Thamnophilus tenuepunctatus
The Lined Antshrike (Thamnophilus tenuepunctatus) is a striking member of the antbird family (Thamnophilidae), known for its intricate plumage patterns and distinctive vocalizations. Males typically exhibit fine black and white barring across their entire body, with a darker crown and often a small, erectile crest, measuring around 14-15 cm in length and weighing approximately 19-24 grams. Females present a different, though equally beautiful, plumage, featuring rufous-brown upperparts, a ruf...
This antshrike primarily inhabits humid montane evergreen forests, forest borders, and dense secondary growth, favoring thick understory vegetation. It typically occurs at elevations ranging from 700 to 2,000 meters above sea level.
The diet consists primarily of insects and other small arthropods, including beetles, caterpillars, spiders, and orthopterans. They forage by gleaning prey from foliage and branches, and by making short sally-strikes.
Lined Antshrikes are diurnal and typically found singly or in pairs, maintaining a strong pair bond year-round. They are primarily sally-gleaners, actively searching for prey within dense foliage and along branches, often darting out to snatch insects from leaves or bark. Territorial behavior is ...
The Lined Antshrike has a widespread but somewhat fragmented distribution across the northern Andes of South America. Its range extends from west-central Venezuela, through the central and eastern Andes of Colombia, and southwards along the humid slopes of eastern Ecuador and extreme northern Per...
Least Concern
- The Lined Antshrike's scientific name 'tenuepunctatus' translates to 'finely spotted' or 'thinly dotted', referring to the male's intricate barring pattern. - Unlike many antbirds, it is not known to follow army ant swarms, preferring to forage independently or in mixed-species flocks. - The sp...