Barred Antshrike
Thamnophilus doliatus
A retiring bird of thickets, forest edge, and other tangled vegetation. Distinctive song is heard regularly and pairs are usually within earshot of each other, but antshrikes generally remain hidden. The sexes look very different, but both have a spiky crest that is often raised. Male is barred black-and-white in ‘convict stripes,’ whereas female looks a lot like a wren with a stout bill that has a slightly hooked tip.
Identification
The barred antshrike is 15 to 18.5 cm (5.9 to 7.3 in) long and weighs 24 to 32 g (0.85 to 1.1 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 marked sexual dimorphism though both sexes have a bushy crest. Adult males of the nominate subspecies T. d. doliatus are almost entirely plumaged with alternating black and white bars. The black bars on their upperparts are thicker than the white bars; on their underparts the black bars are thinner than the white ones. Their face, throat, and chin have thin black and white streaks. Their crest is black with white bases on the middle feathers. Adult females have a cinnamon-rufous crest and upperparts. The sides of their head and neck are streaked black and white or buff. Their chin is buff and their underparts ochraceous-buff. Adults of both sexes have a pale yellow iris, a black maxilla, a bluish gray mandible, and lead-gray legs and feet. Juvenile males are barred with black and light yellowish brown.<p>The other subspecies of the barred antshrike differ from the nominate and each other thus:
Taxonomy
The barred antshrike was described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1764 and given the binomial name Lanius doliatus. The type locality was subsequently designated as Surinam. The specific epithet is from Neo-Latin doliatus meaning "barred". <p>The barred antshrike has these 12 subspecies:<p>Subspecies T. d. capistratus was proposed as a separate species but the data presented confirmed its treatment as a subspecies of the barred antshrike.<p>What is now Chapman's antshrike (T. azrumae) was for a time treated as a subspecies of the barred antshrike.
- Scientific name
- Thamnophilus doliatus
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1764)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thamnophilidae
- Genus
- Thamnophilus
Range and habitat
The subspecies of the barred antshrike are found thus:<p>The barred antshrike inhabits a variety of landscapes with some geographical differences. In all areas it favors thick undergrowth rather than higher parts of the habitat and shuns the interior of mature forest. In Mexico, Central America, northern South America, and much of Peru it inhabits scrublands (especially second-growth), riparian thickets, the edges of dry woodlands and secondary forest, and even gardens. The exceptions are T. d. eremnus, which inhabits tropical deciduous forest on Coiba Island, T. d. tobagensis, which inhabits mature humid forest on Tobago, and T. d. capistratus, which primarily inhabits caatinga and restinga in eastern Brazil. In eastern Colombia the species often occurs on river islands, and in Ecuador, northern Peru, and much of Brazilian Amazonia it occurs almost exclusively on them. In Brazil it also is found on the "mainland" along rivers. In southern Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina it adds savanna to the scrub, secondary forest, and riverine belts. In Mexico, Central America, and Colombia it is found from sea level or near it to 1,500 m (4,900 ft). In Venezuela it reaches 2,000 m (6,600 ft) though most records are below 1,250 m (4,100 ft); in Peru it reaches 1,400 m (4,600 ft). In Ecuador it is found only below 250 m (800 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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A medium-sized yellowish-olive bird with a long tail that is often flipped up and down. Endemic to the remote island of Rodrigues. Found in secondary forest, scrub, and plantations. Feeds both in the undergrowth and up into the canopy. The cheerful song is a quick series of several musical warbling notes in an up-and-down pattern. The calls include “chek” notes and rattling scolds. There are no other warblers or otherwise similar species on Rodrigues, so identification is simple.
Verreaux's Eagle
Aquila verreauxii
Spectacular large black eagle. Distinctive in flight, when it shows a long tail and long wings that pinch in at the base. There are white patches toward the ends of the wings and on the back. Immature is brownish on the back and streaked below but still shows white panels in the wings and the characteristic shape. Found around cliffs and other rocky terrain in mountainous areas. Call is an upslurred scream. Separated from Long-crested Eagle by different shape: lankier, with a longer tail and narrower, more pointed wings.
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Large raptor with broad wings and short tail. Fairly common and widespread in South America, from high elevations in the Andes of Colombia to the lowlands in Tierra del Fuego. Adults have a dark gray head and breast contrasting with a white belly. Wings are silvery-gray from above; from below, the coverts are white contrasting with dark flight feathers. Note the shape in flight with bulging secondaries, tapered wingtips, and a very short tail. Young birds are brown and streaky, tricky to distinguish from Variable Hawk. Look for bulkier shape and shorter, more graduated tail.
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