Black-capped flycatcher | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Tyrannidae |
Genus: | Empidonax |
Species: | E. atriceps |
Binomial name | |
Empidonax atriceps Salvin, 1870 | |
The black-capped flycatcher (Empidonax atriceps) is a very small passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family. It is endemic to the highlands of Costa Rica and western Panama.
This species is found in the high canopy of mountain oak forest, coming lower at the edges and in clearings, and also in second growth and bushy pastures. It breeds mainly in the highest forested areas, from 2450 m to 3300 (even 4000) m altitude, but will descend to as low as 1850 m in the height of the rainy season.
The cup nest is made of grass and mosses and lined with plant fibre; it hangs from grass at the top of an earth bank, or is placed 2–12 m high in a vertical tree fork. The typical clutch is two unmarked cream or white eggs. Incubation by the female is 14–15 days to hatching, with another 17 days to fledging.
The black-capped flycatcher is 11.5 cm long and weighs 9 g. Most of its head and the rear of its neck are sooty black, the upperparts are olive-brown and the underparts are paler brown, becoming whitish on the throat and yellower on the lower belly. The head has a broad white eye ring, broken above the eye. The wings and tail are blackish, the former having two pale brown wing bars. The sexes are similar, but young birds have a browner head and paler wing bars. The call is a whistled kip and the song is a loud keer keer.
This species is easily distinguished from migratory Empidonax flycatchers by its blackish head and generally dark appearance.
Black-capped flycatchers are tame, active birds, usually seen alone when not breeding. They eat insects, often taken in flight in short sallies from an open perch.
The alder flycatcher is a small insect-eating bird of the tyrant flycatcher family. The genus name Empidonax is from Ancient Greek empis, "gnat", and anax, "master". The specific alnorum is Latin and means "of the alders".
The streaked flycatcher is a passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family.
The tropical pewee or southern tropical pewee is a small passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family. It breeds from southern Mexico and Trinidad south to Bolivia and Argentina. The taxon punensis, found in south-western Ecuador and western Peru, is usually included as a subspecies of the tropical pewee, but it has been suggested it should be considered a separate species, the Tumbes pewee.
Euler's flycatcher is a small passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family. It breeds in South America east of the Andes from Colombia and Venezuela south to Bolivia and Argentina, and on the islands of Trinidad and formerly also Grenada. This species is named for the Swiss ornithologist Carl Euler.
The southern beardless tyrannulet is a small passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family. It breeds from Costa Rica through South America south to Paraguay, Bolivia, and Argentina.
The bran-colored flycatcher is a small passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family. It breeds from Costa Rica through South America to Bolivia, Uruguay, and Argentina. It also occurs on Trinidad.
The slaty-capped flycatcher is a small passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family. It is found in northern Bolivia to Costa Rica and in Trinidad.
The social flycatcher is a passerine bird from the Americas, a member of the large tyrant flycatcher family (Tyrannidae).
The long-tailed silky-flycatcher is a passerine bird which occurs only in the mountains of Costa Rica and western Panama, usually from 1,850 m altitude to the timberline. It is a thrush-sized species weighing about 37 g. The silky-flycatchers are related to waxwings, and like that group have soft silky plumage.
The torrent tyrannulet is a small bird of the tyrant flycatcher family. It breeds from Costa Rica south to northern Bolivia and northwestern Venezuela.
The yellowish flycatcher is a small passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family. It breeds in highlands from southeastern Mexico south to western Panama.
The dark pewee is a small passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family. It is endemic to the Talamancan montane forests of Costa Rica and western Panama.
The mountain elaenia is a small passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family. It breeds in highlands from Guatemala to Colombia and western Venezuela. The scientific name celebrates the German physician and naturalist, Alexander von Frantzius.
The northern tufted flycatcher or simply tufted flycatcher is a small passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family. It breeds in highlands from northwestern Mexico to northwestern Ecuador. The olive flycatcher of Peru and Bolivia is now considered a separate species.
The common tody-flycatcher or black-fronted tody-flycatcher is a very small passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family. It breeds from southern Mexico to northwestern Peru, eastern Bolivia and southern, eastern and northeast Brazil.
The black-capped pygmy tyrant is the smallest passerine bird in its range, though larger than its cousin, the short-tailed pygmy tyrant. This tyrant flycatcher occurs from Costa Rica to north-western Ecuador.
The slaty flowerpiercer, Diglossa plumbea, is a passerine bird endemic to the Talamancan montane forests.
The American gray flycatcher, or American grey flycatcher, or just gray flycatcher as it is known in North America, is a small, insectivorous passerine in the tyrant flycatcher family. It is common in the arid regions of western North America, especially the Great Basin. From sagebrush steppes to pinyon-juniper woodlands and ponderosa pine forests, this flycatcher forages for insects from shrubs or low tree branches.
The northern beardless tyrannulet is a small passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family. It breeds from southeasternmost Arizona and Texas of the United States through Mexico and Central America to northwestern Costa Rica.