The barred antshrike is a passerine bird in subfamily Thamnophilinae of family Thamnophilidae, the "typical antbirds". It is found in the Neotropics in Mexico, every country in Central America, Trinidad and Tobago, and every mainland South American country except Chile and Uruguay. There is also one accepted record from southern Texas.
Region
Neotropics
Typical Environment
Occurs from Mexico through all of Central America, on Trinidad and Tobago, and across most of mainland South America except Chile and Uruguay; there is a documented vagrant record in southern Texas. It favors dense second-growth, thorn scrub, forest edges, mangroves, gallery woodland, and overgrown gardens. The species is most common in lowlands and foothills where tangled understory provides cover. It is generally sedentary throughout its range.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1500 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
This boldly patterned antshrike shows striking sexual dimorphism: males are black-and-white barred while females are warm rufous-brown with subtler barring. It often travels in pairs, keeping to dense thickets where it raises its erectile crest when excited. Its loud accelerating song is a hallmark of brushy habitats across the Neotropics, and pairs frequently duet. Both parents share incubation and feeding duties for the typical two-chick brood.
Temperament
secretive and territorial, usually in pairs
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats between dense cover
Social Behavior
Typically encountered as bonded pairs that keep close contact while foraging through low, tangled vegetation. Both sexes build a deep cup nest and share incubation and chick-rearing. Territorial displays include crest-raising, tail flicking, and responsive duetting.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
The male gives a loud accelerating series of whistles or rattling notes, often rising in pace and intensity. Pairs commonly duet, with the female answering with a harsher, scolding series from nearby cover.
Plumage
Male is boldly barred black-and-white above and below with an erectile crest; female is warm rufous to cinnamon above with buffy underparts and fine dusky barring, also showing a rufous crest.
Diet
Primarily hunts insects and other arthropods, including beetles, caterpillars, spiders, and orthopterans. It gleans and probes methodically among vines, twigs, and leaf clusters, occasionally sallying to snatch prey. It may take small vertebrates opportunistically and sometimes exploits prey flushed by ant swarms or mixed flocks.
Preferred Environment
Forages in the understory and midstory of scrub, edges, and secondary woodland, often 0.5–3 m above ground. Frequently uses dense hedges and brush piles near human habitation and agricultural margins.
