Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant

About the Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant

The dark-faced ground tyrant (Muscisaxicola maclovianus) is a small passerine bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Argentina, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, the Falkland Islands, possibly in Ecuador, and as a vagrant to Brazil.

The dark-faced ground tyrant was originally described as Sylvia macloviana, placing it with the Old World warblers. It was eventually moved to genus Muscisaxicola which had been erected in 1837. Because that genus is masculine the specific epithet was changed to follow the rules of binomial nomenclature.

The dark-faced ground tyrant has two subspecies, the nominate M. m. macloviana (Garnot, 1826) and M. m. mentalis (d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1837). The dark-faced ground tyrant is 15 to 16.5 cm (5.9 to 6.5 in) long. The two subspecies and both sexes have the same plumage, though subspecies M. m. mentalis is significantly smaller than the nominate. Adults have a blackish forehead, lores, and cheeks and a dull chestnut-brown crown. Their upperparts are mostly dark brown to smoky brown with a black lower rump. Their wings are a duskier brown than the upperparts. Their tail is black with whitish... Wikipedia →