Nesting of the bird Tolmomyias sulphurescens (Spix, 1825) (Passeriformes: Tyrannidae) associated with the ant Camponotus senex (Smith, 1858) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Cerrado, Brazil

Abstract

The nesting of birds associated with social insects has already been documented in different Brazilian biomes, including in the Cerrado, but information about this association in this biome is still scarce. Thus, our objective is to report the nesting association between bird and ants in the Cerrado. In April 2023, in the Grande Sertão Veredas National Park, a colony of the weaver ant Camponotus senex (Smith, 1858) was reported as being 10 cm from an active nest, with eggs, of a Tolmomyias sulphurescens (Spix, 1825), a yellow-olive flatbill, 5 meters from the ground, in a plant substrate. The report brings new information about the nesting behavior of T. sulphurescens and the C. senex ant within the Cerrado, but it is not possible to define whether this association is recurrent or accidental, and further studies are needed to better elucidate this ecological relationship, as well as the advantages for both, especially for the ant.