The great antshrike is a passerine bird in subfamily Thamnophilinae of family Thamnophilidae, the "typical antbirds". It is found in southern Mexico, in every Central American country except El Salvador, on Trinidad, and in every mainland South American country except Chile, though only as a vagrant in Uruguay.
Region
Central and South America
Typical Environment
Favors dense, tangled vegetation in secondary growth, forest edges, scrub, and riverine thickets. It also occurs in plantations, overgrown pastures, and woodland borders, typically avoiding the interior of tall, unbroken primary forest. Birds stay close to the ground to mid-understory, moving methodically through vine tangles and thorny thickets. They are widespread from southern Mexico through most of Central America, on Trinidad, and across much of South America.
Altitude Range
0–1500 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The great antshrike is strongly sexually dimorphic: males are striking black-and-white while females are rich rufous and buff. It often travels as a secretive pair through dense thickets, giving loud duets. Its eyes are a vivid red, and the species uses a heavy, hooked bill to pry insects from curled leaves and vine tangles.
Temperament
secretive and territorial
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Typically found in pairs that maintain and defend territories year-round. Nests are cup-shaped and placed low in dense vegetation; both sexes participate in nesting duties. Pairs often move together through understory tangles, keeping in vocal contact.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
A loud series of clear, whistled notes that may accelerate or occur in rapid pairs, often delivered as a duet by the pair. Also gives harsh scolds and mechanical-sounding rattles when alarmed.
Plumage
Male is black above with bold white wing bars and white underparts; tail dark with white tips. Female has rich rufous upperparts, buffy underparts, and pale wing bars; both sexes have a stout, hooked bill and red eyes.
Diet
Primarily consumes insects and other arthropods, including beetles, grasshoppers, spiders, and caterpillars. It occasionally takes small vertebrates such as tiny lizards or frogs. Foraging involves carefully probing curled leaves, bark crevices, and vine tangles, with short lunges to capture prey.
Preferred Environment
Forages in dense understory of second growth, shrubbery, and at forest edges. It may follow mixed-species flocks at times and occasionally attends army-ant swarms, though it is not an obligate ant-follower.
