Common tody-flycatcher | |
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In Costa Rica | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Tyrannidae |
Genus: | Todirostrum |
Species: | T. cinereum |
Binomial name | |
Todirostrum cinereum (Linnaeus, 1766) | |
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The common tody-flycatcher or black-fronted tody-flycatcher (Todirostrum cinereum) 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 common tody-flycatcher was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1766 in the twelfth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Todus cinereus. [2] Linnaeus based his description on the "Grey and Yellow Fly-catcher" that had been described and illustrated in 1760 by George Edwards from a specimen collected in Suriname. [3] The specific epithet cinereum is from Latin cinereus meaning "ash-grey". [4] The common tody-flycatcher is now the type species of the genus Todirostrum that was introduced by René Lesson in 1831. [5] [6] [7]
Eight subspecies are recognised: [7]
The common tody-flycatcher is a tiny, big-headed bird, 9.5–10.2 cm (3.7–4.0 in) long, weighing 6.5–6.8 g (0.23–0.24 oz), and with a long, flattened, straight black bill. The upper head is black, shading to dark grey on the nape and dark olive-green on the rest of the upperparts. The usually cocked tail is black with white tips, and the wings are blackish with two yellow wing bars and yellow edging to the feathers. The underparts are entirely yellow. Sexes are similar, but young birds have a greyer upper head, buff wing markings, and paler underparts.
Males of this species have a rapid grasshopper-like ticking te’e’e’e’e’e’t call something like a tropical kingbird, and a dawn song consisting of a very fast high tic repeated up to 110 times a minute for minutes on end.
It is a very common inhabitant in gardens, shady plantations, second growth and the edges and clearings of forest, although it avoids the dense interior of mature woodland and also arid areas. The common tody-flycatcher is usually seen in pairs, making rapid dashing sallies or hovering to pick small arthropods off the vegetation. [8] It often wags its tail as it moves sideways along branches.
It breeds from sea level to 1,150 m (3,770 ft) altitude, locally to 1,500 m (4,900 ft). Both male and female birds build a pouch nest with a visored side entrance, which is usually suspended from a thin branch or vine 1–5 m (3.3–16.4 ft) high in a tree, though occasionally it can go up to 30 m (98 ft). The female incubates the two usually unspotted white eggs for the 15–16 days prior to hatching.
The great kiskadee, called bem-te-vi in Brazil, pitogue in Paraguay, benteveo or bichofeo in Argentina and Uruguay, and luis bienteveo, pitabil, luis grande or chilera in Mexico, is a passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae. It is the only member of the genus Pitangus.
The red-legged honeycreeper is a small songbird species in the tanager family (Thraupidae). It is found in the tropical New World from southern Mexico south to Peru, Bolivia and central Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, and on Cuba, where possibly introduced. It is also rarely found in southern Texas.
The social flycatcher is a passerine bird from the Americas, a member of the large tyrant flycatcher family (Tyrannidae).
The grey-capped flycatcher is a passerine bird, a member of the large tyrant flycatcher family.
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The oriole blackbird is a species of bird in the family Icteridae. Its genus, Gymnomystax, is monotypic. It is a medium-sized yellow and black bird found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela, where its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, and swamps.
The black-throated tody-tyrant is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
The pearly-vented tody-tyrant is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in every mainland South American country except Chile, Ecuador, French Guiana, and Suriname.
Zimmer's tody-tyrant is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru.
Snethlage's tody-tyrant is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Venezuela, and possibly Peru.
The stripe-necked tody-tyrant is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia and Peru.
The white-eyed tody-tyrant is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
The cliff flycatcher is a species of bird in the tyrant flycatcher family, Tyrannidae. The cliff flycatcher is the only species in the genus Hirundinea after the swallow flycatcher was merged, becoming subspecies Hirundinea ferruginea bellicosa. It is native to South America, where its natural habitats are cliffs and crags in the vicinity of subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical moist montane forest, and heavily degraded former forest.
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The yellow-browed tody-flycatcher is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found mainly in the southern Amazon Basin of Brazil, also Amazonian Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia; the species is recorded in Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical swamps, and heavily degraded former forest.
The black-headed tody-flycatcher is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is a small, black and yellow, insectivorous bird.
The waved woodpecker or variable woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.