Fire-eyes

The fire-eyes, Pyriglena, are a genus of birds in the antbird family Thamnophilidae introduced in 1847 by Jean Cabanis. They are relatively large for antbirds, with long tails, relatively short bills, and distinctive bright red eyes, which led to their name. There are five fire-eye species recognized, distinguished based on their plumage, displays, and vocalization. The move to recognize five distinct species from the original three was lodged before the South American Classification Committee as Proposal 759 in October 2017 and was approved on 11 February 2020. The genus is native to South America. Of the five species, one is considered endangered by the IUCN, while the others are not considered vulnerable.