Barred Antshrike Gallery

Thamnophilus doliatus

The Birds of the World website provides this introductory information about the Barred Antshrike:  The Barred Antshrike is a sexually dimorphic, medium-sized suboscine songbird that is abundant in its range from Mexico to Argentina. It is commonly found in dense thickets and forest edge habitat. These birds form long-term monogamous pair bonds and hold year-round territories. The striking male plumage consists of alternating black and white bars across all of the bird’s feathered parts. In some parts of the species’ range the male’s crown feathers are all black; in other parts males have a semi-concealed white patch near the back of the crown. The upper plumage of the female is a cinnamon-rufous color and the breast is lighter ochraceous-buff. Both sexes have a proportionally large bill compared to their body size, with a sharp hook at the tip.

I saw and photographed my first Barred Antshrike on the morning of August 21, 2023 at Parque Mãe Bonifácia in Cuiabá, Brazil. I had a free day from tour activities, so I went to the park by myself and spent the morning walking the trails and looking for birds.  I first saw a female Barred Antshrike perched in a tree near one of the main trails in the park.  I had no idea what species the colorful brown bird was, but it was very attractive!  A little later that morning, on a different trail, I saw one of the males of this species, which is black and white and very different from the female.  For a more detailed description of the trip that included my sighting of this bird look at this blog post.  Here are some of my photos of this striking little bird.