Black Antshrike
Thamnophilus nigriceps
Medium-sized antshrike found in the understory of lowland forest and edge, especially in dense thickets. Male is entirely dark glossy black with a relatively short tail and a stout, hooked bill. Female is very distinctive: rufous above with a darker blackish head and breast covered with paler streaks and a buffy-brown belly. Found in pairs, usually working their way through vine tangles or thickets. Listen for an accelerating series of clucks.
Identification
The black antshrike is 15 to 16 cm (5.9 to 6.3 in) long and weighs 23 to 24 g (0.81 to 0.85 oz). Members of genus Thamnophilus are largish members of the antbird family; all have stout bills with a hook like those of true shrikes. This species exhibits some sexual dimorphism. Adult males are almost entirely black. They have dark gray flanks and their underwing coverts and edges of the underside of their flight feathers are white. Adult females have a blackish gray head and upper breast with buff-white streaks. Their upperparts, wings, and tail are rufous-brown. Their lower breast and belly are gray with buff-white streaks and their crissum is unstreaked buff. The width of the streaks varies among individuals, and the amount of streaking increases from nearly none in the north to a significant amount in the south. Subadult males resemble adult females but with pale edges on the wing coverts and black bars on the crissum. Subadult females have wider streaks on their breast than adults.
Taxonomy
The black antshrike was described by the English zoologist Philip Sclater in 1869 and given its current binomial name Thamnophilus nigriceps.<p>The black antshrike is monotypic. It and the cocha antshrike (T. praecox) are sister species.
- Scientific name
- Thamnophilus nigriceps
- Authority
- Sclater, PL, 1869
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thamnophilidae
- Genus
- Thamnophilus
Range and habitat
The black antshrike is found in Panama from eastern Panamá Province south through Darién Province into northern Colombia. In that country it is found from northern Chocó Department east to, but not into, the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in western La Guajira Department and south in the Magdalena River valley to Tolima Department. It primarily inhabits the edges and regrowing clearings of evergreen forest, and also secondary forest and semi-open woodlands. It greatly favors dense thickets of vines, thorns, and Heliconia. In elevation it ranges from sea level to 600 m (2,000 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The black antshrike is a year-round resident throughout its range.<p>The black antshrike's diet is not known but is assumed to be insects and other arthropods. It usually forages singly or in pairs and seldom joins mixed-species feeding flocks. It forages in dense vegetation, usually within 2 m (7 ft) of the ground but sometimes as high as 7 m (25 ft) above it. It hops among branches to glean prey.<p>Nothing is known about the black antshrike's breeding biology.<p>The black antshrike's song is "a moderately long...slightly accelerating, evenly pitched series of somewhat musical yet emphatic notes". Its calls include a "hollow, nasal note sometimes repeated" and a "nasal growl".
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Tahiti Reed Warbler
Acrocephalus caffer
A large, slender warbler with a disproportionately long bill, short wings, and a long tail. Face and eyebrow yellowish-buff with a dark eye-stripe and a pale throat. Upper body and wings mostly dark with pale edges to feathers, giving a messy mottled appearance. Some birds are much paler, often almost entirely white with some mottling. An entirely dark sooty morph occurs. Found in riverine and hillside forest with stands of bamboo up to 600 meters of elevation. Song is a long, slow sequence of warbled phrases and “churr” notes. Calls include harsh churring and “tchak” notes.
Sincora Antwren
Formicivora grantsaui
Range-restricted antwren of the Serra do Sincorá. Males are brown above and black below, with a white eye-line that stretches down to the underparts. Females have black underparts streaked with white. Found in low scrub and grasslands in rocky areas. The song is a continuous repetition of high, slow “tjew” notes. The similar but more widespread Rusty-backed Antwren has a rufous back and a different song.
Tropical Screech-Owl
Megascops choliba
As with all screech-owls, much easier to identify by voice: a short rapid trill with a pop at the end. If you’re lucky enough to see one, look for an overall grayish-brown or rufous bird with fine markings, including thin streaks on underparts. Black border to face. Sexes alike. Found in wooded habitats, sometimes coming out into open shrubby fields or gardens with only a few scattered trees. Usually the most common screech-owl in range.
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