Thamnophilus caerulescens
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
The variable antshrike (Thamnophilus caerulescens) is a species of bird in subfamily Thamnophilinae of family Thamnophilidae, the "typical antbirds". It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.
The variable antshrike was described by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1816 and given its current binomial name Thamnophilus caerulescens. Major taxonomic systems assign these eight subspecies to the variable antshrike:
The variable antshrike's highly variable plumage, some variations in the voice, and its unusual distribution have resulted in widespread speculations that it involves more than one species. Studies involving mtDNA and voice of the Bolivian populations, which is a meeting point for several of the distinctly different subspecies, did not support the theory of several species, instead suggesting that much of the vocal variation is clinal. and geneflow between various populations remains uninterrupted. Subspecies T. c. cearensis in northeastern Brazil, which also is relatively distinctive, was not included in these studies, and it therefore remains unclear if it is worthy of species recognition. Another... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | El Impenetrable National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 2 | Itatiaia National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | El Palmar National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 4 | Iguazú National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 5 | Iguaçu National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 6 | Iberá National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 7 | Chapada Diamantina National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 8 | Serra da Canastra National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 9 | Serra dos Órgãos National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 10 | Amboró National Park | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 11 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Curitiba | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Porto Alegre | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Belo Horizonte | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Campinas | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | Santos | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 6 | Maceió | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 7 | São Paulo | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 8 | Goiânia | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 9 | Buenos Aires | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 10 | Campo Grande | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Variable Antshrike sighting in Belo Horizonte on a given day, based on 140 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 60th most-seen of the 220 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May and August
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Variable Antshrike in Belo Horizonte on a given day, against under 5% in June, September and November, the lowest months. Those are among Belo Horizonte's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain a month against 270 mm in December.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Variable Antshrike sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 11
Of the 11 cities where we can rate Variable Antshrike sightings, Belo Horizonte ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Curitiba (Brazil, about 20%) and Porto Alegre (Brazil, about 10%).
Same family: Thamnophilidae
The closest relatives of the Variable Antshrike that you can see in Belo Horizonte (family Thamnophilidae, Typical Antbirds) are Black-capped Antwren (about 10%) and Great Antshrike (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Variable Antshrike is recorded against all the birds logged in Belo Horizonte (140 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
