Yellow-billed tit-tyrant

Yellow-billed tit-tyrant
An example in Peru
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Tyrannidae
Genus:	Anairetes
Species:	A. flavirostris
Binomial name
Anairetes flavirostris Sclater, PL & Salvin, 1876
Non-Breeding   Year-round

The yellow-billed tit-tyrant (Anairetes flavirostris) is a species of bird in subfamily Elaeniinae of family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. ^[2] It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, and as a vagrant in Uruguay. ^[3]

Taxonomy and systematics

The members of genus Anairetes are known commonly as tit-tyrants because their active foraging behavior and crests are reminiscent of the true tits in the family Paridae. ^[4] The genus had formerly been named Spizitornis. ^[5]

The yellow-billed tit-tyrant has these four subspecies: ^[2]

• A. f. huancabambae(Chapman, 1924)
• A. f. arequipae(Chapman, 1926)
• A. f. cuzcoensis(Chapman, 1924)
• A. f. flavirostris Sclater, PL & Salvin, 1876

Description

The yellow-billed tit-tyrant is 10 to 12 cm (3.9 to 4.7 in) long and weighs 6 to 7 g (0.21 to 0.25 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies A. f. flavirostris have a blackish split crest formed by elongated feathers on the sides of the crown. Their forecrown is dusky gray with faint white streaks, the rest of their crown is white, their supercilium is white, and the rest of their face is white with bold black streaks. Their upperparts are medium gray-brown with faint blackish streaks. Their wings are blackish with buffy white tips and edges on the inner flight feathers. Their wing coverts have cinnamon-buff tips that show as two bars on the closed wing. Their tail is dusky brownish with paler outer webs on the outermost pair of feathers and paler tips on the others. Their throat, breast, and upper belly are white with bold black streaks and their flanks, lower belly, and undertail coverts are unmarked yellowish. Juveniles have a shorter crest than adults and are duller, more buffy, and not as strongly streaked. ^{[6] [7]}

Subspecies A. f. huancabambae has more white in the crown than the nominate; its back is dark brown with strong blackish streaks and their tail feather have white edges and tips where the nominate is pale brownish. A. f. arequipae's tail feathers have dull brownish edges and tips only slightly paler than the rest of the tail; its belly is less yellowish than the nominate's. A. f. cuzcoensis is the largest subspecies and has the least amount of white on its crown. Its back is darker brown and more heavily streaked than the nominate's and its breast has wider and darker streaks. Both sexes of all subspecies have a dark brown iris, a black maxilla, a yellow mandible with a black outer half or tip, and slate-gray to black legs and feet. ^{[6] [7] [8]}

Distribution and habitat

The nominate subspecies of the yellow-billed tit-tyrant is the southernmost of the four. It is found in the Andes of Bolivia and western Argentina as far south as Chubut Province and east to Buenos Aires and Entre Ríos provinces. Subspecies A. f. huancabambae is found in the Andes of northern Peru from Piura and Cajamarca departments south to Ancash and Huánuco. A. f. arequipae is found on the western slope of the Andes from Peru's Lima Department south into northwestern Chile's Arica and Tarapacá regions. A. f. cuzcoensis is known only in Peru's Cuzco Department but its range might extend north to Junín Department. ^{[6] [7] [8]} In addition, the South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society has records showing the nominate subspecies as a vagrant in Uruguay. ^[3]

The yellow-billed tit-tyrant inhabits a variety of dryish semi-open to open landscapes. These include dry montane and desert scrublands, thorn scrub, semi-arid brush, and somewhat humid woodlands dominated by Polylepis and Gynoxys trees and shrubs. It occurs mostly at elevations between 1,900 and 4,100 m (6,200 and 13,500 ft) but west of the Andes is found locally almost at sea level, especially in coastal lomas "fog oases". ^{[6] [7] [8]}

Behavior

Movement

The yellow-billed tit-tyrant is a year-round resident in most of its range. The population in far southern Argentina moves north and east into central Argentina and a few individuals get as far as western Uruguay. Some individuals in the western Andes apparently move to lower elevations in the austral winter. ^{[6] [7] [3]}

Feeding

The yellow-billed tit-tyrant feeds mostly on insects but occasionally also includes grass seeds in its diet. It typically forages singly, in pairs, or small family groups and sometimes joins mixed-species feeding flocks. It forages mostly in shrubs and bushes, mostly taking prey by gleaning while perched but also by briefly hovering and occasionally by a sally to take prey in midair. ^[6]

Breeding

The yellow-billed tit-tyrant breeds between October and January in Argentina; its breeding season elsewhere has not been defined. Its nest is a shallow cup made from plant fibers, thistle down, and lichens with a lining of feathers. It is typically built in a shrub within about 1 m (3 ft) of the ground. The clutch is two or three white eggs. The only documented incubation period was 13 days. The time to fledging and details of parental care are not known. ^[6]

Songs and calls Listen to the yellow-billed tit-tyrant on xeno-canto

Vocalization

The yellow-billed tit-tyrant's dawn song is "a rising trill with stuttered burst afterward: brreeee brr-br-br". Its calls are "a rising-falling, musical trill: brrreeeeuu [and] a rising-falling musical chatter: tur-tur-TEE'TEE'tee-tee-tchip". ^[8]

Status

The IUCN has assessed the yellow-billed tit-tyrant as being of Least Concern. It has a large range; its population size is not known and is believed to be stable. No immediate threats have been identified. ^[1] It is considered fairly common in the Peruvian Andes ^[8] and rare to fairly common elsewhere ^[6] .

References

1. BirdLife International (2016). "Yellow-billed Tit-tyrant Anairetes flavirostris". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22699397A93729681. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22699397A93729681.en . Retrieved 11 October 2024.
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 28 September 2024. Species Lists of Birds for South American Countries and Territories. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCCountryLists.htm retrieved September 29, 2024
4. del Hoyo, Josep; Elliott, Andrew; Christie, David, eds. (2004). "Cotingas to Pipits and Wagtails". Handbook of the Birds of the World . Vol. 9. Barcelona: Lynx Editions. p. 177.
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 28 September 2024. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved 29 September 2024
6. Fitzpatrick, J. W., A. J. Spencer, and K. Leonardi (2020). Yellow-billed Tit-Tyrant (Anairetes flavirostris), version 2.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, B. K. Keeney, and T. S. Schulenberg, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.ybttyr1.02 retrieved October 11, 2024
7. de la Peña, Martín R.; Rumboll, Maurice (2001). Birds of Southern South America and Antarctica. Princeton Illustrated Checklists. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. pp. Plate 71, map 71.11. ISBN   0691090351.
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. 420. ISBN   978-0691130231.