Short-tailed pygmy tyrant | |
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At Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Tyrannidae |
Genus: | Myiornis |
Species: | M. ecaudatus |
Binomial name | |
Myiornis ecaudatus (D'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1837) | |
The short-tailed pygmy tyrant (Myiornis ecaudatus) is a small species of tyrant-flycatcher. The species is one of the smallest birds on Earth and the smallest passerine. [2] Among both the family and the order, only the closely related black-capped pygmy tyrant approaches similarly diminutive sizes. The pygmy tyrant is widespread throughout most of the Amazon in northern and central South America.
A resident of tall humid forests, the bird is occasionally found in more open woodland, specifically around treefalls and tall trees in clearings. It ranges from sea-level to 750 m (2,460 ft). [2] It is fairly common throughout most of its range, but is easily overlooked, in part due to its insect- or frog-like voice.
The short-tailed pygmy tyrant is truly a pygmy of a bird, with only a handful of the smallest hummingbirds measuring smaller. The average length is 6.5 cm (2.6 in) and the weight averages at 4.2 g (0.15 oz). [2] While the bill (though slender) is disproportionately large for the size of the bird, the tail is practically non-existent. The head is gray with blackish lores and stand-out white "spectacles". The back is bright olive-green, and the bar-less wings and tail are both black. The underside is yellow-tinged white, with light olive smudges on the chest and flanks, and the inner flight feathers are edged with yellow. The sexes are similar. Although its plumage is similar to some other tyrant flycatchers, especially the slaty-headed tody-flycatcher, in the field, the bird is more often mistaken for a large beetle or insect, especially while in flight.
Its song is a high pitched series of up to 15 c'r'eek notes, at first hesitant, then accelerating and descending slightly. There is also a cr'e'e'e', k'e'e'e'e song that is repeated over and over. Chirp-like squeaks similar to that of a well-rosined bird squeaker and a soft, purring series of trilled notes, lower in pitch than other calls, are heard. In general, the vocalizations of the short-tailed pygmy tyrant are all unlikely to be recognized as bird vocalizations, but are rather more like the sounds made by crickets or small frogs.
The nest, a moss and fiber ball with a side entrance, is large for the size of the bird. It may be found from 1 to 8 meters (3.3 to 26.2 ft) up in the tree, and never near the canopy. 2 eggs, white overlaid with brownish or cinnamon spots, are laid.
The short-tailed pygmy tyrant prefers to take prey by hover-gleaning from beneath leaves at mid-level in the forest. Its flight movements have a mechanical-feel that enhances the insect comparison. The abrupt movements of this dwarf make it hard to follow even if it is seen. This bird also occasionally flycatches after remaining very quiet.
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 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 American dusky flycatcher, or simply dusky flycatcher, is a small insectivorous passerine of the tyrant flycatcher family.
The boat-billed flycatcher is a passerine bird. It is a large tyrant flycatcher, the only member of the monotypic genus Megarynchus.
The sulphury flycatcher is a passerine bird which is a localised resident breeder from Trinidad, the Guianas and Venezuela south to Amazonian Peru, northern Bolivia and Brazil.
The grey-capped flycatcher is a passerine bird, a member of the large tyrant flycatcher family.
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 tawny-chested flycatcher or Salvin's flycatcher, is a small passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family. It breeds in Caribbean lowlands and foothills up to 1000 m altitude from eastern Nicaragua to northern Costa Rica, although all Nicaraguan records are historical specimens collected near Lake Nicaragua or its outflow.
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 American gray flycatcher, 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 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.
The Amazonian Inezia or Amazonia Tyrannulet is a tiny tyrant-flycatcher bird that belongs to the Tyrannidae family found in riverine forests and scrub, including on islands, from southwest Venezuela and neighboring southeast Colombia south through the Amazonian region to northern Bolivia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, and heavily degraded former forest. Its prominent white supraloral and eye-ring, as well as its extremely "spotty" double wingbars, are what most easily set it apart. Olive-green to pale yellow makes up the majority of the rest of the feathers. With their tails held cocked, the species is frequently found in pairs, usually low to the ground. However, very little else about the biology and behavior of this tyrannulet has been documented to this point. The Amazonian Tyrannulet and the allopatric Pale-tipped Tyrannulet of northern South America were once thought to be conspecific, however vocalizations and, to a lesser extent, morphology clearly distinguish them from one another.
The ashy flycatcher is a species of bird in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is found throughout sub-Saharan Africa, excluding the drier areas of South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia, where it inhabits subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, and savanna. It has a disputed generic placement, with different authorities variously putting it in Muscicapa, Fraseria, or other genera. Ashy flycatchers are mostly grey in colour, with pale grey or white underparts, and display no sexual dimorphism.
The black-backed tody-flycatcher is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, and one of twelve in the genus Poecilotriccus.