Amazonian scrub flycatcher

Amazonian scrub flycatcher
Amazonian scrub flycatcher at Presidente Figueiredo, Amazonas state, Brazil
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Tyrannidae
Genus:	Sublegatus
Species:	S. obscurior
Binomial name
Sublegatus obscurior Todd, 1920

The Amazonian scrub flycatcher or Todd's scrub flycatcher (Sublegatus obscurior) is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. ^[2] It is found in every mainland South American country except Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay. ^[3]

Taxonomy and systematics

What are now the Amazonian scrub flycatcher, northern scrub flycatcher (S. arenarum), and southern scrub flycatcher (S. modestus) were previously members of the single species named scrub flycatcher with the binomial S. modestus. The further taxonomy of the three scrub flycatchers has not been fully resolved. ^[4]

As of late 2024, the Amazonian scrub flycatcher was considered monotypic. ^[2] At least one author has treated it as a subspecies of S. modestus, calling the combined species the "forest scrub flycatcher". Others have treated it as a subspecies of what is now the glaber subspecies of the northern scrub flycatcher but that they considered to be a separate species. ^[5]

Description

The Amazonian scrub flycatcher is 14 to 15 cm (5.5 to 5.9 in) long and weighs 14.5 to 17 g (0.51 to 0.60 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a dark grayish brown crown that sometimes erects as a shaggy crest. Their face is mostly whitish to pale gray with a faint pale supercilium, a dark line through the eye, and a darker gray to the back of the ear coverts. Their back and rump are dark grayish brown. Their wings are dusky gray with paler grayish to whitish edges on the flight feathers and tips of the wing coverts; the latter show as two wing bars. Their tail is dusky. Their chin, throat and upper breast are dark dusky gray and their belly dingy yellow with no sharp demarcation between the colors. They have a dark brown iris, a stubby black bill, and gray legs and feet. ^{[6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]}

Distribution and habitat

The Amazonian scrub flycatcher is primarily a bird of the Amazon Basin whose range extends slightly into the upper reaches of the Orinoco River basin. It is found from southeastern Colombia south through eastern Ecuador and Peru into northern Bolivia and east from there through southern Venezuela, the Guianas, and Amazonian Brazil to the Atlantic. Its southernmost extent in Brazil is northern Mato Grosso. It inhabits clearings and edges of dryish forest and woodlands and also occurs along watercourses in more open savanna. It favors low shrubby vegetation in all landscapes, and typically is found in dryer habitats than the other two scrub flycatchers. In elevation it occurs from sea level to about 450 m (1,500 ft) in the Guianas and Brazil and up to 500 m (1,600 ft) in Colombia, 900 m (3,000 ft) in Ecuador, 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in Peru, and 460 m (1,500 ft) in Venezuela. ^{[6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]}

Behavior

Movement

The Amazonian scrub flycatcher is a year-round resident. ^[6]

Feeding

The Amazonian scrub flycatcher feeds on arthropods and small fruits. It forages low down in shrubs and small trees. It sits erect on a perch with its tail straight down and mostly hover-gleans or snatches fruit and insects from leaves in short sallies from it; it also takes some prey in mid-air. It is not known to follow mixed-species feeding flocks. ^{[6] [8] [9]}

Breeding

The Amazonian scrub flycatcher's breeding season has not been detailed but appears to include July in Ecuador and March in Guyana. Its nest is a cup built in a branch fork, typically up to about 8 m (25 ft) above the ground. Nothing else is known about the species' breeding biology. ^{[6] [8]}

Songs and calls Listen to the Amazonian scrub flycatcher on xeno-canto

Vocalization

The Amazonian scrub flycatcher is not highly vocal, and there are limited number of recordings of it. Those in xeno-canto are mostly from Brazil and Ecuador with a few from Peru. ^[12] Its dawn song is "two simple phrases, one is a slightly plaintive underslurred 'tseeeet' [and] the other is a double-noted 'chee-weeh!' ". During the day it makes a "descending call note 'pzzeeew', occasionally preceded by a single note 'pee-pzzeeew' ". ^[13] Another description of the dawn song, from Ecuador, is "a repeated, rather sweet 'chwedeé...chwedeé...chwedeé...' that may continue for several minutes". ^[9] A description from Peru is "a sweet rising whistle followed by a double whistle, descending at the end" TWOEE? whi-whiEEE...TWOEE? whi-whiEEE...". ^[10]

Status

The IUCN has assessed the Amazonian scrub flycatcher as being of Least Concern. It has an extremely large range; its population size is not known but is believed to be stable. No immediate threats have been identified. ^[1] It is considered very local in Colombia, uncommon in Venezuela, rare and local in Ecuador, and local in Peru. Several field guides suggest it is easily overlooked. ^{[7] [8] [9] [10]} It occurs in at least one protected area in each of Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. It "[h]as probably increased, and will continue to do so, with degradation of primary forest; elevational range may increase with degradation at base of [eastern] Andes". ^[6]

References

1. BirdLife International (2018). "Amazonian Scrub-flycatcher Sublegatus obscurior". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T22699205A130201063. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22699205A130201063.en . Retrieved 3 January 2025.
2. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (August 2024). "Tyrant flycatchers". IOC World Bird List. v 14.2. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
3. Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, G. Del-Rio, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 18 November 2024. Species Lists of Birds for South American Countries and Territories. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCCountryLists.htm retrieved November 26, 2024
4. Robbins, M. B. (2020). Northern Scrub-Flycatcher (Sublegatus arenarum), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.nosfly1.01 retrieved January 2, 2025
5. Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, G. Del-Rio, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 18 November 2024. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved November 26, 2024
6. Robbins, M. B. (2020). Amazonian Scrub-Flycatcher (Sublegatus obscurior), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.amsfly1.01 retrieved January 3, 2025
7. McMullan, Miles; Donegan, Thomas M.; Quevedo, Alonso (2010). Field Guide to the Birds of Colombia. Bogotá: Fundación ProAves. p. 153. ISBN   978-0-9827615-0-2.
8. Hilty, Steven L. (2003). Birds of Venezuela (second ed.). Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press. p. 574.
9. Ridgely, Robert S.; Greenfield, Paul J. (2001). The Birds of Ecuador: Field Guide. Vol. II. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. p. 467. ISBN   978-0-8014-8721-7.
10. Schulenberg, T.S.; Stotz, D.F.; Lane, D.F.; O'Neill, J.P.; Parker, T.A. III (2010). Birds of Peru. Princeton Field Guides (revised and updated ed.). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. p. 414. ISBN   978-0691130231.
11. van Perlo, Ber (2009). A Field Guide to the Birds of Brazil. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 302–303. ISBN   978-0-19-530155-7.
12. "Amazonian Scrub Flycatcher Sublegatus obscurior". xeno-canto. 2025. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
13. Boesman, Peter F. D. (2016). "Ornithological Note 145. Notes on the vocalizations of Northern Scrub-flycatcher (Sublegatus arenarum), Amazonian Scrub-flycatcher (Sublegatus obscurior) and Southern Scrub-flycatcher (Sublegatus modestus)". Cornell Lab of Ornithology. doi: 10.2173/bow-on.100145 . Retrieved January 3, 2025.