I finally made it back to Colombia for my second visit and again used the guide services of Pablo Florez. I went with my friend Martin Jackson. We visited Inirida on the Orinoco, Santa Marta of course, Guajira Peninsula on the Caribbean coast, and a couple of National Parks around Bogota.
As my neotropical adventures continue, I appreciate the antbird more and more. Many of the species are secretive and difficult to see well, let alone photograph. But then when I do see a new one and get a photo, it is exciting.
The antshrikes are usually the easiest to see and photograph as they are usually 10' or more up in a tree. I photographed 6 species of antshrikes - so I can devote a bulletin to them. One was a species I had seen several times and never was able to photograph, but this trip I was successful. And one species is special as you will see.
The 6" male Amazonian Antshrike (Thamnophilus amazonicus) is gray with black wings and spots on the shoulders.
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| Amazonian Antshrike - male |
The female has an orange head and breast - and the rest resembles the male.
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| Amazonian Antshrike - female |
The 6" male Black-crowned Antshrike (Thamnophilus atrinucha) is a gray bird with a short black crest. This bird was previously named the Western Slaty Antshrike. You can see how similar these birds are and the only way to tell for sure is by the voice.
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| Black-crowned Antshrike - male |
The 6" female Black-backed Antshrike (Thamnophilus melanonotus) is a nondescript pale brown bird.
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| Black-backed Antshrike - female |
The 6.5" male Black-crested Antshrike (Sakephorus canadensis) in unmistakable with his tall bushy crest. Notice the scientific name - canadensis. I wondered how was this bird was associated with Canada?? The range is northern South America. Well it was first described in 1760 and the ornithologist mistakenly believed the specimen had been collected in Canada. Haha
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| Black-crested Antshrike - male |
The female is brown with the same bushy crest.
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| Black-crested Antshrike - female |
The one I had missed photos before was the 8" Great Antshrike (Taraba major). The male is a striking black and white bird with a bright red eye. It is unmistakable.
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| Great Antshrike - male |
The last one was exciting to see and it is new to science and not named yet. It was discovered by our guide Pablo Florez several years ago and the scientific write-up has been done and it should be named next year. He called it the Mystery Antshrike but I prefer Inirida Antshrike as that is the locale where we saw it.
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| Inirida Antshrike |
I have photos of 29 of the 238 species of antbirds
David McDonald
dkmmdpa@gmail.com
photos copyright 2006 - 2021 David McDonald
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