Black-faced Antbird

About the Black-faced Antbird

The black-faced antbird (Myrmoborus myotherinus) is a species of bird in subfamily Thamnophilinae of family Thamnophilidae, the "typical antbirds". It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. The black-faced antbird was described and illustrated by the German naturalist Johann Baptist von Spix in 1825 and given the binomial name Thamnophilus myotherinus. The specific epithet is from the Ancient Greek muiothēras meaning "flyhunter".

The black-faced antbird has these seven subspecies: M. m. elegans (Sclater, PL, 1857) M. m. myotherinus (Spix, 1825) M. m. incanus Hellmayr, 1929 M. m. ardesiacus Todd, 1927 M. m. proximus Todd, 1927 M. m. ochrolaemus (Hellmayr, 1906)

M. m. sororius (Hellmayr, 1910) An eighth subspecies M. m. napensis has been proposed but as of 2024 it is considered to be included within M. m. elegans. Authors have suggested that some of the subspecies might better be treated as full species.

The black-faced antbird is 12 to 13.5 cm (4.7 to 5.3 in) long and weighs 16 to 22 g (0.56 to 0.78 oz). Adult males of the nominate subspecies M. m. myotherinus have a dark bluish gray crown, nape, and upperparts... Wikipedia →