Greenish Schiffornis

About the Greenish Schiffornis

The greenish schiffornis (Schiffornis virescens) is a species of bird in the family Tityridae, the tityras, becards, and allies. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. The greenish schiffornis was originally described as Ptilochloris virescens. It was later reassigned to genus Schiffornis when it was realized that it was the same species as Schiffornis unicolor that Bonaparte described when he erected the genus in 1854. It retained the specific epithet unicolor into the early twentieth century. For much of the twentieth century Schiffornis was placed in the manakin family Pipridae and its species were called manakins. Several early twenty-first century studies confirmed the placement of Schiffornis in Tityridae and taxonomic systems made the reassignment.

The greenish schiffornis is monotypic. The greenish schiffornis is about 15.5 cm (6.1 in) long and weighs 21.5 to 28.5 g (0.76 to 1.0 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have an indistinct pale ring around the eye on an otherwise greenish brown face. Their upperparts are greenish brown and their wings and tail are rufescent. Their underparts are a lighter greenish brown... Wikipedia →