Variable Antshrike

Variable Antshrike

Thamnophilus caerulescens

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Porto Alegre

In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%

159 Verified sightings at Porto Alegre
4,145 In all 11 parks From 2019 to 2026
May Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Variable Antshrike

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 →

Sounds

Subsong0:12

Uruguay · 2014

© Pedro Rinaldi · XC1165488 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:05

Brazil · 2026

© JAYRSON ARAUJO DE OLIVEIRA · XC1150807 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call1:00

Argentina · 2026

© Marcos E. Sosa · XC1143057 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 El Impenetrable National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~50%
2 Itatiaia National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~50%
3 El Palmar National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~40%
4 Iguazú National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~30%
5 Iguaçu National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~20%
6 Iberá National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~20%
7 Chapada Diamantina National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~20%
8 Serra da Canastra National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
9 Serra dos Órgãos National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
10 Amboró National Park 🇧🇴 Bolivia
~10%
11 Manu National Park 🇵🇪 Peru
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Curitiba 🇧🇷 Brazil
~20%
2 Porto Alegre 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
3 Belo Horizonte 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
4 Campinas 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
5 Santos 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
6 Maceió 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
7 São Paulo 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
8 Goiânia 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
9 Buenos Aires 🇦🇷 Argentina
<5%
10 Campo Grande 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Variable Antshrike in Porto Alegre?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Variable Antshrike sighting in Porto Alegre on a given day, based on 159 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 59th most-seen of the 159 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Variable Antshrike in Porto Alegre?

April and May

In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Variable Antshrike in Porto Alegre on a given day, against under 5% in January, the lowest month.

What time of day is best to see a Variable Antshrike?

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.

Is Porto Alegre the best place to see a Variable Antshrike?

2nd of 11

Of the 11 cities where we can rate Variable Antshrike sightings, Porto Alegre ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Curitiba (Brazil, about 20%).

Where does the Variable Antshrike sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Variable Antshrike is recorded against all the birds logged in Porto Alegre (159 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.

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