Order
Passeriformes
Family
Thamnophilidae
Genus
Thamnophilus
 
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Version 1.0

This is a historic version of this account.  Current version

SPECIES

Black-crowned Antshrike Thamnophilus atrinucha

Corey E. Tarwater and J. Patrick Kelley
Version: 1.0 — Published June 14, 2010

Priorities for Future Research

Introduction

Western Slaty-Antshrikes primarily have been studied in contiguous lowland forests in Panama. Yet, they occur in a variety of habitats, have a large geographic range, and broad elevational range. Further work in different habitats and at different elevations are needed. For example, in the lowland forests of Panama, nest predation is very high and plays a large role in parental behavior and life history table variables. In different habitats and elevations, nest predation may be less important, leading to different behaviors.  What we know of this species comes from populations at high densities and non-fragmented forests. Yet, they reside in small forest fragments. Studies in these habitats are essential to understand why some understory insectivores do well in fragments and others do not.

Now that the natural history of Western Slaty-Antshrikes is well-described at least in the lowlands, one can start to ask more detailed questions about this species. Tying some physiological research to the life history traits of this species would advance our understanding of how physiology is linked to other traits. Studies on parasites, disease, and molting are all lacking. Furthermore, little is known about mate choice and territory acquisition. Testing for extra-pair mating in this species is also needed, especially given their high densities in some habitats.

Compared to other tropical species in the same region, Western Slaty-Antshrikes tend to have longer breeding seasons and more nesting attempts per year. They appear to be opportunistic in their breeding, though the specific cues used to initiate breeding have not been examined. Studying the timing of breeding in this species in comparison to species with shorter breeding seasons would be illuminative. Given the existence of 27 other Thamnophilus species (some with wide-ranging latitudinal and elevational distributions), the Western Slaty-Antshrike may prove to be a model Neotropical species.

Recommended Citation

Tarwater, C. E. and J. P. Kelley (2010). Black-crowned Antshrike (Thamnophilus atrinucha), version 1.0. In Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/nb.wesant1.01