Abstract
Abstract Studies of ant-following birds at Belém show that some species are professional ant-followers, that is, obtain more than 50% of their food near ants. Professional ant-followers at Belém are: Black-spotted Bare-Eye, Phlegopsis nigromaculata, White-backed Fire-Eye, Pyriglena leuconota, Scale-backed Antbird, Hylophylax poecilenota (Formicariidae); Barred Woodcreeper, Dendrocolaptes certhia, Plain-brown Woodcreeper, Dendrocincla fuliginosa, White-chinned Woodcreeper, D. merula; and Gray-headed Tanager Eucometis penicillata, A list of thirty-seven species of nonprofessional birds was obtained during the study period. Nonprofessional species only occasionally follow army ant raids. The army ant (Eciton burchelli) was the main species followed. Foraging habits, perch heights and prey items were noted for most of the professional and nonprofessional species of birds. Also, their interactions at swarms of ants and a comparison with other ant-following guilds is provided.
Highlights
Studies of ant-following birds at Belém show that some species are professional ant-followers, that is, obtain more than 50% of their food near ants
Some birds are so persistent at feeding near the ants that they havc been termed "professional" antfollowers, that is, they obi:ain more than 50% of their food near the ants (Willis, 1967)
I studted ant-following birds by direct observation, using 7 x 35 binoculars. ldentification of birds, using the nomenclature of Meyer de Schauensee (1966) was faci Iitated by the use of study skins of the Museu Paraense "Emílio Goeldi", Belém
Summary
The study was conducted mostly at the Aurá Reserve (Novaes, 1970); occasional observations were made at the Mocambo Forest Reserve These reserves are part of the APEG lArea de Pesquisas Ecológicas do Guamá) of the Instituto de Pesquisas e Experimentação Agropecuárias do Norte (IPEAN) at Belém. The Aurá Reserve vegetation consists mainly of "várzea" or tidal-swamp forest, with a sma ll plot of "terra-firme" forest or mature upland forest and a strip of "capoeira" or second growth bordering a small plantation of rubber trees. The terra-firme forest is characterized by tall trees, some of them over 40 m high. They are slender and branch into a dense canooy. The tree species mostly differ from those of the terra-firme forest. The igapó forest is a forest of swampy areas permanently covered by water and differs from the várzea forest by the absence of such indicator plants as Euterpe oleracea
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