We present the second documented record of the Rufous-fronted Antthrush Formicarius rufifrons Blake, 1957 in Brazil. The record was made in Ramal do Riozinho do Rola, 45 km north of Rio Branco municipality, Acre state. The recordings were deposited in the archives of Xeno-canto and Wikiaves. Our record represents a distribution extension of 247 km northeast of the closest known location. © 2016 Check List and Authors.12

de Melo T.N.

Gussoni C.O.A.

Machado R.C.

Noventa H.E.

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English

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Second documented record of the Rufous-fronted Antthrush, 
Formicarius rufifrons (Aves: Formicariidae), in Brazil
Tomaz Nascimento de Melo1*, Carlos Otávio Araujo Gussoni2, Rogério Carlos Machado3 and  
Helbert Eduardo Noventa4
1 Museu da Amazônia – MUSA, Av. Margarita, s/n, CEP 69099-285, Cidade de Deus, Manaus, AM, Brazil
2 Departamento de Zoologia – Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho”, Av. 24-A, 1515, CEP 13506-900, Bela Vista, Rio 
Claro, SP, Brazil
3 Rua 19, 641, CEP 13503-300, Jardim Claret, Rio Claro, SP, Brazil
4 Avenida 4-A, 838, CEP 13506-770, Bela Vista, Rio Claro, SP, Brazil
* Corresponding author. E-mail: tomazramphotrigon@gmail.com
Abstract: We present the second documented record 
of the Rufous-fronted Antthrush Formicarius rufifrons 
Blake, 1957 in Brazil. The record was made in Ramal do 
Riozinho do Rola, 45 km north of Rio Branco munici-
pality, Acre state. The recordings were deposited in the 
archives of Xeno-canto and Wikiaves. Our record repre-
sents a distribution extension of 247 km northeast of 
the closest known location.
Key words: Southwest Amazon; Acre; Formicariidae; 
Inambari; range extension
The Rufous-fronted Antthrush, Formicarius rufifrons 
Blake, 1957, is an elusive species restricted to south-
western Amazonia and endemic to the Inambari center 
of endemism (Krabbe and Schulenberg 2003; Guilherme 
2012). After its description in the late 1950s, the species 
was undetected for 24 years, until its rediscovery by Ted 
Parker in Cocha Cashu, Peru, close to the type locality 
(Parker 1983). The species occurs in Madre de Dios and 
Cuzco departments, Peru, and in Pando department, 
Bolivia (Parker 1983; Terborg et al. 1990; Kratter 1995; 
Schulenberg et al. 2000; Lloyd 2004). It is also found in 
Acre state, Brazil, at the Alto Juruá Extractive Reserve, 
Caipora locality (Whittaker and Oren 1999), and the Rio 
Acre Ecological Station (Aleixo and Guilherme 2010). It 
may be sympatric with the Rufous-capped Antthrush, 
Formicarius colma Boddaert, 1783, and the Black-faced 
Antthrush, F. analis (d’Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1837), 
from which it is distinguished by its plumage and vo-
calization.
The species is considered rare and with local 
distribution (Stotz et al. 1996; Krabbe and Schulenberg 
2003), partly due to its ecological requirements. It occurs 
mainly close to rivers, in high forests along floodplains, 
and in areas with disturbances caused by tree falls, 
clearings and eroded river soils with dense understory, 
composed mainly of Guadua Kunth bamboos, Heliconia 
L., and other herbaceous plants (Kratter 2009). It is 
considered near-threatened by BirdLife International 
(2016). Because of its association with riverside 
habitats, the species may suffer impacts from large-
scale deforestation, although it may adapt to altered 
environments, which form a mosaic along floodplains 
(Kratter 1995, 2009).
The record was made at the Ramal do Riozinho do 
Rola , known popularly as Ramal do Noca (09°59′44″ 
S, 068°12′20″ W), located 45 km north of Rio Branco 
municipality, Acre state, with access by the Transacreana 
Highway (Figure 1). The vegetation is dense forest with 
bamboos (Figure 2). An eight km dirt road cuts through 
the forest from the highway to the Rola River, a tributary 
of the Acre River, where new pastures and homes are 
found.
On 27 February 2016, at 10:19 h, during a birdwatching 
field trip, the typical song of Formicarius rufifrons was 
heard in a location with relatively little bamboo and 
with dense herbaceous vegetation, characteristic of 
early successional stages, dominating the understory 
(Figure 3). The location was four km from the Rola 
River. After hearing a single vocalization, playback was 
