The uniform antshrike is a species of bird in subfamily Thamnophilinae of family Thamnophilidae, the "typical antbirds". It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
Region
Northern Andes (eastern slopes)
Typical Environment
Occurs in humid foothill and lower montane evergreen forests and adjacent second growth. It favors dense vine tangles, bamboo thickets, and edges along streams or landslides. The species keeps mostly to the understory and midstory, where it forages methodically among foliage and dead leaves. It avoids open habitats and is patchy where forest has been heavily fragmented.
Altitude Range
400–1500 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The uniform antshrike lives in dense foothill and lower montane forests on the eastern slopes of the Andes in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Males are a plain slaty gray while females are a warm rufous-brown, both lacking the wing bars and mottling common in many antshrikes. It is often detected by its simple series of clear whistles, since it keeps to thick understory. The species sometimes joins mixed-species flocks and may attend army-ant swarms opportunistically.
Temperament
solitary and territorial
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Usually encountered in pairs that maintain and defend small territories year-round. Pairs move quietly through dense understory and may join mixed-species flocks temporarily while foraging. Nesting is a small cup placed low in dense vegetation; both sexes participate in incubation and care of young.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
A simple, clear series of evenly spaced whistles that may descend slightly in pitch. Calls include dry, sharp notes and soft chattering used in pair contact and territory defense.
Plumage
Uniform, unpatterned plumage; male is plain slaty gray, female is overall warm rufous-brown. Both sexes lack wing bars and heavy streaking or barring, giving a smooth, even-toned appearance.
Diet
Feeds primarily on arthropods such as beetles, orthopterans, caterpillars, spiders, and other small invertebrates. It gleans from leaves, twigs, and dead leaf clusters, and may sally short distances to seize prey. The species occasionally follows army-ant swarms to capture flushed insects but is not an obligate ant follower.
Preferred Environment
Forages in dense understory and midstory of humid foothill forest, especially in vine tangles, bamboo, and along shaded forest edges or stream corridors. It often works through lower strata 1–6 meters above ground, where cover is thick.
