The slate-throated whitestart (Myioborus miniatus), also known as the slate-throated redstart, is a small insectivorous bird in the New World warbler family Parulidae that is native to Central and South America.
Taxonomy
The slate-throated whitestart was formally described in 1827 by the English zoologist William Swainson based on a specimen collected in Valladolid (Morelia) in the Mexican state of Michoacán. Swainson coined the binomial name Setophaga miniata where the specific epithet is from Latin miniatus meaning "painted vermilion". The slate-throated whitestart is now one of twelve species placed in the genus Myioborus that was introduced in 1865 by the American naturalist Spencer Baird.
Twelve subspecies are recognised:
M. m. miniatus (Swainson, 1827) – west, southwest Mexico
M. m. molochinus Wetmore, 1942 – east Mexico
M. m. intermedius (Hartlaub, 1852) – south Mexico and east Guatemala
M. m. hellmayri Van Rossem, 1936 – south Guatemala and southwest El Salvador
M. m. connectens Dickey & Van Rossem, 1928 – El Salvador and Honduras to central north Nicaragua
M. m. comptus Wetmore, 1944 – west, central Costa Rica
M. m. aurantiacus (Baird, SF, 1865) – east Costa Rica and west Panama
M. m. ballux Wetmore & Phelps, WH, 1944 – east Panama to north Ecuador and west Venezuela
M. m. sanctaemartae Zimmer, JT, 1949 – north Colombia
M. m. pallidiventris (Chapman, 1899) – north Venezuela
M. m. subsimilis Zimmer, JT, 1949 – southwest Ecuador and northwest Peru
M. m. verticalis (d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1837) – south Ecuador to central Bolivia, southeast Venezuela, west Guyana and north Brazil
Description
The slate-throated whitestart is a long-tailed warbler measuring 12 cm (4.7 in) long. It has a deep rufous head, dark back, and contrasting bright yellow breast, belly and white vent and tail tips. The bill is black, and the legs are blackish-gray.
While most of its plumage changes little throughout its large range, the...
