Ihering's Antwren

About the Ihering's Antwren

Ihering's antwren (Myrmotherula iheringi) is a species of bird in subfamily Thamnophilinae of family Thamnophilidae, the "typical antbirds". It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru. Ihering's antwren has three subspecies, the nominate M. i. iheringi (Snethlage, 1914), M. i. heteroptera (Todd, 1927), and M. i. oreni (Miranda, Aleixo, Whitney, Silveira, Guilherme, MPD Santos & MPC Schneider, 2013). Subspecies M. i. oreni was initially described as a full species, and the same authors suggested that M. i. heteroptera also deserved to be treated as a species. At least one other author had earlier suggested that Ihering's antwren as then known included more than one species.

The species' English name and specific epithet honor Hermann von Ihering, a German ornithologist who worked mainly in Brazil. Ihering's antwren is 8.5 to 9.5 cm (3.3 to 3.7 in) long and weighs 7.5 to 9 g (0.26 to 0.32 oz). It is a smallish bird with a shortish tail. Adult males of all three subspecies have dark gray upperparts with a hidden white patch between the shoulders. Their wings are dark gray with white-tipped black coverts. Their tail is dark gray. Their lower... Wikipedia →