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Glite Dictionary
ant thrush

ant thrush

9.9
A bird from Central and South American forests that follows army ants to eat insects
  • noun
  • /ænt θrʌʃ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : tordo hormiguero
  • The ant thrush follows swarms of army ants to catch insects fleeing from the ants.

Examples

  • Several species of ant thrush inhabit the dense undergrowth of South American forests.

  • I spotted an ant thrush while hiking in Costa Rica.

  • Birdwatchers spotted a rare ant thrush near the riverbank this morning.

  • The ant thrush is often found in dense forests.

  • The ant thrush forages in the leaf litter for insects in the Amazon rainforest.

  • Birdwatchers are excited to observe the ant thrush, a bird that feeds primarily on ants.

  • In tropical regions, the ant thrush is known for its unique feeding behavior, following ant trails.

Synonyms

Formicarius
vsant thrush
  • Specialized
9.9

A group of ground birds like antthrushes that live in Central and South America

is a broader bird name covering that genus plus another related genus

Surface Forms

ant thrush singular
ant thrushes plural

Morphology

ant + thrush

The compound 'ant thrush' is directly compositional: a thrush associated with or feeding on ants, so a learner who knows 'ant' and 'thrush' can infer it denotes a type of thrush. This follows common English noun–noun compounding patterns (animal + prey/trait) and is cross-linguistically transparent, making the meaning predictable to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Ant thrush gets its name from a simple picture: the bird often follows swarms of ants so it can catch the small insects the ants scare out. The word ant shows what it follows and thrush names the bird, so the name means 'a bird that follows or eats insects driven out by ants'.