Willis’s Antbird

Willis's antbird (Cercomacroides laeta), also known as the laeta antbird, is a species of bird in subfamily Thamnophilinae of family Thamnophilidae, the "typical antbirds". It is found in Brazil and Guyana. == Taxonomy and systematics == Willis's antbird was described by the American ornithologist W. E. Clyde Todd in 1920 as a subspecies of the dusky antbird and given the trinomial name Cercomacra tyrannina laeta. A 1997 study found that Willis's antbird differed from the dusky antbird in both plumage and voice and as a result, Willis's antbird was promoted to species status. The 1997 paper suggested its English name to commemorate the American ornithologist Edwin O'Neill Willis. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014 found that Cercomacra was polyphyletic. The genus was split to create two monophyletic genera, and six species including Willis's antbird were moved to the newly erected genus Cercomacroides. Willis's antbird has three subspecies, the nominate C. l. laeta (Todd, 1920), C. l. waimiri (Bierregaard, Cohn-Haft & Stotz, 1997), and C. l. sabinoi (Pinto, 1939). == Description == Willis's antbird is 13.5 to 14.5 cm (5.3 to 5.7 in) long and weighs 15 to 17 g (0.53 to 0.60 oz). Males of the nominate subspecies are…