Blackish-gray Antshrike Thamnophilus nigrocinereus Scientific name definitions

The locally fairly common Blackish-gray Antshrike is principally an inhabitant of seasonally flooded evergreen forests, as well as gallery forests, dense savanna woodlands, and even coastal mangroves. It prefers the lower stories of all these vegetation types, where it forages, alone or in pairs, for insects and other arthropods. The Blackish-gray Antshrike is intimately tied to rivers and coasts throughout its range, which occupies northeast Colombia and southwest Venezuela south through the Rio Negro drainage to the Amazon, thence east to that river’s mouth, with an apparently outlying population in the littoral of French Guiana and adjacent Amapá (Brazil). Five subspecies have been recognized, at least some of which appear to be reasonably distinctive in both morphology and vocalizations, thereby demanding more detailed study to determine whether more than one species might be involved. Males are generally black, becoming grayer posteriorly, with white wing and tail markings, while the less frequently observed females (it is usually males that approach in response to playback) are principally deep rufous below, with browner upperparts, and a dark cap. The bill in both sexes is rather prominently hooked.

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Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Loudsong of male a strongly accelerating, slowly delivered (e.g. 8 notes in 2·4 seconds) series of low-pitched, mellow, punchy notes, either slightly descending (e.g. nominate race) or nearly even in pitch (e.g. cinereoniger); female loudsong usually begins at higher pitch but descends more noticeably. Call of cinereoniger nasal and muffled, and often doubled, nominate race similar but rising; also a trill or rattle introduced by one or two longer emphatic notes.