Army-ants (particularly swarm-raiding species Eciton burchellii and Labidus praedator) are keystone predators in Neotropical forests. Hundreds of associated species from diverse taxa depend on them for survival, the most conspicuous of which are the ant-following birds. These birds forage on cryptic arthropods and vertebrates as they attempt to escape raiding army-ants. Despite capturing the attention of tropical biologists for centuries, research on ant-following birds has been largely limited to natural history observations until more recently. Here, we argue that this complex system provides unique and underappreciated opportunities for testing hypotheses in 5 main areas of interest: (1) competitive interactions among attendant birds, (2) cognitive and behavioral adaptations for locating swarms, (3) evolution of ant-following behavior, (4) biogeography of ant-following behavior, and (5) conservation of ant-following birds. For each research area, we review the current state of knowledge and make suggestions for fruitful research avenues that we believe will help address important questions in the fields of ecology, evolution, and behavior.

中文翻译：

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新热带鸟类中的军蚁追随：回顾和招股说明书

军蚁（尤其是群袭物种 Eciton burchellii 和 Labidus praedator）是新热带森林中的主要捕食者。来自不同分类群的数百个相关物种依赖它们生存，其中最引人注目的是蚂蚁追随的鸟类。这些鸟在试图逃避突袭的军蚁时以神秘的节肢动物和脊椎动物为食。尽管几个世纪以来引起了热带生物学家的关注，但直到最近，对蚂蚁追随鸟类的研究在很大程度上仅限于自然历史观察。在这里，我们认为这个复杂的系统为测试 5 个主要感兴趣领域的假设提供了独特且未被充分重视的机会：（1）随行鸟类之间的竞争性互动，（2）定位蜂群的认知和行为适应，（3）蚂蚁进化跟随行为，(4) 蚂蚁追随行为的生物地理学，以及 (5) 蚂蚁追随鸟类的保护。对于每个研究领域，我们都会回顾当前的知识状况，并为富有成效的研究途径提出建议，我们认为这些途径将有助于解决生态学、进化和行为领域的重要问题。