Planalto Slaty Antshrike - Thamnophilus pelzelni

Planalto Slaty Antshrike Thamnophilus pelzelni

Brazilian name: Choca-do-planalto

Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, Brazil

There has been a lot of work done on the Slaty Antshrike complex in recent years and, what was once regarded as a single species, Thamnophilus punctatus, has now been split into 7 species of which this is one.

It is distributed in central, eastern and north-eastern Brazil and is found in deciduous and semi-deciduous woodland, including caatinga and gallery forest. See the distribution map at Birdlife International.

The male, seen here in photos 1 to 3, has a black crown with a grey forehead, grey upperparts with blackish wings with bold white spots and edging and a black tail with white spots at the tip and in the middle. Underparts are light grey to whitish with a buffy tinge on the belly sometimes apparent.

The female (photos 4 to 6) has a rufous crown, a cinnamon back with blackish wings edged white, a brown tail with white near the tips and pale cinnamon-buff to whitish underparts.

Female Planalto Slaty-Antshrike, Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, Brazil, July 2002 - click for larger image

Female Planalto Slaty-Antshrike, Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, Brazil, October 2008 - click for larger image

Male Planalto Slaty-Antshrike, Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, Brazil, July 2002 - click for larger image

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