The black-faced antthrush (Formicarius analis) is a species of passerine bird in the family Formicariidae. It is found in Central America from Honduras through Panama, on Trinidad, and in every mainland South American country except Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
Taxonomy and systematics
The black-faced antthrush was formally described in 1837 by the French naturalists Alcide d'Orbigny and Frédéric de Lafresnaye from a specimen collected in Bolivia. They coined the binomial name Myothera analis. The specific epithet is from the Modern Latin analis meaning "relating to the undertail-coverts of the vent". In 1858 it was moved to genus Formicarius that had been introduced by the Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert in 1783.
The black-faced antthrush has these 11 subspecies:
What is now the Mayan antthrush (Formicarius moniliger), with three subspecies, was formerly considered conspecific with the black-faced antthrush. By 2021 major taxonomic systems had adopted the split.
left|thumb| Chan Chich Lodge area, Belize – flash photo
Description
The black-faced antthrush is long and weighs about . The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies F. a. analis have a dusky brown crown. They have a small white spot on their lores and bare bluish skin around their eye. Their face from their bill to their eye is black that extends down to include the chin and throat. The rest of their face, their nape, back, and rump are brown. Their flight feathers are brown with dusky inner edges and a wide cinnamon band at the base; their wing coverts are brown with a rufescent tinge. Their tail is blackish brown. Their upper breast is dark gray and most of the rest of their underparts are a lighter gray that is lightest in the center of their belly. Their flanks have a brown wash and their undertail coverts are rufous. They have a dark brown iris, a black bill, and gray to bluish legs and feet.
The other subspecies of the black-faced antthrush differ from the nominate and each other thus:
- F. a. umbrosus: like the nominate but with brownish undertail coverts
- F. a. hoffmanni: pale rufescent or cinnamon crown, little or no white lores spot, and dark cinnamon wash on undertail coverts
- F. a. panamensis: pale rufescent or cinnamon crown, little or no white lores spot, olive-tinged brownish breast, and tawny undertail coverts
- F. a. virescens: pale rufescent or cinnamon crown, little or no white lores spot, olivaceous mantle, olive-tinged brownish breast, and tawny undertail coverts
- F. a. saturatus: pale rufescent or cinnamon crown, little or no white lores spot, cinnamon edge on throat, rufescent-brown mantle, brownish gray breast, and tawny-rusty undertail coverts
- F. a. griseoventris: pale rufescent or cinnamon crown, little or no white lores spot, and olivaceous mantle, gray breast, and tawny undertail coverts
- F. a. connectens: pale rufescent or cinnamon crown, little or no white lores spot, olivaceous mantle, slate-gray breast, and tawny-rusty undertail coverts
- F. a. zamorae: pale rufescent or cinnamon crown, little or no white lores spot, olivaceous mantle, slate-gray breast, sooty slate vent area, and rich chestnut undertail coverts
- F. a. crissalis: pale rufescent or cinnamon crown, prominent lores spot, vinaceous-rust ear coverts, cinnamon edge on throat, rufescent-brown mantle, brownish rump and uppertail coverts, brownish gray breast, whitish vent area, and tawny undertail coverts
- F. a. paraensis: pale rufescent or cinnamon crown, prominent lores spot, vinaceous ear coverts, cinnamon edge on throat, olive-tinged rufescent-brown mantle, ferruginous rump and uppertail coverts, brownish gray breast, whitish vent area, and tawny undertail coverts
Distribution and habitat
The black-faced antthrush has a disjunct distribution, with a large gap north of the Amazon in northwestern Brazil, southern Venezuela, and eastern Colombia. The subspecies are found thus: