Black and white ant strangler

Black and white ant strangler
Black and white ant strangler
Systematics
Subordination : Screeching Birds (Tyranni) Family : Ant birds (Thamnophilidae) Subfamily : Thamnophilinae Tribe : Thamnophilini Genre : Thamnophilus Type : Black and white ant strangler
Scientific name
Thamnophilus melanonotus
Sclater , 1855

The black and white Ameisenwürger ( Thamnophilus melanonotus ), Syn. Sakesphorus melanonotus , one within the family of Antbirds (Thamnophilidae) to the genus of Thamnophilus .

Together with the shoulder patch anthristus (Sakesphorus melanothorax), the species was previously considered to belong to the genus Sakesphorus , but assigned to the genus Thamnophilus on the basis of molecular biological studies .

The species occurs in Colombia and Venezuela and is considered to be almost endemic .

The distribution area includes tropical or subtropical dry forest , preferably with dense undergrowth, semi-arid forest edges with scrub up to 1000, rarely up to 1300 m, altogether slightly more humid habitats than the black- faced ant shrike ( Sakesphorus canadensis ).

The Latin additional species comes from the ancient Greek μέλας mélas "black" and νότος  nótos "back".

features

The bird is 15-16 cm tall. There is a noticeable gender dimorphism . The male is black to black-brown with the exception of white feather tips, especially on the wing-coverts and tail feathers, the outer flight feathers have white edges, the underside is white. The female has a dark brown, cinnamon-colored cap, the upper side is brown, the wing-coverts brownish to black with pale brownish to white feathers. The tail is red-brown with white tips and edges, the underside pale yellow-brown. Young birds have a blackish cap compared to the female.

The species is monotypical .

voice

The call is described as a drawn out tone followed by a series of nasal tones that become faster. The warning call is a hard growl.

Way of life

The food consists mainly of insects , which are often searched on the ground or up to 6 height with short jumps. The species usually occurs in pairs, is only rarely found in mixed hunting communities, it often wiggles its tail.

Little is known about the breeding season, probably between March and July in northern Colombia. The clutch consists of 2 white, dark-spotted eggs.

Hazardous situation

The stock is not considered to be at risk ( least concern ).

literature

• PL Sclater: Characters of six new species of the genus Thamnophilus. In: Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London . 1855, Vol. 23 (285), pp. 18-19, Figure 80.

Web links

Commons : Black and White Anthrag  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Oiseaux.net
• Xeno-canto
• Birds of the World (videos, photos and sound recordings)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Black and white ant strangler , in Avibase - The World Bird Database. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
2. ^ RT Brumfield and SV Edwards: Proposal (278) to South American Classification Committee. Transfer some Sakesphorus species into Thamnophilus (Thamnophilidae) . In: Evolution into and out of the Andes: a Bayesian analysis of historical diversification in Thamnophilus antshrikes . Vol. 61, No. 2, 2007, pp. 346-367.
3. ↑ ^{a b c d} M. McMullan: Field Guide to the Birds of Colombia Rey Naranjo Editores, 2018, ISBN 978-958-8969-77-0
4. ↑ ^{a b c} K. Zimmer and ML Isler. Northern Slaty Antshrike (Thamnophilus melanonotus) , version 1.0. In: J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, DA Christie and E. de Juana (editors): Birds of the World .2020, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. Northern Slaty-Antshrike
5. ^ JA Jobling: A Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. Oxford University Press. 1991. ISBN 0-19-854634-3 .
6. ↑ Redlist.Retrieved June 24, 2020.