The Black-crowned Antshrike is distributed from Belize through Central America to Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and the extreme north-west of Peru. In Ecuador it is the only Thamnophilus Antshrike that occurs in the lowlands west of the Andes. See the distribution map at Birdlife International.

This photo is of a female. The male is mostly grey with a black crown and black back, wings and tail. It has a semi-concealed white patch on the back and bold white spots on the wings.