The tyrant flycatchers (Tyrannidae) are a family of passerine birds which occur throughout North and South America. They are considered the largest family of birds known to exist in the world, with more than 400 species. They are the most diverse avian family in every country in the Americas, except for the United States and Canada. The members vary greatly in shape, patterns, size and colors. Some tyrant flycatchers may superficially resemble the Old World flycatchers, which they are named after but are not closely related to. They are members of suborder Tyranni (suboscines), which do not have the sophisticated vocal capabilities of most other songbirds.
The olive-sided flycatcher is a small to medium sized passerine bird in the family Tyrannidae, the Tyrant flycatcher family. It is a migratory species that travels from South to North America to breed during the summer. It is a very agile flyer and mainly consumes flying insects on flight. Since 2016, this species has been assessed as being near-threatened globally (IUCN) and threatened in Canada (SRA) due to its declining populations.
The Cerrado is a vast ecoregion of tropical savanna in eastern Brazil, being present in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Maranhão, Piauí, Bahia, Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Paraná and the Federal District. The core areas of the Cerrado biome are the Brazilian highlands – the Planalto. The main habitat types of the Cerrado consist of forest savanna, wooded savanna, park savanna and gramineous-woody savanna. The Cerrado also includes savanna wetlands and gallery forests.
The fork-tailed flycatcher is a passerine bird of the tyrant flycatcher family and is a member of a genus typically referred to as kingbirds. Named for their distinguishably long, forked tail, fork-tailed flycatchers are seen in lightly forested or grassland areas, from southern Mexico to south past Argentina. They are most frequently observed sitting on conspicuous perches waiting for flying arthropods to fly past, they then sally out, eat their prey, and return to their perches. Northern populations near southern Mexico tend to be permanent residents, while fork-tailed flycatchers that live further south are migrants with a reputation for wandering to as far north as New Brunswick, Canada.
The dwarf tinamou, also known as the least tinamou, is a small, superficially partridge-like bird with short tail and wings, found only in Brazil. This tinamou is the only member of the genus Taoniscus and it is considered an endangered species.
The shrike-tyrants are a genus, Agriornis, of birds in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae. The members of this genus are found in open habitats in western and southern South America, usually at high elevations. They are large and heavy billed by tyrant-flycatcher standards, and include the largest representative of the family, the great shrike-tyrant. These five species all have a dull brownish or greyish plumage. Despite their name any similarity with the shrikes is superficial. Many field guides note their greater resemblance to thrushes.
The tufted tit-tyrant is a species of bird in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae. This species is found in western South America; its range stretches from southern Colombia south along the Andes mountains to Tierra del Fuego. It prefers to live in upper montane forests and shrublands; however, it is a habitat generalist and can be found across a wide range of ecosystems. The tufted tit-tyrant has three subspecies, including the nominate subspecies Anairetes parulus parulus, A. p. aequatorialis, and A. p. patagonicus, and is very closely related to the Juan Fernández tit-tyrant. It is very small with a distinctive and conspicuous crest. The bird's head is black overall with white supraloral and postocular stripes. Its dull grayish-brown back contrasts with its white throat and breast that are covered with black streaks and pale, unmarked yellow underbelly. There are few noticeable differences in plumage between the subspecies. It is a vocal flycatcher with a broad repertoire of songs.
Twistwings are two species of Tyrant flycatchers from the genus Cnipodectes. They are restricted to northern and western South America and southern Central America. The genus was monotypic until a new species, Cnipodectes superrufus, was described from Peru and Bolivia in 2007. Their common name refers to the modified primaries. The genus contains two species.
The southern antpipit is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is one of two species in the genus Corythopis. It is found in southern Brazil and the pantanal of Paraguay, Bolivia and Brazil; also extreme north-eastern Argentina. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
The black-backed water tyrant is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is one of three species in the genus Fluvicola.
The flammulated bamboo tyrant, also called flammulated pygmy tyrant is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Amazonian Peru and Bolivia, and the bordering states of Brazil's northwest, the North Region. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
The cattle tyrant is a species of bird in the tyrant-flycatcher family Tyrannidae. In Brazil, it is called suiriri-cavaleiro. It is the only member of the genus Machetornis. The relationships of this species and genus to other genera in the tyrant flycatchers are uncertain. It resembles Tyrannus flycatchers, but this may be the result of convergence. Three subspecies are recognised, the nominate race, M. r. flavigularis and M. r. obscurodorsalis, although the latter two may not be distinct from M. r. flavigularis. The genus name was given to the species by George Robert Gray and is derived from the Ancient Greek makhētēs for fighter and ornis for bird, a reference to its pugnacious behaviour and habit of dispossessing other species of their nests. The specific name comes from the Latin rixosus meaning quarrelsome, again referring to the behaviour and temperament of the species.
The little ground tyrant is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers and is the only species placed in the genus Syrtidicola. It is found in Amazonian Brazil, Peru, and Bolivia; also smaller regions of Colombia and Ecuador. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist shrubland and rivers.
The southern mouse-colored tyrannulet is a species of bird in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae. It occurs in a wide range of scrubby and wooded habitats in tropical and subtropical South America, being absent from the southernmost part of the continent, the high Andes and dense rainforest. It is generally common, but its small size and dull plumage results in it often being overlooked – or at least not identified, as it resembles several other tyrant flycatchers.
The rufous-webbed bush tyrant is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae. It is found mostly in Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru with a few records in Chile, where its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland.
The white-naped xenopsaris, also known as the reed becard and white-naped becard, is a species of suboscine bird in the family Tityridae, the only member of the genus Xenopsaris. It is found in South America, in humid subtropical and tropical savanna climates in most of the countries east of the Andes: Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina. Living in open woodland and other open forest habitats, it is mostly sedentary, though some populations may be migratory. The species, which is closely related to becards and tityras, was thought to be either a tyrant-flycatcher or cotinga, before it was placed in Tityridae.
The suiriri flycatcher is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae found in semi-open habitats in South America. It was formerly split into two species; the Chaco suiriri and the Campo suiriri. Suiriri originates from Guaraní, where it is a generic name used for several medium-sized tyrant flycatchers.
Aglae is a genus of euglossine bees, with the only described species Aglae caerulea. Like all orchid bees, it is restricted to the Neotropics. They are metallic blue. This species, like the genus Exaerete, is a nest parasite on free-living Euglossini. A. caerulea lays its eggs in the nests of Eulaema nigrita, and possibly other Eulaema species.
The Madeira-Tapajós moist forests (NT0135) is an ecoregion in the Amazon basin. It is part of the Amazon biome. The ecoregion extends southwest from the Amazon River between its large Madeira and Tapajós tributaries, and crosses the border into Bolivia. In the south it transitions into the cerrado biome of Mato Grosso. In the state of Rondônia it contains some of the most degraded land of the Amazon basin.
