White-chinned Woodcreeper

The white-chinned woodcreeper (Dendrocincla merula) is a species of bird in subfamily Dendrocolaptinae of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. == Taxonomy and systematics == The white-chinned woodcreeper has these seven subspecies: D. m. bartletti Chubb, C, 1919 D. m. merula (Lichtenstein, MHC, 1820) D. m. obidensis Todd, 1948 D. m. remota Todd, 1925 D. m. olivascens Zimmer, JT, 1934 D. m. castanoptera Ridgway, 1888 D. m. badia Zimmer, JT, 1934 The nominate subspecies D. m. merula and subspecies D. m. obidensis differ in voice and iris color from the other five, suggesting that more than one species are represented. In addition, what is now subspecies meruloides of the plain-brown woodcreeper (D. fuliginosa) was previously treated as a subspecies of the white-chinned. == Description == The white-chinned woodcreeper is a medium-sized member of its genus with a shortish straight bill. It is 16 to 21 cm (6.3 to 8.3 in) long. Males weigh 28 to 54 g (0.99 to 1.9 oz) and females 29 to 54 g (1.0 to 1.9 oz). Subspecies D. m. merula and D. m. obidensis are significantly larger than the other five. In…