Mouse-gray Flycatcher
Myiophobus crypterythrus
Small, dull-colored flycatcher fond of lightly wooded areas, dry savanna, and forest edge. Its brownish-gray plumage, streaky breast, and buffy wingbars separate it from other similar species. Song is a quick “swee-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch…”; also gives a series of well-spaced whistles. Usually seen alone or in pairs, often sitting quietly on a low perch. Note its restricted range in far southwestern Colombia, western Ecuador, and northwestern Peru (mostly west of the Andes, but also in the Marañón Valley). Formerly considered a subspecies of Bran-colored Flycatcher.
Identification
The Mouse-gray flycatcher is a small brownish-grey bird weighing 9.9g. It has a brown back, neck, and crown with a pale belly, throat, and supercilium and greyish-brown breast streaks and cheek. It's wings and tail are a darker brown with the coverts, the sides of the secondaries and tertials, and the tips of the primaries being a rufous color that varies from being a subtle tinge to a very bold ochre. It can be told from the Bran-colored by its darker sepia brown back and paler and more obvious supercilium. The related Rufescent flycatcher is easily differentiated by its rufous unstreaked belly and breast.
Taxonomy
The Mouse-gray flycatcher was originally described by English ornithologist Philip Sclater in 1861 from a specimen sent to him from Pallatanga, Ecuador. Sclater originally placed it in the genus Myiobius, but it was later placed in Myiophobus. Its specific epithet crypterythrus comes from the Greek crypto meaning hidden, and erythrus meaning reddish, a reference to its subtle reddish wing bars that aren't obviously apparent at first glance. Sclater noted its similarity to the Bran-colored flycatcher (then under the name Myiobius naevius) but identified its difference in size and morphology. It was later considered to be a subspecies of the Bran-colored flycatcher by Carl Eduard Hellmayr under the name Myiophobus fasciatus crypterythrus. Some publications used the name Western Banded Flycatcher for the subspecies during the 20th century. Although its distinct appearance was apparent, some believed that it didn't even warrant a subspecies, with Zimmer considering it conspecific with M. f. rufescens due to a confusing female specimen from where the ranges overlap. In 2023 a proposal to the South American Classification Committee by J.I. Areta and T.S. Schulenberg to split the subspecies M. f. crypterythrus and M. f. rusfescens from the Bran-colored flycatcher was approved unanimously, leading to the split of the Mouse-gray and Rufescent flycatchers as new species.
- Scientific name
- Myiophobus crypterythrus
- Authority
- (Sclater, PL, 1861)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Tyrannidae
- Genus
- Myiophobus
Range and habitat
It has a rather restricted range compared to its relatives, being found from extreme southwestern Colombia, Ecuador west of the Andes into Peru reaching its southern terminus in La Libertad Department.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Norfolk Island Gerygone
Gerygone modesta
Nondescript little gray-brown bird with whitish underparts, a thin black bill, and a slender dark line going through the eye. Also note faint white crescents sometimes visible above and below each eye. Found only on Norfolk Island, where it is fairly distinctive. Compare with female and immature Golden Whistlers, which have thicker bills, buffy underparts, and a larger-headed appearance. Forages actively in various forest and forest edge habitats. Song consists of high, gurgly, melodic warbling.
Yellow Bittern
Botaurus sinensis
Very small heron of marshy, well-vegetated water bodies. Adult pale orangish brown or yellow, depending on the light, with a narrow dark cap. Juvenile darker above with pale feather edges. Can be inconspicuous in dense vegetation, but frequently makes short flights; on flying birds, note dark flight feathers contrasting with pale yellowish wing coverts. Typically quiet, but occasionally gives harsh grating calls when flushed.
Dark-backed Imperial-Pigeon
Ducula lacernulata
Large gray-brown pigeon with dark brown wings and back. Head color varies across range: a silver-gray head in western Java, a pinkish-buff head in eastern Java, and an intermediate pinkish face and gray crown elsewhere. Widespread, but generally only locally common, roaming extensively through foothill and montane forests. Generally perches quietly in the canopy, often in small flocks. Visits fruiting trees. Gives deep hooting coos: “whuup, whuup.”
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.