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barred antshrike? (1 Viewer)

Jacamar

Well-known member
I saw a bird today that at first looked like a barred antshrike. But after I looked at it for a while, I noticed that its rump and maybe its upper tail coverts were barred light brown and white instead of black and white. Was it partially albino, or was it a different bird?
 
Jacamar,
The juvenile male Barred Ant Shrike will be similar to the adult male in pattern but the top of the body will be black and brown / buff barring and the tail will be black and white like the adult.

Another possibility might be the female Fasciated Ant Shrike. She would be barred black and buff all over. Still not exactly what you describe.

These are the only two possibilities that occur to me. Hope it helps.
 
The bird was very strange because at first it looked exactly like the barred antshrike. The voice sounded right and it had a the right kind of crest, but then there's a sudden color change halfway down the back. I can't find a picture of either the juvenal or the fasciated. I guess I'll just have to keep looking out for it.
 
My field guide to Mexican Birds by S. Howell has a good illustration of the juvenile male Barred Ant Shrike. The white on the body (not tail) is replaced by a light brown/ buff. I imagine that at some point as the juvenile moults into adult plumage it is very possible that the color combination you saw could easily occur. This would be my best guess.
 
Jacamar,

You never mention if the bird you saw appeared most similar to a male or a female Barred Antshrike? The crest is typical of the group, and really doesn't help much. Did you notice eye-colour? Assuming from your thread that you are familiar with the Barred Antshrike; did the bird you saw appear to be larger than the "normal Barred Antshrikes" you have seen? Both Black-throated and Fasciated (the only two other species in the region that it could - remotely - be mistaken for) are noticeably larger than Barred. It is typical for subadult males of Barred Antshrike to have some barring in brown and black, instead of the usual white and black shown in adults. The voices of Black-throated and Fasciated are quite different from the voice of Barred Antshrikes.
 
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