Suiriri Flycatcher
Suiriri suiriri
Small flycatcher with a gray head, an olive-brown back, a dark tail, and two grayish wingbars. Subspecies vary in the colour of rump (yellowish or brown) and belly (pale yellow or white). The similar Chapada Flycatcher has a white rump, a yellow belly, a broad whitish tail tip, and a different song and display. Inhabits savanna-like areas with scattered trees and bushes. The song is an easily recognizable series of “pi-chew” notes.
Taxonomy
The suiriri flycatcher was described by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1818 under the binomial name Muscicapa suiriri. The type locality is Puerto Pinasco in Paraguay. It has traditionally been split into two species, the southern Chaco suiriri (S. suiriri) with a white belly and the northern Campo suiriri (S. affinis) with a yellow belly and a contrastingly pale rump, but they interbreed widely where they come into contact, and consequently most authorities now consider them to be part of a single species. It has been suggested that the taxon bahiae from north-eastern Brazil, which is considered a subspecies of S. affinis when that species is split from S. suiriri, actually is the result of hybridization between suiriri and affinis. For the most part it resembles the latter, but it lacks a contrastingly pale rump as the former.<p>The chapada flycatcher is a cryptic species that was included within the suiriri flycatcher until it was described in 2001. While both these species are relatively noisy, only the chapada flycatcher has the distinctive wing-lifting display.<p>Three subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Suiriri suiriri
- Authority
- (Vieillot, 1818)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Tyrannidae
- Genus
- Suiriri
Range and habitat
The suiriri flycatcher occurs in a wide range of semi-open habitats such as Chaco, Caatinga and Cerrado, but generally avoids humid habitats such as the Amazon Rainforest. It ranges from northern Argentina, through Uruguay, Paraguay, eastern Bolivia, to a large part of eastern Brazil, with disjunct populations in southern Guyana, Amapá, and near the lower section of the Amazon River and central Madeira River. These disjunct populations are associated with remnant patches of relatively dry woodland and savanna that largely – or entirely – are surrounded by humid Amazonian forests.<p>It is fairly common locally, and consequently considered to be of least concern by BirdLife International.
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Northern Bobwhite
Colinus virginianus
Small and rotund with intricate brown, black, and white patterning. Some striking variation in plumage across range. Most males, including those in the eastern U.S., have bold black and white head pattern and heavy white spotting on belly. In Mexico, males can be entirely cinnamon-colored below and have a fully black head; some might have a white eyebrow or a dark chest band. Females are more consistent throughout range: look for buffy throat and eyebrow. Pairs or small groups are found in scrubby fields and brushy woods. Usually on the ground, but occasionally perches in trees when singing. The only quail native to the eastern U.S., where populations are declining sharply. Listen for distinctive “bob-WHITE!” whistle.
Guaiabero
Bolbopsittacus lunulatus
A common, lovebird-sized parrot of wooded areas in the lowlands and foothills. Overall green in color with a darker back, darker wings with blue edges and black tips, and paler green underparts and rump. Male has a blue face and collar. Female has reduced blue on the face with a scaled collar and rump. Similar in length to Philippine Hanging-Parrot, but Guaiabero is shorter-tailed and stockier, with a black rather than red bill. Voice consists of high-pitched ringing notes, often given in pairs.
Chilean Pigeon
Patagioenas araucana
Only large native pigeon in its range. Locally fairly common in temperate rainforest, farmland with wooded patches, and matorral with taller trees. Feeds from treetops to ground, sometimes in roadside fields; often in flocks. Plumage dark overall with narrow white hindneck collar, bright red feet, and broad pale gray tip on tail. Compare with the variable Rock Pigeon, which is usually around people and most have white underwings in flight unlike the dark grayish underwings on Chilean Pigeon.
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