Diet and Foraging

Slate-throated Redstart feeds primarily on flying insects, particularly those in the orders Homoptera (planthoppers and relatives), Diptera (flies), and Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) (37 Collins, C. T., and A. Watson (1983). Field observations of bird predation on Neotropical moths. Biotropica 15:53–60. Close , 1 Mumme, R. L. (2002). Scare tactics in a Neotropical warbler: White tail feathers enhance flush-pursuit foraging performance in the Slate-throated Redstart (Myioborus miniatus). Auk 119:1024–1035. Close , 2 Mumme, R. L., M. L. Galatowitsch, P. G Jabłoński, T. M. Stawarczyk, and J. P. Cygan (2006). Evolutionary significance of geographic variation in a plumage-based foraging adaptation: An experimental test in the Slate-throated Redstart (Myioborus miniatus). Evolution 60:1086–1097. Close ). Non-flying invertebrates and insect larvae are consumed occasionally (35 Shopland, J. M. (1985). Facultative following of mixed-species flocks by two species of Neotropical warblers. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA. Close ), as are the Müllerian bodies produced by Cecropia plants (35 Shopland, J. M. (1985). Facultative following of mixed-species flocks by two species of Neotropical warblers. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA. Close , 4 Stiles, F. G., and A. F. Skutch (1989). A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, USA. Close , 38 Naoki, K., and E. Toapanta (2001). Müllerian body feeding by Andean birds: new mutualistic relationship or evolutionary time lag? Biotropica 33:204–207. Close ).

Microhabitat for Foraging

Typically forages actively in the middle and lower canopy and upper understory, occasionally foraging on the ground. It frequently joins mixed species foraging flocks (35 Shopland, J. M. (1985). Facultative following of mixed-species flocks by two species of Neotropical warblers. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA. Close , 39 Poulsen, B. O. (1996). Structure, dynamics, home range and activity pattern of mixed-species bird flocks in a montane alder-dominated secondary forest in Ecuador. Journal of Tropical Ecology 12:333–343. Close , 40 Pomara, L. Y, R. J. Cooper, and L. J. Petit (2003). Mixed-species flocking and foraging behavior of four Neotropical warblers in Panamanian shade coffee fields and forests. Auk 120:1000–1012. Close ) and often follows army ant swarms to feed off the insects that are stirred up by the ants (41 Vallely, A. C. (2001) Foraging at army ant swarms by fifty bird species in the highlands of Costa Rica. Ornitología Neotropical 12: 271–275. Close , 42 Rios, M., G. Londoño, and L. Biancucci (2008). Notes on birds that follow army ants in the northern Andes. Ornitología Neotropical 19:137–142. Close ).

Food Capture and Consumption

Like other members of the genus Myioborus, Slate-throated Redstart is an active forager, most noted for its flush-pursuit foraging behavior. It uses animated displays of the white patches on the outer tail feathers to startle flying insects, which are then attacked and captured in frequently intricate and acrobatic pursuit flights. In a field experiment performed in Costa Rica, birds with experimentally darkened tail feathers were less successful at attacking prey and delivering food to their nestlings than were unmanipulated control birds. Although flush-pursuit foraging is the most conspicuous and characteristic of their foraging behaviors, flycatching is more widely employed, especially for birds not feeding nestlings or dependent fledglings (1 Mumme, R. L. (2002). Scare tactics in a Neotropical warbler: White tail feathers enhance flush-pursuit foraging performance in the Slate-throated Redstart (Myioborus miniatus). Auk 119:1024–1035. Close ).

Of 55 prey items delivered to nestlings in Costa Rica and sampled by the neck ligature method (RLM, unpublished data), 51% were Homoptera, 35% were Diptera, and 9% were representatives of other flying insect orders (Psocoptera, Coleoptera, and Hymenoptera); the remaining 5% were small snails and jumping spiders (family Salticidae). In shade-coffee plantations in Chiapas, Mexico, the diet consisted of 32% Hymenoptera, 32% Coleoptera, and 14% Diptera, based on 44 identifiable prey items from the stomach contents of 8 individuals (43 Jedlicka, J. A., S. M Philpott, M. L. Baena, P. Bichier, T. V. Dietsch, L. H. Nute, S. M. Langridge, I. Perfecto, and R. Greenberg (2021). Differences in insectivore bird diets in coffee agroecosystems driven by obligate or generalist guild, shade management, season, and year. PeerJ 9:e12296. Close ).

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