Giant antshrike

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Not to be confused with giant antpitta and great antshrike.

Giant antshrike

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Thamnophilidae
Genus: Batara
Lesson
, 1831
Species:
B. cinerea
Binomial name
Batara cinerea
(Vieillot, 1819)

The giant antshrike (Batara cinerea) is a species of

Thamnophilidae, the "typical antbirds". It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay.[2]

Taxonomy and systematics

The giant antshrike was described by the French ornithologist

nominate B. c. cinerea (Vieillot, 1819), B. c. excubitor (Bond, J & Meyer de Schauensee, 1940), and B. c. argentina (Shipton
, 1918).

Description

The giant antshrike is the largest antbird, 27 to 35 cm (11 to 14 in) long and weighing 100 to 155 g (3.5 to 5.5 oz). The species exhibits significant

crissum. Subspecies B. c. argentina is smaller than the nominate. Compared to it, males have fewer bars on their wings and tail; females have less black on their crest, slightly paler upperparts, and warmer underparts. B. c. excubitor is paler overall than argentina, and the difference might be clinal.[5][6][7]

Distribution and habitat

The giant antshrike has a disjunct distribution. The nominate subspecies is separate from the others. It is found from southern Espírito Santo and southwestern São Paulo states in southeastern Brazil south to central Rio Grande do Sul and into northeastern Argentina's Misiones Province. Subspecies B. c. excubitor is found only in western Santa Cruz Department in central Bolivia. B. c. argentina is found in southern Bolivia's Santa Cruz, Chuquisaca and Tarija departments, in northwestern Argentina's Jujuy, Salta, and Tucumán provinces, and in western Paraguay's Boquerón and Presidente Hayes departments.[5][6][7]

The giant antshrike inhabits landscapes that vary geographically, though in all it favors the understorey to mid-storey. In the

montane forest as high as 2,600 m (8,500 ft), mostly in dense vegetation along ravines and streams. At lower elevations in Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay it occurs in stunted woodlands of the semi-arid Gran Chaco where it favors dense thorny thickets.[5][6][7]

Behavior

Movement

The giant antshrike is presumed to be a year-round resident throughout its range, though local movements in response to bamboo die-off are likely.[5]

Feeding

The giant antshrike feeds on a variety of large insects and other

mixed-species feeding flocks. It hops and makes short flights to find prey, which it gleans by reaching from a perch to leaves, stems, and branches.[5]

Breeding

The giant antshrike's breeding season appears to vary geographically but is generally within October to December. It makes a large messy cup nest of plant fibers and leaves, typically in a branch fork among dense vegetation about 1.5 to 3 m (5 to 10 ft) above the ground. The usual clutch is two eggs, which are whitish with darkish and reddish markings. The incubation period, time to fledging, and details of parental care are not known.[5]

Dickcissel male perched on a metal pole singing, with neck stretched and beak open.

Songs and calls
Listen to giant antshrike on xeno-canto

Vocalization

The giant antshrike's song is a "series that starts with a short trill and continues with a fast series of notes that increase in strength and pitch, leveling out and decelerating at the end".[6] Its calls include a "long, raspy, downward-inflected snarl, often repeated rapidly, and a short even series of abrupt loud notes".[5]

Status

The

IUCN has assessed the giant antshrike as being of Least Concern. It has a large range; its population size is not known and is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified.[1] It occurs in several large protected areas. However, it "[r]equires relatively large territories [and] does not survive in small residual forest patches in the Atlantic Forest".[5]

References

  1. ^
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22701232A130210296.en
    . Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  2. Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2024). "Antbirds"
    . IOC World Bird List. v 14.1. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  3. ^ Vieillot, Louis Pierre (1816). Nouveau dictionnaire d'histoire naturelle, appliquée aux arts, à l'agriculture, à l'économie rurale et domestique, à la médecine, etc (in French). Vol. 35. Paris: Deterville. p. 200.
  4. ^ Lesson, René (1831). Traité d'ornithologie. Bruxelles: F.G. Levrault. p. 347.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Zimmer, K. and M.L. Isler (2020). Giant Antshrike (Batara cinerea), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.giaant2.01 retrieved April 18, 2024
  6. ^
    ISBN 978-0-19-530155-7
    .
  7. ^
    ISBN 0691090351
    .

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Giant_antshrike&oldid=1219575385"