Hairy-crested Antbird

The hairy-crested antbird (Rhegmatorhina melanosticta) is a species of bird in subfamily Thamnophilinae of family Thamnophilidae, the "typical antbirds". It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. == Taxonomy and systematics == The hairy-crested antbird was described by the English ornithologists Philip Sclater and Osbert Salvin in 1880 and given the binomial name Pithys melanosticta. The present genus Rhegmatorhina was introduced by the American ornithologist Robert Ridgway in 1888. The specific epithet melanosticta is from the Ancient Greek melanostiktos meaning "black-spotted". It combines melas meaning "black" and stiktos meaning "spotted". The five members of genus Rhegmatorhina are sisters to the three species of genus Gymnopithys. The hairy-crested antbird's taxonomy is unsettled. The International Ornithological Committee assigns it these four subspecies: R. m. melanosticta (Sclater, PL & Salvin, 1880) R. m. brunneiceps Chapman, 1928 R. m. purusiana (Snethlage, E, 1908) R. m. badia Zimmer, JT, 1932 The Clements taxonomy and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World include R. m. badia within R. m. purusiana. Some taxonomists have suggested that more than one species is present, and specifically that R. m. brunneiceps should be treated as a separate species. This article follows the four-subspecies model. == Description…