Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager

How to find it

Look for pairs and small groups travelling with mixed flocks of antwrens, woodcreepers and greenlets in the forest understorey, and scan those flocks for the salmon throat. Birds near rivers are a good bet, since nearly all birds in one Osa study were within 200 m of a river. Guides on the Osa also watch for army ant swarms, which draw ant-tanagers along with ant thrushes, antwrens and ant vireos. A swarm gives a good chance of seeing this species. Expect a restless bird that rarely stays on one perch for more than a few seconds.

How to recognise it

This is a bird of about 18 to 19 cm, described for the species in general.

Males: dark gray above with a red tinge, a blurry black face mask and a bright salmon-orange throat. The crown has black at the front and sides with a central salmon-orange patch. The orange-red crest is usually hidden.

Females: like males, but duller above, with a darker salmon wash on the throat and upper breast.

Eyes: orange-red in adults, brownish in young birds, which also look duller overall.

Bill and legs: a black bill and dark horn colored legs.

In Costa Rica the head reads as mostly blackish with a contrasting salmon throat.

What it sounds like

Recording: anasacuta, CC BY 4.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

It forages in the understorey, below the canopy. It mainly eats insects, though it also takes fruit and small vertebrates. Osa observers saw groups gleaning insects from many plants and sallying out for insects. Birds often worked along the stalks of a palm-like Carludovica plant in secondary forest.

It travels in pairs and small groups, often with mixed flocks of antwrens, woodcreepers, greenlets and other small birds. Ant-tanagers of this group also follow army ant swarms to catch insects fleeing from the ants. The species appears to nest cooperatively, with three adults seen feeding nestlings, and its nests are open cups low in the understorey.

Where it lives

It uses well-developed understorey in lowland forest, riverside woodland and older secondary forest, and ranges up to about 300 m elevation. It stays inside the forest and avoids edges and open areas.

In one Osa field study most encounters were in secondary forest, and nearly all birds were within 200 m of a river. Research near Golfito found it prefers primary forest and mature secondary forest, with nests also found in streamside forest, open areas, regrowth and on slopes. It lives in the lowlands of Golfo Dulce, the Osa Peninsula and Corcovado National Park, and in the Golfito and Piedras Blancas area.

When to see it

On the Osa Peninsula, courtship, mating and nesting were observed during the breeding months of February to April. A bird carrying nest material was seen in March, and fledglings just out of the nest in May.

Similar birds

No other ant-tanager of the Habia group lives within its range. A dark-headed bird with a salmon throat in the Osa area is this species.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

The Costa Rican Spanish name on the national list is Tangara hormiguera carinegra. Other Spanish names in use are Habia carinegra and Piranga hormiguera de mejillas negras. A guide to Osa birding calls it the symbol of the Osa Peninsula.

Status and conservation

The AOCR list marks it as a resident endemic (R-END), and the IUCN rates it Near Threatened because its small range is mostly within two protected areas.

Photography tips

Guides on the Osa look for army ant swarms, which draw ant-tanagers along with ant thrushes, antwrens and ant vireos. The bird moves constantly, so be ready for brief views in dim understorey light.