Taraba major
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week >90%
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...
| # | 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 |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Great Antshrike sighting in Madidi National Park on a given day, based on 60 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 10th most-seen of the 239 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January
In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Great Antshrike in Madidi National Park on a given day, against about 20% in February, May and September, the lowest months. That is one of Madidi National Park's wettest months, with about 240 mm of rain against 40 mm in July. March and December 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.
2nd of 33
Of the 33 parks where we can rate Great Antshrike sightings, Madidi National Park ranks 2nd at about 40%. The best odds are in El Impenetrable National Park (Argentina, about 70%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Thamnophilidae
The closest relatives of the Great Antshrike that you can see in Madidi National Park (family Thamnophilidae, Typical Antbirds) are Barred Antshrike (about 20%), Chestnut-tailed Antbird (about 10%) and Black-capped Antwren (about 10%), 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 Madidi National Park (60 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
