Black-crested antshrike

Sakesphorus canadensis

Photo by Maxime Dechelle (Oiseaux)

Common name:

black-crested antshrike (en); choca-de-crista-preta (pt); batara huppé (fr); batara crestinegro (es); schwarzgesicht-ameisenwürger (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Thamnophilidae

Range:

This species is a resident breeder in tropical South America in Trinidad, Colombia,Venezuela, the Guianas, northern Brazil and northeastern Peru.

Size:

The black-crested antshrike is 14-16 cm long and weighs 24 g.

Habitat:

These birds are found in the understorey and midstorey of deciduous woodlands, gallery forests and savanna forests. Sometimes also in undergrowth in mangrove or other swampy forest and thickets near water. In Surinam they are also found near suburban areas.

Diet:

The Black-crested Antshrike feeds on insects and other arthropods gleaned from foliage. It will also take small lizards and berries.

Breeding:

These birds breed in June-September. Both sexes build the nest, a deep cup made of spider webs, moss and other materials, suspended below a branch or vine 2-9 meter above the ground. There the female lays 2-3 white eggs with reddish-brown spots, which are incubated by both sexes for 14-15 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 11-15 days after hatching.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

This species has a very large breeding range and is described as common. This species tolerates a number of secondary and degraded habitats and thus its population is suspected to be stable.