Cinereous Antshrike
Thamnomanes caesius
Common and noisy leader of mixed-species flocks in rainforest understory; almost never seen away from flocks. Note hunched posture and tendency to partially flare tail when perched. Adult male’s plumage entirely gray; female rich buff and rufous. Perches conspicuously in lower-to-middle strata, darting out to catch insects flushed by other members of the flock. Dusky-throated Antshrike behaves similarly and is often in the same flocks. Male Cinereous lacks black throat, and female Cinereous is more richly colored than Dusky-throated Antshrike. Calls of the two species are very different.
Identification
The cinereous antshrike is 14 to 15 cm (5.5 to 5.9 in) long and weighs 16 to 18 g (0.56 to 0.63 oz). Adult males of the nominate subspecies T. c. caesius are almost entirely dark gray; the inner edges of their secondaries and their underwing coverts are white. Adult females have olive-brown upperparts with a small white patch between the scapulars. Their wings and tail are olive-brown with a rufous tinge. Their throat is buff, their breast, sides and flanks olive with a tawny-cinnamon tinge, and the center of their belly and their crissum tawny-cinnamon.<p>The other subspecies of the cinereous antshrike differ from the nominate and each other thus:
Taxonomy
The cinereous antshrike was described by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck in 1820 and given the binomial name Muscicapa caesius. It is now placed in the genus Thamnomanes which was introduced by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis in 1847. The specific epithet caesius is the Latin for "bluish gray".<p>The cinereous antshrike and the bluish-slate antshrike (T. schistogynus) were treated by some authors in the early twentieth century as conspecific. They now are considered a superspecies.<p>The cinereous antshrike has these five subspecies:<p>A few twentieth century authors treated T. c. glaucus and T. c. persimilis together as a species separate from the cinereous antshrike.
- Scientific name
- Thamnomanes caesius
- Authority
- (Temminck, 1820)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thamnophilidae
- Genus
- Thamnomanes
Range and habitat
The cinereous antshrike has a disjunct distribution. The subspecies are found thus:<p>The cinereous antshrike inhabits the understorey to mid-storey of terra firme, várzea, and igapó evergreen forest. It seldom occurs in secondary forest. In most areas it occurs below 600 m (2,000 ft) but reaches 700 m (2,300 ft) in Colombia and 1,100 m (3,600 ft) on tepuis in Venezuela.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Black-breasted Gnateater
Conopophaga snethlageae
Small, chunky bird with a short tail endemic to the Brazilian Amazon. Male has black extending from face to chest and a bright white tuft. Female lacks those features and has a chestnut breast and a long, white line over the eye. Note its limited range south of the Amazon River and between the Tapajós and Tocatins Rivers, which helps separate it from Chestnut-belted Gnateater. Male Black-breasted has more extensive black on the underparts extending to the chest. Female looks almost identical. Stays low inside the rainforest, and usually seen sitting quietly on a low perch, where it may suggest a small antpitta. Song is a descending, stuttering trill; also gives abrupt buzzing and wheezing calls. Formerly treated as a subspecies group of Chestnut-belted Gnateater.
Roraiman Antbird
Myrmelastes saturatus
Dark bird of highland forest understory. Male is entirely dark gray except for bold white wing spots; female is brown above and rufous below with a gray face. Inhabits tall premontane forest, generally between 500–1800 m on tepui slopes, and is especially likely to be found in steep terrain and in areas with many large, mossy boulders. Usually found in pairs that forage for insects on or near the ground, probing into crevices and tossing aside leaves, much like others of genus; does not typically join mixed-species flocks. Song is a long series of sharp notes, swelling in volume and dropping in pitch at end. Very similar to Spot-winged Antbird of lowlands, which it replaces at higher elevations (no known overlap); best distinguished by voice and habitat.
Giant Coua
Coua gigas
Huge, long-tailed, long-legged bird. Rufous belly and blue-and-pink bare facial skin. Found locally in dry deciduous forest, gallery forest, and spiny forest at low and middle elevations in west and southwest Madagascar. Usually found walking along the forest floor, but will ascend to thick spots in the canopy and mid-story, especially when calling. Sometimes shy, but sometimes much more approachable than typical couas. Most common vocalization is a loud “kwaaa” followed by several lower “ku” notes. Very similar to Coquerel’s Coua, but much larger, with pink facial skin. Similar to Red-capped Coua, but much larger, with a rufous belly.
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