Taraba major
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The great antshrike (Taraba major) is a passerine bird in subfamily Thamnophilinae of family Thamnophilidae, the "typical antbirds". It is found in southern Mexico, in every Central American country except El Salvador, on Trinidad, and in every mainland South American country except Chile, though only as a vagrant in Uruguay.
The great antshrike was described by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1816 and given the binomial name Thamnophilus major. The current genus Taraba was introduced by the French naturalist René Lesson in 1831.
The great antshrike has these ten subspecies: The great antshrike is the only member of genus Taraba. Its closest relatives appear to be the fasciated and bamboo antshrikes of genus Cymbilaimus. The first, found in Central America and mostly west of the Andes, may represent a separate species from the other, which are found east of the Andes. In addition, differences within the members of each group may not be significant enough in some cases to warrant subspecies status... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fortaleza | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Cordoba | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 3 | Natal | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Campo Grande | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | Goiânia | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 6 | Santa Cruz de la Sierra | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 7 | Belo Horizonte | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 8 | Belém | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 9 | Rosario | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 10 | Campinas | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Great Antshrike sighting in Natal on a given day, based on 10 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 40th most-seen of the 50 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Great Antshrike in Natal on a given day, against about 10% in March–May and August–October, the lowest months. That is one of Natal's wettest months, with about 150 mm of rain against 15 mm in November. January–February and June have too few records to rate.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Great Antshrike sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 15
Of the 15 cities where we can rate Great Antshrike sightings, Natal ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Fortaleza (Brazil, about 20%) and Cordoba (Argentina, about 20%).
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Great Antshrike that you can see in Natal (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Great Kiskadee (about 90%), Southern House Wren (about 80%) and Bananaquit (about 70%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Great Antshrike is recorded against all the birds logged in Natal (10 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.
