TYRANT FLYCATCHERS   -   TYRANNIDAE   -   PART II

Agile Tit-Tyrant Anairetes agilis Papallacta, Napo province, Ecuador. Inhabits high elevation forest in the Andes from Venezuela to Ecuador. (S5)

Yellow-billed Tit-Tyrant Anairetes flavirostris flavirostris Yavi, Jujuy province, Argentina. This subspecies has a unique migration, breeding in the high Andes of Argentina and Bolivia, and wintering in the low plains to the east of the mountains. (D3)

Tufted Tit-Tyrant Anairetes parulus aequatorialis La Cuesta del Obispo, Salta province, Argentina. The most widespread of the tit-tyrants, found from Colombia to Tierra del Fuego. (S5)

Torrent Tyrannulet Serpophaga cinerea grisea Bosque de Paz, Alajuela province, Costa Rica. While several members of this genus are closely tied to water, the Torrent Tyrannulet only occurs around rushing mountain streams and rivers, the same habitat as the dippers. (S5)

Sooty Tyrannulet Serpophaga nigricans Serra da Canastra National Park, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. (D3)

White-bellied Tyrannulet Serpophaga munda West of Chicoana, Salta province, Argentina. This species is lumped by some with White-crested Tyrannulet S. subcristata since their vocalizations seem to be identical. (S5)

Mouse-colored Tyrannulet Phaeomyias murina murina Canudos, Bahia state, Brazil. This species can sometimes be confusing. Look for the long, slender shape combined with brown plumage, two pale wingbars that often appear tan, and the pale superciliary. (S6)

Mouse-colored Tyrannulet Phaeomyias murina inflava Bosque de Pomac, Lambayeque department, Peru. Ridgely and Greenfield (2001) treated the three races in SW Ecuador and NW Peru as a distinct species (Tumbesian Tyrannulet, P. tumbezana) based mainly on vocalizations. That might be the best course, but there has never been a systematic study of the species. (D2)

Yellow Tyrannulet Capsiempis flaveola flaveola Reserva Ecolgica de Guapi Assu, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. A fairly common bird over much of tropical Central and South America. It is often found in bamboo patches, but it is not restricted to them. This individual was in secondary scrub with no bamboo next to a swamp. (S6)

Bearded Tachuri Polystictus pectoralis brevipennis Karanambu Ranch, Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo region, Guyana. Female. It specializes in savannas with tall grass, though they seem to be thinly spread even in the best habitat. (D3)

Gray-backed Tachuri Polystictus superciliaris Serra do Cipó, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. Here's a cute little bird endemic to the savannas of interior Southeast Brazil. Cipó and Canastra are the best places I know to find it. (S5)

Bronze-olive Pygmy-Tyrant Pseudotriccus pelzelni annectens Mashpi road, Pichincha province, Ecuador. A scarce inhabitant of cloudforest understory from E Panama to S Peru. You can often locate it from the sharp snapping sound it makes with its wings. (S6)

Rufous-headed Pygmy-Tyrant Pseudotriccus ruficeps Yanacocha reserve, Pichincha province, Ecuador. This bird is a juvenile, lacking the rufous head of the adults. Despite being a young bird, it was singing loudly as the next photo illustrates. (S6)		Rufous-headed Pygmy-Tyrant Pseudotriccus ruficeps Yanacocha reserve, Pichincha province, Ecuador. (S6)

Southern Antpipit Corythopis delalandi Serra da Canastra NP, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. This odd terrestrial flycatcher was formerly thought to be an antbird. It is found in southeastern South America, usually in drier forest, but it does range locally into younger rainforest. It's the sister species of the similar Ringed Antpipit C. torquatus (below), which has a mainly Amazonian distribution and a different song. (S6)

Ringed Antpipit Corythopis torquatus anthoides Mitú, Vaupués department, Colombia. The grayish tone of the face and forecrown suggest that this individual is of race anthoides, which is not mentioned for Colombia on either the Clements list or IBC. Also see comments for above species. (S6)

Rufous-sided Pygmy-Tyrant Euscarthmus rufomarginatus Mugugê, Bahia state, Brazil. Range maps make it look like this species has a large range, mainly in the cerrado of Brazil, but is very local and known only from relatively few sites. (S6)

Gray-and-white Tyrannulet Pseudelaenia leucospodia Chaparrí Reserve, Lambayeque department, Peru. An odd monotypic genus restricted to arid and usually sparsely vegetated areas of southwestern Ecuador and northwestern Peru. It's genus name refers to the fact that it is superficially very similar to the elaenias. (S6)

