 10 Birdwatching Park in the US

The top 10 birdwatching parks in the USA

December 7, 2022

Sarah Cunningham

The Best US States For Birdwatching - map of USA with state names

The best US states for bird watching, a helpful illustrated guide

January 17, 2022

John White

Three people walking in nature in a highland, birdwatching and using one of the best free birdwatching apps

What are the best free birdwatching apps?

March 28, 2023

Will Hall

Children are outdoors, enthusiastically observing and admiring birds in their natural habitat.

12 of the best birdwatching apps in the USA

February 9, 2023

Sarah Cunningham

8x vs 10 x binoculars - person holding their pair in hand

Binoculars for birdwatching 8x vs 10x magnification

What Our Birders Say

Amylia S

Best app for any birding person!

I love this app!! I am so addicted to it when I saw it had 3 star review I was so sad! The app is awesome!! The best app for any birding person! ❤️

Chudbond

Love Birda

I love this app. It really encourages you to log your sightings and the community is friendly and helpful.

Unbridled Discoveries

Great app for bird lovers

I love this app! It’s a wonderful way to track birding sessions, and also connect you with fellow birders. I also really like the unidentified bird section, it’s a great community tool to help figure out what a never-before-seen bird is!

Marlster24

Recommend for any bird watcher

Very wholesome app: I joined this app with a new interest in watching birds to help me find out what I was spotting. The community is very active in helping identify birds which is great and everyone is very kind so it’s just a nice wholesome community. I would definitely recommend this for any bird spotter 😃

Carrie

Makes you want to spot birds more

I think this app is fun. It makes you want to spot birds more so I guess in a way it encourages you to get out and about instead of sitting in front of the TV.

EandB17

Terrific App for Birders

Downloaded Birda around the time my interest in birding was sparked, and it has been a terrific app to help me (1) share my experience, (2) document my sightings, and (3) learn more about birds in general. That said, I also believe Birda is a fantastic app for birders of all experience levels. Great community!

Bryan C

Clean and easy to use

Really enjoying this app, it's clean and easy to use. I love the ease of being able to add those one-off birds without starting a whole checklist. I also like the social aspect, like the parts of my Facebook I like, without the ads and junk, just birds. Can't wait to see it become more populated.

Nicole

Gets me outdoors more

I'm still loving this app. I use it most days & gets me outdoors more. Enjoying watching others progress and photo's, it's improved my wellbeing.... I love this app! I can keep a record of sightings and see what others have seen too.

D3Nature

Great app for learning Birds

I’ve been using the app for a couple of months and love it....Someone said it’s like a real life Pokémon Go for birds. They’re not far off! It’s something that the family can do that gets you out and about. Well worth downloading no matter your age.

Emcil24

A Friendly Place

I love using the bird app, I have a pretty good knowledge of birds. But I do have some gaps in it, so it’s nice to have a safe space to check on a sighting to confirm the species. It’s really enjoyable and I love the badges you can collect. It’s like a real life Pokémon go.

As featured in