Western Fire-eye
Pyriglena maura
Rather long-tailed antbird of humid forest understory in lowlands and mountains from Colombia to Bolivia. Usually stays hidden in dense vegetation and thickets, sometimes attending army antswarms. Male is black; female is extremely variable throughout range. On the west slope of the Andes in Ecuador and extreme northwestern Peru, female is plain brownish with no distinctive features. On the east slope of the Andes from Colombia to northern Peru, female has black body and rufous-brown upperparts. In central Peru, female is entirely rufous-brown with a black head. From southeast Peru to Bolivia, female is rufous-brown overall with a tawny chest and a distinctive pale eyebrow. Both sexes have ruby-red eyes and a white patch on the back that is usually hidden; it is exposed when the bird is excited such as when defending its territory. Song is a very fast series of short whistles.
Identification
The western fire-eye has a length from beak to tail of 16–18 cm and weighs in at 26–36 grams on average, with variation depending on sex. Both sexes have bright red eyes with black pupils. A partially concealed white patch is visible on the lower mantle of the back. The white patch reveals itself when the western fire-eye is startled or threatened. The males of the species are primarily glossy black with a more greyish underwing. The females have various appearances based on their subspecies. The females from the subspecies Pacifica are brown with a desaturated olive-brown underbelly and underwing. From the Castanoptera subspecies the females have a black body and head with a dark redish brown color on their wings and mantle. The Picea females are brown with a darker head. Marcapatensis and Hellmayri females have an olive upper body with lighter underparts as well as a white supercilium, or small streak above the eye, and white beneath the eye with black coloring between.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Pyriglena maura
- Authority
- (Ménétriés, 1835)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thamnophilidae
- Genus
- Pyriglena
Conservation
The western fire-eye has not had its conservation status reassessed since the discovery that it was not the same species as the Tapajos fire-eye (Pyriglena similis) and the East Amazonian fire-eye (Pyriglena leuconata). However, the region that the western fire-eye primarily resides in is largely made up of protected areas and the western fire-eye is noted to persist to older second growth compared to many other forest dwelling birds.
Photos
Bird Calls
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