Great antshrike

Taraba major

Photo by Csaba Godeny (Hide Photography)

Common name:
great antshrike (en); choró-boi (pt); grand batara (fr); batará grande (es); weißbrust-ameisenwürger (de)


Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Thamnophilidae


Range:
This species is found from eastern Mexico, across Central America, and into South America down to northern Argentina and south-eastern Brazil.


Size:
These birds are 19-20 cm long and weigh 55-75 g.


Habitat:
Great antshrikes are mostly found in both dry and moist savannas, but also in moist scrublands, moist forests, second growths, plantations and gardens. They are present from sea level up to an altitude of 2.200 m.


Diet:
They mostly glean insects and other arthropods from foliage, but will also take small lizards and mammals. They sometimes follow ant swarms to eat the small animals flushed by the ants.


Breeding:
The great antshrike breeds in July-December. The nest is a deep cup made of grasses and leaves and lined with soft materials. It is placed in a branch or fork in a scrub. The female lays 2-3 cream-coloured eggs with brown blotches, which are incubated by both parents for 14-18 days. The chicks are raised by both parents and fledge 12-13 days after hatching.


Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least concern)
This species has an extremely large breeding range and the global population is estimated at 500.000-5.000.000 individuals. This population is suspected to be in decline owing to ongoing habitat destruction.