Western Fire-eye

The western fire-eye is 16 to 18 cm (6.3 to 7.1 in) long and weighs 26 to 36 g (0.92 to 1.3 oz); the subspecies' weights apparently vary. Both sexes of all subspecies have bright red irises. Males of all the subspecies are mostly glossy black with a partially hidden white patch between their scapulars and blackish gray underwing coverts. The females of the subspecies have different plumages. Females of the nominate subspecies P. m. maura have light rufescent brown crown and upperparts. Voice: The song of male western fire-eyes is "a medium-length (e.g. 2 seconds) series of evenly paced short whistles that usually rise and fall slightly in pitch, sometimes also in intensity" and appears to vary somewhat among the subspecies. That of the two subspecies found in Ecuador has been written as a series of "peer" notes "fading and descending at the end".