Lined Antshrike

Overview

The Thamnophilus tenuepunctatus is a species of typical antbird found in the eastern Andes of South America. It is a year-round resident in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, where it was previously considered a subspecies of the chestnut-backed antshrike.

Identification

• Males are barred with narrow white and wider black stripes, while females feature rufous upperparts and barred underparts.
• The species is 15 to 16 cm long and possesses a stout, hooked bill.
• Both sexes exhibit a crest, with adult irises being pale and variable in color.
• Its song consists of an accelerating series of abrupt nasal notes that rise in pitch, fall, and end in a strong, downslurred raspy note.

Habitat

This species inhabits the edges of humid evergreen and secondary forests, favoring areas with dense shrubs and undergrowth. It occupies elevations between 400 and 1,700 m along the eastern Andean slope, though it can be found as low as 200 m in the Marañón River valley.

Diet

The diet consists primarily of insects and other arthropods, though details are limited. It typically forages singly or in pairs, hopping through dense vegetation from the ground up to 10 m high to glean prey with quick stabs.

Did you know?

Nests are unique structures woven from rootlets, leaf petioles, and fungal rhizomorphs, often decorated with moss on the outside and suspended from a branch fork in a shrub.