AVITOPIA - Antthrushes

The family of Anttrushes occurs only in Central and South America. Until recently, the name was used to refer to a family that contained about twenty times as many species, but recent DNA studies have shown that these species must be divided into several families. So now only 12 species belong to the antthrushes. Their height is between 10 cm and 20 cm. The tail is short, the legs are long. The head often has a featherless eye ring. Ant thrushes inhabit dense moist forests. They feed mainly on arthropods and occasionally on snails. They typically search the ground with long strides. They live monogamous. Usually the females lay two eggs in a nest in a tree cavity and the parents share the care of the brood. After two weeks the chicks hatch and after another two weeks they leave the nest.