The saturnine antshrike is a species of bird in subfamily Thamnophilinae of family Thamnophilidae, the "typical antbirds". It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru.
Region
Western and southwestern Amazon Basin
Typical Environment
Occurs in lowland evergreen rainforest across parts of Peru, Bolivia, and western Brazil, favoring mature terra firme forest and tall secondary growth. It forages in the shaded interior, especially along vine tangles and midstory branches. The species also uses seasonally flooded (várzea) edges but is most numerous in undisturbed forest. It typically avoids open habitats and highly fragmented forest.
Altitude Range
0–1000 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
A core member of mixed-species flocks in Amazonian forests, the saturnine antshrike often acts as a vigilant sentinel, giving sharp alarm calls when predators are near. It is primarily an understory to midstory insect-hunter that sally-gleans from foliage and vines. Though it may attend army-ant swarms opportunistically, it is not an obligate ant follower.
Temperament
social and active
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Typically found in pairs that join mixed-species foraging flocks, where they often serve as sentinels and maintain contact with sharp calls. Pairs defend territories and remain year-round within a home range. Nesting is in concealed sites within dense understory vegetation, with both sexes participating in care.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Delivers a series of clear, sharp whistles and chips used to keep contact within flocks. Alarm notes are harsher scolds that carry well through the understory.
Plumage
Mostly slaty-gray with slightly paler underparts; wings and tail darker with faint pale spotting on the wing coverts. The tail appears long and dusky; females show a browner or warmer wash compared with males. Plumage is smooth and relatively uniform, lacking bold barring.
Diet
Feeds mainly on arthropods such as insects and spiders, gleaned from leaves, twigs, and vine tangles. It frequently sally-gleans to snatch prey flushed by movement within mixed flocks. Occasionally hawks small flying insects and may attend army-ant swarms to capture fleeing prey, though not as a specialist.
Preferred Environment
Forages in shaded understory to midstory of primary and tall secondary rainforest, often along viney edges and near treefalls. Most activity occurs within mixed-species flocks moving through intact forest interiors.
