Southern black ant shrike
| Southern black ant shrike | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Thamnophilus praecox | ||||||||||||
| ( Zimmer , 1937) |
The southern black ant shrike ( Thamnophilus praecox ), sometimes also called Cocha woolly back , is a species of bird from the genus of the ant shrike ( Thamnophilus ). The species is endemic to the Várzea forests of Ecuador .
The population of the southern black ant shrike was classified in the IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species in 2016 as “ Near Threatened (NT) ” = “potentially endangered”.
The species is considered to be monotypical .
The bird got its name because it follows wandering ants in order to devour them.
features
The southern black ant shrike reaches a body length of about 16 centimeters. The male is dark black through and through. Only the under wing coverts are white, which is not noticeable in the wild. In the female, the head, chest, throat and chest are also black with slight white streaks on the chest. The top is light cinnamon to reddish brown. The bottom is similar in color to the top, but a little paler.
Distribution area
The habitat extends from the Rio Lagarto-Cocha to Zancudococha on the southern part of the Río Aguarico . There are individual reports and voice recordings from the Río Pacuyacu and Río Napo . It can therefore be assumed that the bird could also occur in Peru and Colombia . The bird moves in the lower areas of typical Várzea forests. Here it usually sits in very dense vegetation, so that it is very difficult to spot. He prefers to move near water. He prefers terrain that is flooded all year round.
behavior
The southern black ant shrike usually travels in pairs. He gets his food from the dense shrubs near the water. It is seldom seen with other ant birds , such as the northern gray ant flycatcher ( Hypocnemoides melanopogon ). Mixed groups are the exception. Unlike other ant birds, the southern black ant shrike rarely seems to be vocal active until the middle of the morning.
literature
- Robert S. Ridgely , Paul J. Greenfield: Status, Distribution, and Taxonomy. Cornell University Press, Ithaca 2001, ISBN 978-0-8014-8720-0 ( The Birds of Ecuador. Volume 1), p. 484 ff.
- Robert S. Ridgely, Paul J. Greenfield: Field Guide. Cornell University Press, Ithaca 2001, ISBN 978-0-8014-8720-0 ( The Birds of Ecuador. Volume 2), p. 393 ff.
- Steven L. Hilty , William L. Brown: A Guide to the Birds of Colombia. Princeton University Press, Princeton 1986, ISBN 978-0-691-08372-8 , pp. 382 ff.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Avibase entry: Southern black ant shrike
- ↑ Thamnophilus praecox in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2016 Posted by: BirdLife International, 2016. Retrieved on 3 October 2017th
- ↑ Internet Bird Collection: Cocha Antshrike (Engl.)