Bar-crested Antshrike

The bar-crested antshrike is 15 to 16.5 cm (5.9 to 6.5 in) long and weighs 21 to 23 g (0.74 to 0.81 oz). Members of genus Thamnophilus are largish members of the antbird family; all have stout bills with a hook like those of true shrikes. This species exhibits marked sexual dimorphism though both sexes have a crest. Adult males of the nominate subspecies T. m. multistriatus are almost entirely plumaged with alternating black and white bars, including their crest. The exception is their face and throat, which are streaked black and white. Adult females have a cinnamon-rufous crest, crown, upperparts, wings, and tail. Their nape has a narrow band of black and white. The sides of their head and throat are streaked black and white. The rest of their underparts are barred with black and white with a reddish brown tinge on their lower flanks. Adults of both sexes have a yellowish iris. Subadult males resemble adult males with a yellowish-brown tinge on their body and flight feathers. Subspecies T. m. brachyurus has a shorter tail than the nominate and the white bars on its underparts are wider. T. m. selvae also has a shorter tail than the nominate but its underparts' black bars are wider. T. m. oecotonophilus resembles selvae but with a longer tail.

The bar-crested antshrike has a disjunct distribution. The subspecies are found thus:

T. m. brachyurus: Colombia, in the Western Andes except the headwaters of the San Juan River, and the western slope of the Central Andes between the departments of Antioquia and Cauca T. m. selvae: Colombia, at the headwaters of the San Juan River on western slope of the western Andes in Risaralda and Caldas departments T. m. multistriatus: Colombia, on the eastern slope of the Central Andes and the western slope of the Eastern Andes from Antioquia and Santander departments south to Nariño Department T. m. oecotonophilus: Colombia, on the western slope of the Eastern Andes in Norte de Santander and Boyacá departments; also nominally in the Serranía del Perijá in extreme western Venezuela though as of 2003 the most recent record was a specimen taken in 1951 The bar-crested antshrike inhabits all levels of dry to humid deciduous and evergreen forest and second-growth scrub. It favors the forest edge with thickets and shrubby borders and also occurs in somewhat open areas like cultivated lands, gardens, orchards, and well-vegetated parks. In elevation it mostly ranges between 900 and 2,200 m (3,000 and 7,200 ft) but occurs locally as low as 250 m (800 ft) on the Pacific side of Colombia. The 1951 specimen from Venezuela was taken at 1,650 m (5,400 ft).

The bar-crested antshrike's diet is not known in detail but is thought to be mostly insects and other arthropods. Its foraging behavior is also little known, but is assumed to be similar to that of the barred antshrike (T. doliatus), which see here.