Hobbies And Interests
Habitat
The Peruvian warbling antbird, Hypocnemis peruviana, and the yellow-breasted antbird, Hypocnemis subflava, both inhabit the rainforests of Peru. They are both native to the western Amazon Basin, which is located to the west of the Rio Negro and the Rio Madeira. They are found along the forestry borders and secondary woodland, commonly in the vicinity of water or marshes.
Nature of Their Competition
As the Peruvian warbling antbird and the yellow-breasted antbird inhabit the same environments, their territories frequently overlap. Contact often brings the birds into heated conflict, and these species of antbird compete over both nesting space and food. However, as with many species of birds, they eschew violent conflict and employ other means to compete.
Amazonian Song Contest
The Peruvian warbling antbird and the yellow-breasted antbird are songbirds, and they compete by way of a singing contest. Both birds share very similar territorial songs, which they use to warn off competition. They do this is in spite of their nonterritorial markers, such as calls and plumage color, being remarkably different.
Relationship of Competitors
The Peruvian warbling antbird and the yellow-breasted antbird may possess a very similar territorial call, but this is not because they are close, sister species. Joseph Tobias and Nathalie Seddon assert, in their paper entitled "Signal Design and Perception in Hypocnemis Antbirds," that despite the fact that antbirds shared a common ancestor as far back as three million years ago, they were surprised to find that the birds had evolved to exhibit such a similarity in their territorial song.