Rufous-fronted Thornbird

About the Rufous-fronted Thornbird

The rufous-fronted thornbird, or common thornbird, (Phacellodomus rufifrons) is a species of bird in the family Furnariidae. It is found in Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Peru. The rufous-fronted thornbird's taxonomy is unsettled. The International Ornithological Committee (IOC), BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW), and the Clements taxonomy assign it these four subspecies:

P. r. peruvianus Hellmayr, 1925 P. r. specularis Hellmayr, 1925 P. r. rufifrons (Wied, 1821) P. r. sincipitalis Cabanis, 1883 The South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society adds two more, P. r. inornatus (Ridgway, 1887) and P. r. castilloi (Phelps Jr & Aveledo, 1987). The IOC, HBW, and Clements treat those taxa as the plain thornbird (P. inornatus).

This article follows the four-subspecies model. The rufous-fronted thornbird is 16 to 17 cm (6.3 to 6.7 in) long and weighs about 18 to 31 g (0.63 to 1.1 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies P. r. rufifrons have a dull buff supercilium that continues past the eye, a dark brown stripe behind the eye,... Wikipedia →