Slaty-headed tody-flycatcher

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Slaty-headed tody-flycatcher
Slaty-headed Tody-Flycatcher (Poecilotriccus sylvia) (8079753320).jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Tyrannidae
Genus: Poecilotriccus
Species:
P. sylvia
Binomial name
Poecilotriccus sylvia
(Desmarest, 1806)
Poecilotriccus sylvia map.svg
Synonyms

The slaty-headed tody-flycatcher, or slate-headed tody-flycatcher [2] , (Poecilotriccus sylvia) is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. [3] It is found in Belize, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Venezuela, and possibly French Guiana. [4] [5]

Contents

Taxonomy and systematics

The slaty-headed tody-flycatcher was originally described in 1806 as Todus Sylvia. [6] It was later moved to genus Todirostrum . Following a 1988 publication, taxonomic systems moved sylvia and several other species from Todirostrum to genus Poecilotriccus . By the early twenty-first century genus Poecilotriccus had species called both "tody-tyrant" and "tody-flycatcher" so taxonomic systems began renaming the "tyrants" to "flycatcher". [7] [8] [9] The slaty-headed tody-flycatcher shares genus Poecilotriccus with 11 other species. [3]

The slaty-headed tody-flycatcher has these five subspecies: [3]

Subspecies P. s. schistaceiceps was originally described as a full species and at least one twentieth century author retained that treatment. [10] [7]

Description

The slaty-headed tody-flycatcher is about 9 to 10 cm (3.5 to 3.9 in) long and weighs 6.7 to 8.5 g (0.24 to 0.30 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies P. s. sylvia have a gray crown and nape. Their lores are gray; they have a white line above the lores and a broken white eye-ring on an otherwise gray face. Their back, rump, and uppertail coverts are olive. Their wings are blackish with narrow yellowish edges on the inner flight feathers and large yellow tips on the coverts; the latter show as two wing bars. Their tail is olive. Their throat and underparts are grayish white with grayish streaks on the lower throat and breast and an olive tinge on the flanks. Juveniles have an olive crown and back, buffy wing bars, and paler, grayer, unstreaked underparts. [11] [12]

The other subspecies of the slaty-headed tody-flycatcher differ from the nominate and each other thus: [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]

All subspecies usually have a dark brown iris, though it is sometimes pale yellow, gray, or white. They have a black bill and light bluish gray legs and feet. [11]

Distribution and habitat

The slaty-headed tody-flycatcher has a highly disjunct distribution. The subspecies are found thus: [4] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]

Most sources include French Guiana in the slaty-headed tody-flycatcher's range (Clements and Hilty say "the Guianas"). [1] [2] [4] [11] [17] However, the South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society has no records of the species in that country. [5]

The slaty-headed tody-flycatcher inhabits dense scrubby vegetation in a variety of landscapes in the tropical and lower subtropical zones. These include the edges of primary forest both natural and along roads, secondary forest, overgrown clearings and pastures, gallery forest, and somewhat open woodlands. In elevation it mostly ranges from sea level to 1,100 m (3,600 ft) overall though only to about 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in Costa Rica and Venezuela. It reaches 1,350 m (4,400 ft) in Colombia. [4] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]

Behavior

Movement

The slaty-headed tody-flycatcher is believed to be a year-round resident. [11]

Feeding

The slaty-headed tody-flycatcher feeds mostly on arthropods and also includes fruit in its diet. It typically forages in pairs and only rarely joins mixed-species feeding flocks. It mostly forages in dense vegetation near the ground but will occasionally hunt in the forest canopy. It primarily takes prey from foliage with short sallies from a perch. [11] [14] [15] [16] [17]

Breeding

The slaty-headed tody-flycatcher's breeding season has not been fully defined. Overall it appears to span from January to August with much geographic variation. Its nest is pear-shaped with a side entrance made from moss, grass, and other plant fibers. It is usually suspended from the tip of a branch with some cover above it up to about 3 m (10 ft) above the ground. The typical clutch is two eggs that are creamy white with brown spots. Fledging occurs about 18 to 21 days after hatch. The incubation period and details of parental care are not known. [11] [17]

