Antpecker


The antpeckers are a genus Parmoptila of small seed-eating birds in the family Estrildidae. They range across the tropical forests of western and central Africa.

Taxonomy

The genus Parmoptila was introduced in 1859 by the American ornithologist John Cassin to accommodate Woodhouse's antpecker. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek parmē, the word for a small round shield, and ptilon meaning "feather".

Species

The genus contains three species:
ImageCommon nameScientific nameDistribution
Red-fronted antpeckerParmoptila rubrifronsUpper Guinean forests
Jameson's antpeckerParmoptila jamesoniCongolian rainforest
Woodhouse's antpeckerParmoptila woodhouseiCongolian rainforest