Orange-crested Flycatcher
Myiophobus phoenicomitra
Scarce, unremarkable flycatcher of Andean cloud forest understory. Note the yellow underparts, vague brownish wingbars, stubby bill, and faint eye-ring. Male’s orange crest is usually concealed and rarely seen in the field. The species lacks strong field marks, and voice is often the easiest way to identify it. Typical song is a high-pitched “sit-sweet!-sit,” sometimes followed by a few softer notes.
Identification
The Orange-crested flycatcher is a small bird, weighing 10-11g. It is mostly olive in colour with a dark brown tail and wings and faint ochre wing-bars. It has a stubby light-coloured bill and dark eye with a faint eye-ring. The males eponymous orange crest is usually hidden, making it less useful as a distinguishable feature in the field. The similar-looking Flavescent flycatcher can be told apart by its broken eye-ring and black bill. Its call is phoneticized by some as "sit-sit-sit-still" or "sit-sweet-sit".
Taxonomy
The Orange-crested flycatcher was first described by Ornithologists, Władysław Taczanowski and Hans von Berlepsch in 1885 as Myiobius phoenicomitra with the type locality being Tungurahua Province in Ecuador. It was later moved from the genus Myiobius to Myiophobus. There are currently two recognized subspecies:
- Scientific name
- Myiophobus phoenicomitra
- Authority
- (Taczanowski & Berlepsch, 1885)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Tyrannidae
- Genus
- Myiophobus
Range and habitat
There are three main disjunct populations, one on the western slopes of the Andes in Colombia and Ecuador (M. p. litae), one on the eastern slopes of the Andes from southern Colombia to northern Peru (M. p. phoenicomitra), and another separate population around Chachapoyas Province, Peru.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Euryceros prevostii
Huge black vanga with a rufous back and an enormous blue bill. Rare and localized Madagascar endemic that is found in northeastern rainforest at low and middle elevations. Usually in the mid-story, perching motionless for long periods. Often joins flocks with other large vangas. Most easily located when nesting in a large mossy cup that is placed on a forking mid-story branch. Song is a long, delicate, high-pitched, slightly descending trill.
Sichuan Treecreeper
Certhia tianquanensis
Dull, short-billed treecreeper with a white throat, brown upperparts, and brown-suffused pale underparts. Restricted to mature montane coniferous stands, especially fir. Like other treecreepers, scrambles quickly up trunks and along branches with its tail held flat against the bark. Very similar to Hodgson’s Treecreeper, but Sichuan averages darker on the face and belly, with a different song: a long tinkling series of descending high notes. Call is high-pitched and sputtery, like a sped-up version of the song.
Blackish-gray Antshrike
Thamnophilus nigrocinereus
A fairly large antshrike of riparian zones with lots of regional variation in plumage. Males are dark gray above, paler below, with white wing bars (not spots); the northwest subspecies is gray with a black cap. Females are rusty with a dark-gray hood. Found in seasonally flooded forests, river island forests, and mangroves. Forages close to the ground and sometimes accompanies mixed-species flocks. The song is an accelerating series of whistled descending notes.
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