The russet antshrike is a passerine bird in the antbird family. It is a resident breeder in the tropical New World from southern Mexico to northern Bolivia.
It is a bird of forest, old second growth, semi-open woodland and edges up to 1,500 m altitude. The female lays two brown-speckled white eggs in a deep cup nest 7–15 m high in a tree, usually in a semi-open location. Nest-building, incubation, and care of the young are shared by both sexes.
The russet antshrike is a.. more
Similar species: Perching Birds
By Ferdy Christant
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Uploaded Dec 1, 2018. Captured Oct 18, 2018 07:49 in Orito, Putumayo, Colombia.
comments (6)
Still, in absolute terms probably the tropics do have more colorful birds. As to why, I have no scientific answers, just a few speculations. The primary reason for bird (or general) biodiversity being so high in Colombia specifically is the Andes mountain range, which goes from snowy peaks down to the Amazon and oceans and everything in between. This creates a vast array of different ecosystems, stimulating biodiversity in general.
If and why that includes color variation, I would suspect yes, but I can't back it up, it's a mere guess. The other theory for birds specifically may be reproductive selection under the pressure of competition, but that leaves a lot of questions unanswered: why doesn't this apply to dull birds in these same ecosystems? Why would it not apply outside the tropics?
Sometimes I just throw my hands up in the air and conclude: because it is. Evolution is messy and a result of environment and countless iterations where you cannot exactly back trace reasons as sometimes there just aren't any.
Diet definitely can influence color. The only example I know of is the Eurasian Blue Tit, which turns deep yellow when eating caterpillars, yet is very dull when it has a different diet. It's a bird that is often fed by people through feeders, if it eats seeds, it becomes quite dull. Posted 6 years ago