used to attract the bird and, some 10 minutes after 
playback, the bird started singing frequently, enabling 
new recordings (Figure 4). Recordings were deposited 
in the databases of Xeno-canto (www.xeno-canto.org; 
XC305252, XC307502) and Wikiaves (www.wikiaves.
com.br; WA2039963, WA2053265, WA2041774).
Identification was made through the unmistakable 
song of the species, which is very different from other 
Check List 12(4): 1927, 15 July 2016 doi:  http://dx.doi.org/10.15560/12.4.1927
ISSN 1809-127X © 2016 Check List and Authors
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1927
15 July 2016
Notes oN GeoGraphic DistributioN
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Melo et al.  |  Second documented record of Formicarius rufifrons in Brazil
Formicarius. The song of F. colma is a more acute and 
rapid trill, with a shorter interval between notes than 
the sequence of notes of the song of F. rufifrons. The 
song of F. analis consists of a single note followed by a 
rapid sequence of about 10 notes.
The first record of the species in Brazil was made in 
1995, at the Juruá River basin, Caipora locality, about 
33 km from the Tejo River mouth (Whittaker and 
Oren 1999). On this occasion, the bird was observed 
foraging and was documented through recordings. This 
record was included in the list of birds of the Alto Juruá 
Extractive Reserve (Whittaker et al. 2002). The second 
record of the species in Brazil was made by Aleixo and 
Guilherme (2010) at Rio Acre Ecological Station, Purus 
River basin, when an individual was heard vocalizing, 
but there is no mention of documentation of this 
record. According to the criteria for documentation 
of ornithological records, a documented record must 
provide evidence of the occurrence of the species, such 
as collected specimens, photos, recordings or videos 
(Carlos et al. 2010). Therefore, this is the third locality 
and the second documented record in Brazil, the first for 
the Acre River basin and extends the species distribution 
247 km northeast of the closest locality (Aleixo and 
Guilherme 2010). The species has been known to inhabit 
vegetation as far as 500 m from river banks (Krabbe and 
Schulenberg 2003); therefore our record (four km from 
the Rola River) is the furthest from a river bank.   
Since the first ornithological surveys in 2015, the 
Ramal do Riozinho do Rola has become one of the most 
popular spots for birdwatching and bird photography 
Figure 2. General view of the Riozinho do Rola road, Rio Branco, Acre 
State. Photo by COAG.
Figure 3. Habitat where Formicarius rufifrons was recorded on 27 February 
2016. Photo by COAG.
Figure 1. Record localities of Formicarius rufifrons in Brazil. 
 Check List  |  www.biotaxa.org/cl Volume 12 | Number 4 | Article 1927 3
Melo et al.  |  Second documented record of Formicarius rufifrons in Brazil
in eastern Acre State. The area is a priority for bird 
conservation in eastern Acre, with a rich avifauna 
associated with bamboo forests. However, it is not 
protected and currently suffers from invasions and 
illegal deforestation. 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors especially thank Bruno Rennó and Brad-
ley Davies, who found the location, were the first ones 
to explore it and informed us about its relevant orni-
thological interest. We are grateful to Ricardo Plácido, 
who took TNM to the place for the first time, and to 
the resident and community leader Francisco Cosmo do 
Nascimento Silva (Noca), who always supported bird-
watching activities on the “Noca” road. We also thank 
Ricardo Belmonte Lopes for elaborating the sonogram 
and Júlia Emi de Faria Oshima for preparing the map.
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represent the frequency versus time in seconds. Recording by RCM.
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Author contributions: TNM, COAG, RCM, HEN made the record 
in the field, and TNM and COAG wrote the article.
Received: 7 April 2016
Accepted: 25 June 2016
Academic editor: Rafael Antunes Dias


Second Documented Record Of The Rufous-fronted Antthrush, Formicarius Rufifrons (aves: Formicariidae), In Brazil

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Second Documented Record Of The Rufous-fronted Antthrush, Formicarius Rufifrons (aves: Formicariidae), In Brazil

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