Ocellated antbird

The ocellated antbird was formally described in 1861 by the American amateur ornithologist George Newbold Lawrence and given the binomial name Phlogopsis mcleannani (misspelled as Meleannani). The ocellated antbird is now placed in the genus Phaenostictus that was erected in 1909 by the American ornithologist Robert Ridgway. The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek phainō meaning "to display" and stiktos for "spotted". The specific epithet honors James McLeannan, a railway engineer on the Panama Canal Railway, who had collected the type specimen in Panama. Ridgway considered that the species was related to the genus Phlegopsis (the bare-eyes) but that it differed in having a longer tail, rounded nostrils and a few other characters. The ocellated antbird is the only member of its genus and has three subspecies, the nominate P. m. mcleannani (Lawrence, 1860), P. m. saturatus (Richmond, 1896), and P. m. pacificus (Hellmayr, 1924). from 1869 ==Description==

The ocellated antbird is a largish antbird with a long bill and tail. It is long and weighs about . Females tend to be slightly smaller than males and weigh slightly less. The species conforms with Bergmann's rule, with birds closer to the Equator having smaller wings and bills than those further away. ==Distribution and habitat==

The ocellated antbird ranges from Honduras to Ecuador. Subspecies P. m. saturatus is the northernmost, found from northern and eastern Honduras south through Nicaragua and the Caribbean slope of Costa Rica into Bocas del Toro Province in extreme western Panama. The nominate subspecies is found from central and eastern Panama into northwestern and western Colombia as far as Valle del Cauca Department. P. m. pacificus is found from extreme southwestern Colombia into northwestern Ecuador's Esmeraldas Province. The ocellated antbird inhabits lowland and foothill evergreen forest, where it favors old-growth primary forest but occurs in mature secondary forest as well. It almost entirely remains in the forest undergrowth. In elevation it reaches in much of Central America though only to in Costa Rica. In Colombia it occurs below and in Ecuador mostly below but locally reaches . ==Behavior==

Movement The ocellated antbird is a year-round resident throughout its range. Vocalization The ocellated antbird's primary song is a loud "high, thin series of whistles that rises then falls, with latter notes gaining in harsh quality" that has been written as "peee-peee-pee-peepee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-eer-eer". It also has a fainter version of the song with more notes but without the harsh ending and another version with "chirring" notes interspersed. At ant swarms it often gives a nasal "dzurrr" or "dzeerr". ==Status==

The IUCN has assessed the ocellated antbird as being of Least concern. It has a very large range; its population size is not known and is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified. "Ocellated Antbirds are demonstrated to be very sensitive to forest fragmentation [and its] large feeding range requirements also contribute to their sensitivity." ==References==