Rufous-capped Antshrike Thamnophilus ruficapillus Scientific name definitions

Taxonomic note: Lump. This account is a combination of multiple species accounts originally published in HBW Alive. That content has been combined and labeled here at the subspecies level. Moving forward we will create a more unified account for this parent taxon. Please consider contributing your expertise to update this account.

The Rufous-capped Antshrike has an interesting distribution. The nominate subspecies is widespread in eastern South America, where it primarily occurs at low and middle elevations. There also are four subspecies in the Andes, most of which occur between southern Peru and northwestern Argentina; but one subspecies, jaczewskii, occurs in a small region in northern Peru, far removed from all other populations. Both sexes, in all populations, indeed have rufous crown. Males narrowly are barred white and black on the breast and belly, with reddish brown wings; the rest of the plumage usually is light brown or light gray, but is dark slaty gray in the subspecies of southern Peru (marcapatae). The underparts of the female have little or no barring, and usually are whitish or buff, but the underparts are bright buff in the subspecies of the Andes between northern Peru and northern Bolivia. Rufous-capped Antshrikes forage singly or in pairs at the edge of humid forest, in second growth, and in dense scrub, but the biology of this species is not well known.