Greater Wagtail-Tyrant Stigmatura budytoides gracilis Canudos-Jeremoaba road, Bahia state, Brazil. Very similar to the sympatric race bahiae of Lesser Wagtail-Tyrant (S. napensis). I identified this as S. budytoides based on the gray crown, clear yellow underparts, and solid white wing coverts. (D3)

Paltry Tyrannulet Zimmerius vilissimus parvus La Selva OTS, Heredia province, Costa Rica. Such a derogatory name for a bird! The English name is pretty much a synonym of the latin name, which means "worthless" (Jobling 1991). What did Philip Sclater and Osbert Salvin, who described this species in 1859, have against it? (S6)

Red-billed Tyrannulet Zimmerius cinereicapilla Afluente, San Martín department, Peru. The red bill can be hard to see in the field since you are often looking up on the bird in badly backlit conditions. I was lucky to get this one down low in front of a distant mountainside. (D2)		Golden-faced Tyrannulet Zimmerius chrysops chrysops Old Loja-Zamora Highway, Zamora-Chinchipe province, Ecuador. (S5)

Slender-footed Tyrannulet(?) Zimmerius gracilipes(?) Serra de Baturité, Ceará state, Brazil. The taxonomy of this group is in a state of flux. Some references mention that the recently split taxon acer is the one that occurs here, but see the comments by Frank Rheindt http://www.xeno-canto.org/features.php?blognr=6&action=view that suggest that this is not true, or that both taxa could occur here together. Ciro Albano's article on NE Brazil in Neotropical Birding 6 mentions that "almost certainly a cryptic new taxon is involved". For the mean time I will leave this as Slender-footed until I have more infomation to go by. This bird was silent, so voice was not an ID clue. (S6)

Marble-faced Bristle-Tyrant Phylloscartes ophthalmicus ophthalmicus Tandayapa Bird Lodge, Pichincha province, Ecuador. (S5)

Mottle-cheeked Tyrannulet Phylloscartes ventralis ventralis Vale das Taquaras, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. (S5)

Restinga Tyrannulet Phylloscartes kronei Ilha Comprida, São Paulo state, Brazil. Described only in 1992, this Brazilian endemic inhabits a narrow strip of coastal scrub from southern São Paulo to Paraná. (D2)

Ecuadorian Tyrannulet Phylloscartes gualaquizae Old Loja-Zamora Highway, Zamora-Chinchipe province, Ecuador. A restricted-ranged species almost endemic to Ecuador, but it is also found locally in northern Peru. (S5)

Alagoas Tyrannulet Phylloscartes ceciliae RPPN Frei Caneca, Pernambuco state, Brazil. A seriously endangered species found only in northeastern Brazil, with a population estimated at less than 1000 individuals (http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=4203). (S6)

Minas Gerais Tyrannulet Phylloscartes roquettei Corrego dos Ovos, 16 km ESE of Pirapora, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. An endangered species restricted to dry woodland of east-central Brail. (S5f)		Minas Gerais Tyrannulet Phylloscartes roquettei Corrego dos Ovos, 16 km ESE of Pirapora, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. (S5f)

São Paulo Tyrannulet Phylloscartes paulista Intervales State Park, São Paulo state, Brazil. A scarce Atlantic Rainforest endemic found in southeastern Brazil, eastern Paraguay, and northeastern Argentina. (S6)

Sepia-capped Flycatcher Leptopogon amaurocephalus amaurocephalus Iguazú National Park, Misiones province, Argentina. A widespread Neotropical rainforest species, found from Mexico to northern Argentina. (S6)

Southern Scrub-Flycatcher Sublegatus modestus brevirostris c.18 km northeast of JV Gonzales, Salta province, Argentina. One of the many "look-alike" flycatchers out there! The really stubby bill is one of the best features to separate it from some of the very similar Elaenias. In the field, voice is also a very helpful clue. This is quite a widespread species in (mostly) tropical areas south of the Amazon. (S5)

Plain Tyrannulet Inezia inornata Pousada Piuval, Pantanal, Mato Grosso state, Brazil. (S6)

Amazonian Tyrannulet Inezia subflava obscura Mitú, Vaupés department, Colombia. A water-lover; it is typically found at the edges of flooded areas or on small, scrubby islands. (S6)

Ornate Flycatcher Myiotriccus ornatus stellatus Mashpi road, pichincha province, Ecuador. A unique tyrannid found in foothill cloudforest throughout the northern Andes. (S6)