Spectacled Whitestart

The spectacled whitestart generally weighs between 10 and 13 grams, and is between 13 and 13.5 centimetres (5.1 and 5.3 in) long. The species has a black face and crown, while the nape of the neck and the back are grey. The tail is largely black, but the outermost feathers have some white on them. The underside of the throat, from the throat to the tail, is yellow. The undertail coverts are white. The beak and the legs are black, while the iris is dark. Males and females are indistinguishable. Juveniles have grey on the head and back, and have an underside that is paler yellow. The species has prominent yellow "spectacles" on the face formed by a ring around the eye and a stripe running under the lores, which give the bird its name. Relative to the nominate subspecies, M. melanocephalus melanocephalus, the subspecies M. m. bolivanus is slightly smaller, and is paler in the coloration of its underside. The black region on the face is more extensive in M. m. malaris. M. m. griseonuchus also has more extensive black on its face, to a similar extent as M. m. malaris, but also has a tiny patch of rufous brown on its crown. M. m. ruficoronatus has a larger rufous patch, but is otherwise similar to M. m. melanocephalus in the rest of its coloration.