Vocalization

According to Hilty, the slaty-headed tody-flycatcher's vocalizations are "insect- or froglike". They include "a soft, gravelly trup or trup grrrr, varying to tik trrrrrrr; nasal froglike grrrrrrr also given singly. When excited tíc-a-turrr". [17] Fagan similarly describes one call as "a 2-part tip!-purrrrrrrr". [14]

Status

The IUCN has assessed the slaty-headed tody-flycatcher as being of Least Concern. It has a very large range; its estimated population of at least 500,000 mature individuals is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified. [1] It is considered uncommon to fairly common in northern Central America, "relatively common only in wet southern Pacific" part of Costa Rica, common in Colombia, and locally common in Venezuela. [14] [15] [16] [17] It occurs in many protected areas both public and private. "Tolerant of converted habitat; probably benefits from deforestation if forest subsequently allowed to regenerate." [11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 BirdLife International (2021). "Slate-headed Tody-flycatcher Poecilotriccus sylvia". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2021: e.T22699007A138066126. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T22699007A138066126.en . Retrieved 17 February 2025.
  2. 1 2 Clements, J. F., P.C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, M. Smith, and C. L. Wood. 2024. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2024. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ retrieved October 23, 2024
  3. 1 2 3 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (August 2024). "Tyrant flycatchers". IOC World Bird List. v 14.2. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Check-list of North American Birds (7th ed.). Washington, D.C.: American Ornithologists' Union. 1998. p. 383.
  5. 1 2 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
  6. ↑ Desmarest, Ansleme-Gaëtan (1805). Histoire naturelle des Tangaras, des Manakins et des Todiers (in Latin and French). Retrieved February 17, 2025.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) The title page is dated 1805 but the species description is attributed to 1806.
  7. 1 2 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
  8. ↑ Stotz, Douglas (2008). "Proposal 334: Modify English names of some Poecilotriccus flycatchers". South American Classification Committee. Retrieved February 11, 2025.
  9. ↑ BirdLife International (2009) The BirdLife checklist of the birds of the world, with conservation status and taxonomic sources. Version 2. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/downloads/BirdLife_Checklist_Version_2.zip [.xls zipped 1 MB].
  10. ↑ Sclater, Philip Lutley (1859). "XLIV. – A List of the Tyrant‐birds of Mexico, with descriptions of some new species". Ibis. 1 (4). British Ornithologists’ Union: 436–445. Retrieved February 17, 2025.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Walther, B. (2020). Slate-headed Tody-Flycatcher (Poecilotriccus sylvia), 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.shtfly1.01 retrieved February 17, 2025
  12. 1 2 3 4 van Perlo, Ber (2009). A Field Guide to the Birds of Brazil. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 310–311. ISBN   978-0-19-530155-7.
  13. 1 2 3 vanPerlo, Ber (2006). Birds of Mexico and Central America. Princeton Illustrated Checklists. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. pp. Plate 65, map 65.15. ISBN   0691120706.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Fagan, Jesse; Komar, Oliver (2016). Field Guide to Birds of Northern Central America. Peterson Field Guides. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. pp. 252–253. ISBN   978-0-544-37326-6.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 Garrigues, Richard; Dean, Robert (2007). The Birds of Costa Rica. Ithaca: Zona Tropical/Comstock/Cornell University Press. p. 196–197. ISBN   978-0-8014-7373-9.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 McMullan, Miles; Donegan, Thomas M.; Quevedo, Alonso (2010). Field Guide to the Birds of Colombia. Bogotá: Fundación ProAves. p. 155. ISBN   978-0-9827615-0-2.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Hilty, Steven L. (2003). Birds of Venezuela (second ed.). Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press. p. 593.

Further reading

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