ANTBIRDS   -   THAMNOPHILIDAE

Spot-backed Antshrike Hypoedaleus guttatus Serra do Ouricana (Boa Nova), Bahia State, Brazil. Male in full song. Birds lacking any tawny on the underparts from the northern part of the species'  range (such as this one) were formerly separated as subspecies leucogaster. HBW did not recognize this taxon due to the broad zone of intergradation.

Black-crested Antshrike Sakesphorus canadensis loretoyacuensis Anavilhanas Archilpelago, Amazonas state, Brazil. Male. I was surprised when I saw this bird on a river island in the Rio Negro near Manaus. It seemed out-of-place compared to the habitats where I had seen it previously in Venezuela.

Silvery-cheeked Antshrike Sakesphorus cristatus Palmeiras, Bahia state, Brazil. Male. A northeast Brazil endemic, found in deciduous forest and caatinga woodland.

Glossy Antshrike Sakesphorus luctuosus luctuosus Near Careiro da Varzea, Amazonas state, Brazil. Male. Endemic to Brazil even though it has a large range. The female is fantastic with a rufous crest, but I couldn't manage to get a shot of her.		Bar-crested Antshrike Thamnophilus multistriatus multistriatus Near San Vicente de Chucurí, Santander department, Colombia. Male. This bird is nearly endemic to Colombia, barely getting over the border in the Sierra de Perijá in western Venezuela. It is rather common in disturbed habitats at middle elevations.

Chestnut-backed Antshrike Thamnophilus palliatus vestitus Balbina Forest, Bandeira, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. Male. This is the Atlantic Forest subspecies, which is darker overall.		Chestnut-backed Antshrike Thamnophilus palliatus vestitus Balbina Forest, Bandeira, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. Female, with the rufous crest. She is the mate of the bird in the previous photo.

Collared Antshrike Thamnophilus bernardi piurae Bosque de Pomac, Lambayeque department, Peru. Male.

Mouse-colored Antshrike Thamnophilus murinus canipennis Shiripuno Lodge, Orellana province, Ecuador. Male. The faint white edging on the wing coverts and the white central underparts separate it from Plain-winged Antshrike (T. schistaceus)

Blackish-gray Antshrike Thamnophilus nigrocinereus cinereoniger Anavilhanas Archipelago, Amazononas state, Brazil. Male. He's pretty uninspiring, but does have a nice song.		Streak-backed Antshrike Thamnophilus insignis insignis La Escalera (Sierra de Lema), Bolívar state, Venezuela Male. Endemic to the tepui region.

Natterer's Slaty-Antshrike Thamnophilus stictocephalus Cristalino Jungle Lodge, Mato Grosso state, Brazil. Male. One of the several species split off what was once just Slaty Antshrike. This bird was on the "Serra" at Cristalino Jungle Lodge, a rocky hilltop with sandy soil and stunted forest, a preferred habitat for this species.

Variable Antshrike Thamnophilus caerulescens cearensis Serra de Baturité, Ceará state, Brazil. Male, of the race endemic to northeastern Brazil, showing virtually no black on the crown.

Rufous-winged Antshrike Thamnophilus torquatus Serra de Cipó, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. Male. You'll notice that the antshrikes are well-represented in this gallery; they are more likely to sit still in the open than other members of the family.		Rufous-winged Antshrike Thamnophilus torquatus Serra de Cipó, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. Female.

Spot-crowned Antvireo Dysithamnus puncticeps flemmingi Near Pedro Vicente Maldonado, Pichincha province, Ecuador. Male. The way he was acting, I suspect there was a nest nearby, but I never found it. I took this shot at a range of a few feet with a point-and-shoot camera!

Caatinga Antwren Herpsilochmus sellowi Chapada de Araripe, Ceará state, Brazil. Male. It was only described to science in 2000. This photo was published in the first volume of Neotropical Birding.

White-fringed Antwren Formicivora grisea grisea Near the town of Baturité, Ceará state, Brazil. Male. Distinguished from the similar and sympatric Black-bellied Antwren (F. melanogaster) mainly by having a lot more white on the flanks. The supercilium is also slightly narrower.

White-fringed Antwren Formicivora grisea intermedia Near Bruzual, Apure state, Venezuela. Male. Some orntithologists consider the races of far northern South America (including this one) to be a distinct species from those farther south. However the plumage differences are in the female, so not noticeable in these photos.

Yellow-browed Antbird Hypocnemis hypoxantha hypoxantha Gareno Lodge, Napo province, Ecuador. Male. I almost didn't include photo since it is so poor, but it is such a cool bird that I ended up sticking it in. This species seems to prefer hilly areas in terra firme forest.

White-shouldered Fire-eye Pyriglena leucoptera Parque Estadual Intervales, São Paulo state, Brazil. Male. Normally a very skulking, hard-to-see species. I have no idea what possessed this one to sit in the open for five minutes...		Ash-breasted Antbird Myrmoborus lugubris stictopterus Anavilhanas Archipelago, Amazonas state, Brazil. Female. One of only very few shots I have of female antbirds. This is mainly due to the fact that the males are usually the ones to respond aggressively to playback, which is usually necessary to get field photos of these shy birds.

Black-faced Antbird Myrmoborus myotherinus elegans Shiripuno Lodge, Orellana province, Ecuador. Male.

Silvered Antbird Sclateria naevia naevia Near Guaraunos, Sucre state, Venezuela. Male. An example of one of the eastern races, which are extensively streaked below.

Spot-winged Antbird Schistocichla leucostigma subplumbea Shiripuno Lodge, Orellana province, Ecuador. Male.

White-bellied Antbird Myrmeciza longipes panamensis Parque Metropolitano, Panama City, Panama. Male.

Ferruginous-backed Antbird Myrmeciza ferruginea ferruginea c.60km north of Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil. Male. What a bird! Certainly one of the most handsome of the antbirds, and one of my favorite photos.

Spotted Antbird Hylophylax naevioides naevioides Plantation Road, Soberania NP, Panama. Male. This is one of only three photos in this section that were taken with an SLR rather than by digiscoping. All three of those photos are the worst of the gallery! A lot of that is due to not having great gear, but it does show the power of digiscoping for the patient birder.

Spotted Antbird Hylophylax naevioides naevioides Plantation Road, Soberania NP, Panama. Female. In many of the antbirds, the female is more ornately patterned than the male, but that doesn't hold true for this one.

Scale-backed Antbird Hylophylax poecilinotus vidua Serra dos Carajás, Pará state, Brazil. Male. He was attending a small army antswarm, which made him a lot easier to photograph.

Black-spotted Bare-eye Phlegopsis nigromaculata nigromaculata Yasuní NP, Orellana province, Ecuador. Male. Taxonomically last, but for me it's the most amazing photo of this gallery. This is normally an incredibly shy bird, hard enough to get even a glimpse of, never mind digiscope. This guy perched for several minutes, giving me time to set the scope up in just the right place to get him through a gap in the leaves. Notice the spider web on his face; he must have just flown straight through a web, which has to be a pretty unpleasant experience for a bird (and deadly for the smallest ones).

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