Bird Guide

Black Antshrike vs Sooretama Slaty Antshrike

Black Antshrike (Thamnophilus nigriceps)

Black Antshrike

Thamnophilus nigriceps

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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. Voice: 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".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Guy Babineau · CC BY 4.0
Sooretama Slaty Antshrike (Thamnophilus ambiguus)

Sooretama Slaty Antshrike

Thamnophilus ambiguus

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The Sooretama slaty antshrike is 14 to 15 cm (5.5 to 5.9 in) long. 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 significant sexual dimorphism. Adult males have a black forehead and crown with a few gray spots on the former. Their back is gray with a black spot in the middle and a hidden white patch between the scapulars. Their face is gray. Their wings and wing coverts are black with white spots and edges. Their tail is black with white tips and spots on the feathers. Voice: The Sooretama slaty antshrike's song is a "cackling series, starting high and rising, then finishing as a short, sometimes descending rattle". Its call is a "level high, cackling 'witwitwit' or 'witrrr' ".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Luiz Lapa from Oeiras, Portugal · CC BY 2.0

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Black Antshrike and Sooretama Slaty Antshrike.