Barred antshrike (Thamnophilus doliatus)is found from eastern Mexico south through Central America into most of warmer and tropical mainland South America. This 6 inch plus antshrike is sexually dimorphic. The male has a black cap and crest. His neck and breast is white with black lines. His throat can be pale. His back and dorsal wings are black marked with white. The female has a chestnut cape. Her back is chestnut while her breast is pale.

There are 12 subspecies for this wide ranging species. The nominate subspecies is found from eastern Colombia through Venezuela to the Guyanas. The nominate subspecies is also found as far north as Trinidad, and as far south as the northern portion of the Amazon Valley.

The subspecies intermedius is found from Mexico to Panama. The subspecies nigricristatus, eremnus, and nesiotes are found in Panama and nearby islands.

The subspecies albicans is found in northern, central, and southern Colombia. The subspecies nigricens is found in eastern Colombia into Venezuela. The subspecies tobagensis is found on Tobago.

The subspecies radiatus is found east of the Andes from Colombia south to Bolivia and Argentina. The subspecies cadwaladeri is found in southern Bolivia. The subspecies difficilis and capristratus are both found in eastern Brazil.

The antshrike genus (Thamnophilus) is found from Mexico south to Argentina and Bolivia. There are about 27 species in this genus. Most are small birds less than 8 inches in length.

The Thamnophilida superfamily (Parvorder) is found primarily in Central and South America. This group contained 190 species which were all placed in the family Thamnophilidae per Monroe-Sibley in 1993. Recently, in 2007 Clements has counted 212 species in the family Thamnophilidae.

In most modern bird taxonomies, the perching birds (Passeriformes) is treated as a single order. This large order has about 5739 different species. A common characteristic of this order is three forward toes and one reverse pointing toe. Most of species are also characterized by a tendon locking mechanism that permits their feet to lock onto branches when they relax. Recently, Monroe and Sibley in 1993 have divided this large order into six main divisions. To help our users navigate this gigantic number of species, we have arbitrarily placed these 6 different divisions at the order level.

This division can be referred to as:
Order Passeriformes (5739 species)
Suborder Tyranni (1159 species)
Infraorder Tyrannides (1105 species)

Aves contains about 8,650 different species of living birds known to science. Each year about one new species is discovered in some remote rain forest or remote island. In addition, scientists have been raising many subspecies to full species status which may raise the species count to 10,000. Birdlife recognizes 10,027 species as of 2011.

However, each year about one species goes extinct. The rate of extinction is increasing, and the rate of new discovery is decreasing, so that the number of bird species will soon begin to decline rapidly. Although different taxonomists would organize the birds differently, there are approximately twenty-seven orders of birds. These orders are broken down into about one hundred and fifty-five different families.

Recent research of the genetic structure of some of the shore birds and owls would indicate that the present organization of orders and families should have some modification.

The birds are a worldwide group of animals that are characterized by having the front limbs modified into wings that are used for flying. Perhaps the most unique feature of the birds is the feathers. These feathers are made up of a central support called a quill and a series of small filaments that are hooked together as barbs.

For many years it was believed that Archaeopteryx discovered in Bavaria was the oldest bird from about 150 million years ago. However, in l986, Sankar Chattterjee, a Texas paleontologist, reportedly discovered a bird in the genus Protoavis that lived about 225 million years ago.

When this project was begun in 1978, we used Austin & Singer for bird taxonomy. Since then, we have adopted many changes, but have kept some older concepts that are still found widely in the literature. Recently, we have used Clements and Howard & Moore. Very recently, we have used Monroe and Sibley for the higher taxonomy of the perching birds.

Backboned Animals (Phylum Chordata) are the most advanced group of animals on earth. These animals are characterized by having a spinal cord or backbone. Most members have a clearly defined brain that controls the organism through a spinal cord. Fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals are in this phylum.

Currently, some taxonomists believe that the fish should be divided into two groups (sharks and regular fishes) and that there are some other primitive groups in the phylum such as hagfish or lampreys.

Animal Kingdom contains numerous organisms that feed on other animals or plants. Included in the animal kingdom are the lower marine invertebrates such as sponges and corals, the jointed legged animals such as insects and spiders, and the backboned animals such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

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