Long-crested pygmy tyrant

Long-crested pygmy tyrant
Long-crested pygmy tyrant at Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Tyrannidae
Genus:	Lophotriccus
Species:	L. eulophotes
Binomial name
Lophotriccus eulophotes Todd, 1925

The long-crested pygmy tyrant (Lophotriccus eulophotes) is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. ^[2] It is found in the western Amazon Basin of Bolivia, Brazil and Peru. ^[3]

Taxonomy and systematics

The long-crested pygmy tyrant has had the binomial Lophotriccus eulophotes since it was originally described in 1925. ^[4] It is monotypic. ^[2] However, several early twentieth century authors treated it and what is now the double-banded pygmy tyrant (L. vitiosus) as conspecific. In addition, several authors have suggested that genus Lophotriccus should be merged into genus Hemitriccus . ^[5]

Description

The long-crested pygmy tyrant is 10 to 10.5 cm (3.9 to 4.1 in) long and weighs 6.5 to 8 g (0.23 to 0.28 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have long black crown feathers with gray edges. They form the eponymous crest that it sometimes erects and fans; they extend beyond the rear of the head when folded. Adults have whitish lores on an otherwise olive face. Their back, rump, and uppertail coverts are olive. Their wings are dusky with olive tips on the coverts; the latter show very weakly as two wing bars. Their tail is dusky. Their throat and underparts are whitish with gray streaks. They have a whitish yellow iris, a gray bill, and dull pinkish legs and feet. ^{[6] [7] [8]}

Distribution and habitat

The long-crested pygmy tyrant is a bird of the southwestern Amazon Basin. It is found in the upper Purus River basin of far western Brazil, the Ucayali and Madre de Dios river basins in southeastern Peru, and Pando Department in far northern Bolivia. It primarily inhabits forest along the rivers where it favors its edge, openings such as those caused by fallen trees, and stands of Guadua bamboo. It also occurs in mature secondary forest, especially along roads. In elevation it reaches only 400 m (1,300 ft) above sea level. ^{[6] [7] [8]}

Behavior

Movement

The long-crested pygmy tyrant is a year-round resident. ^[6]

Feeding

The long-crested pygmy tyrant feeds on insects. It mostly forages between about 4 and 10 m (15 and 35 ft) above the forest floor and occasionally joins mixed-species feeding flocks. It takes prey mostly by using short upward sallies from a perch to grab it from leaves. ^[6]

Breeding

Nothing is known about the long-crested pygmy tyrant's breeding biology. ^[6]

Songs and calls Listen to the long-crested pygmy tyrant on xeno-canto

Vocalization

The long-crested pygmy tyrant's song is "an accelerating and falling series of ringing notes: pit-pit-pit-pit-piteeeeerrr". Its primary call is "single pip notes, often in [a] loose series". It also makes "several pip notes in a rising-falling series". ^[8]

Status

The IUCN has assessed the long-crested pygmy tyrant as being of Least Concern. It has a large range; its population size is not known and is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified. ^[1] It is considered "uncommon to fairly common, but local". It occurs in at least two nominally protected areas in Peru. However, "mining, oil extraction and other development schemes, coupled with associated road-building and human intrusion, pose serious future threats; even the integrity of large protected areas such as Manu National Park and Biosphere Reserve and Tambopata-Candamo Reserved Zone is not assured". ^[6]

References

1. BirdLife International (2024). "Long-crested Pygmy-tyrant Lophotriccus eulophotes". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2024: e.T22699564A264393035. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2024-2.RLTS.T22699564A264393035.en . Retrieved 9 February 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 30 January 2025. Species Lists of Birds for South American Countries and Territories. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCCountryLists.htm retrieved 31 January 2025
4. Todd, W. E. Clyde (1925). "Sixteen new birds from Brazil and Guiana". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 38. Biological Society of Washington: 93. Retrieved February 9, 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 30 January 2025. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved 31 January 2025
6. Clock, B. M. (2020). Long-crested Pygmy-Tyrant (Lophotriccus eulophotes), 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.lcptyr1.01 retrieved February 9, 2025
7. van Perlo, Ber (2009). A Field Guide to the Birds of Brazil. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 308–309. ISBN   978-0-19-530155-7.
8. 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. 426. ISBN   978-0691130231.