
Great Antshrike
Taraba major
About This Species
This bulky, red-eyed bird favors dense understory and tangled vegetation along forest edges and second growth across Central and South America, more often heard than seen as it skulks low in thick cover. Listen for its distinctive accelerating, growling song, usually the best way to locate a pair before catching a glimpse in the undergrowth.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Watch and wait quietly at forest edges rather than pushing into dense cover to flush a bird into view; overuse of playback and close pursuit can easily disturb this species.
- Use recordings sparingly if at all, and follow local birding ethics guidance for sensitive understory species.
LCAvesPasseriformesThamnophilidae
Seasonal Activity
142,088 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thamnophilidae
Photo
no rights reserved, uploaded by Diego Carús
CC0-1.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.