Northern Slaty Antshrike

The northern slaty antshrike (Thamnophilus punctatus) is a species of bird in subfamily Thamnophilinae of family Thamnophilidae, the "typical antbirds". It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. == Taxonomy and systematics == The northern slaty antshrike's binomial Thamnophilus punctatus previously applied to a species called the slaty antshrike which included 11 subspecies. Following the results of a study published in 1997, the slaty antshrike was split into six species. To avoid confusion the remnant T. punctatus was given its present name of northern slaty antshrike. The northern slaty antshrike has these four subspecies: T. p. interpositus Hartert, EJO & Goodson, 1917 T. p. punctatus (Shaw, 1809) T. p. leucogaster Hellmayr, 1924 T. p. huallagae Carriker, 1934 The Clements taxonomy groups the first two as the "Northern Slaty-Antshrike (Guianan)" and the last two as the "Northern Slaty-Antshrike (Peruvian)". Some authors have treated leucogaster and huallagae as a species called the "Marañón slaty-antshrike" and the other two as the "Guianan" or "eastern" slaty(-)antshrike. == Description == The northern slaty antshrike is 13 to 15 cm (5.1 to 5.9 in) long and weighs 16 to 18 g (0.56 to 0.63 oz). Members of genus Thamnophilus are…