Plain Tyrannulet

Inezia inornata

Small, pale flycatcher with a faint eyebrow. Slender, grayish tan overall, with white wingbars, a fairly long tail, and slim bill. Compared to the similar Mouse-colored Tyrannulet, has a less distinct facial pattern (Mouse-colored has a strong eyebrow) and a longer, slimmer bill, and forages more actively; changing perches frequently with quick flits between branches. Found in shrubby secondary forest on its breeding grounds in southern South America; migrates north during the austral winter into the Amazon, where it is found in secondary forest and river’s-edge forest. Song is a descending high trill with a stuttered introductory note; calls are similar but shorter.

Taxonomy

Scientific name
Inezia inornata
Authority
(Salvadori, 1897)
Order
Passeriformes
Family
Tyrannidae
Genus
Inezia

Range and habitat

Migration
Complete migrants

Conservation

Population trend
declining

Photos

Distribution

Bird Calls

Other Birds

Plain-breasted Piculet

Plain-breasted Piculet

Picumnus castelnau

Relatively plain piculet found in dense riverine and secondary vegetation along the Amazon and its tributaries in Peru, barely making it into southernmost Colombia and westernmost Brazil. Plumage generally pale below with a brownish back. Note the dark spots in the ear coverts; the short, sharp bill; and the glossy red feathers in the male’s crown. Song is a very high-pitched series of thin whistles, dropping at the end.

Tristram's Warbler

Tristram's Warbler

Curruca deserticola

Small, long-tailed Curruca warbler, very similar to Spectacled and Subalpine Warblers. Males are distinctive with very deep rusty underparts, a rusty throat (sometimes paler mid-throat), rusty wings, and a hint of pale buff moustache. Females are pale brown and less distinctive with normally rather warm-toned underparts. Breeds on mountain slopes covered in dense, low bushes, tamarisk scrub, and vegetated desert wadis; non-breeding habitat is sometimes lower in elevation, but typically similarly open and scrubby. Song a scratchy whistle. Call a low "trrrrr."

Two-banded Warbler

Two-banded Warbler

Myiothlypis bivittata

Small, yellowish bird with a fine black bill and distinctive black stripes on head. Mostly green above and yellow below; has rufous or orange crown bordered by black, but crown color can be difficult to ascertain. Note olive eyebrow becoming yellow in front of eye, and bright pinkish-yellow legs. Inhabits dense understory of foothill forests along the eastern slope of the southern Andes and in the tepui region. Usually occurs in pairs or small family groups that forage actively for insects, often joining mixed-species flocks. Song in tepuis is a series of chips followed by a high-pitched, screeching note. In southern part of range, song is very different: a rich rollicking series of notes that may vaguely recall House Wren and is often given by pairs as a duet. In southern Andes, most similar to Golden-bellied Warbler but has olive (not entirely yellow) eyebrow; also similar to Golden-crowned Warbler but typically occurs at higher elevations and has olive (not whitish) eyebrow.

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