Blue-lored Antbird Hafferia immaculata Scientific name definitions

A large, uniformly plumaged antbird, Blue-lored Antbird generally sings from dense cover, and is therefore not necessarily easy to observe. Males are basically all black, with the exception of the dull blue orbital skin around the red irides, while females are essentially warm brown overall, becoming duskier over the face and throat, with a blackish tail, and share the bare surround to the eyes. Blue-lored Antbird occurs in the Cauca and Magdalena Valleys of Colombia, on the east slopes of the Eastern Andes of Colombia, and in the Andes of Venezuela. The species occupies the understory of humid evergreen forest, usually on hillsides, and frequently in areas where there are treefalls or natural light gaps. Formerly Blue-lored Antbird and Zeledon's Antbird (Hafferia zeledoni) were considered a single species, known as Immaculate Antbird, which was classified in the genus Myrmeciza. The recently proposed genus Hafferia, in which Blue-lored and Zeledon's antbirds now are classified, is named on honor of the late German ornithologist Jürgen Haffer.