Excerpts from Jim Conrad's
Naturalist Newsletter
from the June 11, 2017 Newsletter issued from Rancho Regenesis in the woods ±4kms west of Ek Balam Ruins; elevation ~40m (~130 ft), N20.876°, W88.170°; north-central Yucatán, MÉXICO
RED-THROATED ANT-TANAGER
Above you see a Red-throated Ant-Tanager, HABIA FUSCICAUDA*, a fairly common species in this area wherever the forest is mature enough to produce heavy shade. These birds like to stay close to the ground and often appear where army ants are moving. Commonly they're seen in pairs or small groups, and typically are spotted only after they've brought attention to themselves by their call, a low, rasping shehh-shehh-shehh, or by their song, a variable, rhythmic chu ree-choo often repeated tirelessly.
Red-throated Ant-Tanagers are real tanagers, closely related to the North's Scarlet and Summer Tanagers, so it's not surprising that they should display bright red throats.