Slaty-capped Flycatcher
Leptopogon superciliaris
Small flycatcher with gray cap, black ear patch, and buffy wingbars. Head pattern looks messy. Olive back and pale yellow belly. Most similar to Sepia-capped Flycatcher, but that species has a brown cap (not gray). Also very similar to bristle-tyrants of South America but note buffy wingbars and voice—a commonly heard, explosive “pseek!” sometimes with a sputtering trill at the end. Look for singles or pairs in forests and edges, usually not too high in the trees. Often follows mixed-species flocks.
Identification
The adult slaty-capped flycatcher is 12.5 cm (4.9 in) long and weighs 12 g (0.42 oz). The head has a dark grey crown, grey and white face, grey supercilium, and black crescent-shaped ear patch. The upperparts are olive-green and the dusky wings have two yellowish wing bars. The throat is whitish and the breast is greenish yellow shading to yellow on the belly. The long heavy bill is black above and pink-based below. Sexes are similar, but young birds have a more olive crown, weaker face pattern, orange wing bars and paler underparts. They have a sharp switch-choo call.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Leptopogon superciliaris
- Authority
- Tschudi, 1844
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Tyrannidae
- Genus
- Leptopogon
Range and habitat
It breeds from Costa Rica through Colombia and northern Venezuela to northern Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru. It also occurs on Trinidad. This species is found in forests and woodland edges.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Slaty-capped flycatcher are seen alone or in pairs, perched in the open or catching insects in flight or from foliage. They also frequently eat berries.<p>The nest is a ball lined with fine plant fibres, with a side entrance. It is suspended by a tendril or root and built in a heavily shaded area, such as a rock cleft or under hanging vegetation at the top of a bank. The typical clutch is two white eggs.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Yellow-browed Tody-Flycatcher
Todirostrum chrysocrotaphum
Tiny, boldly colored flycatcher of lowland rainforest. Black and yellow with a boat-shaped bill. Found in the canopy of mature rainforest, often in upland areas; occasionally also found around forest edges, including sometimes around gardens and human dwellings. Listen for its song, a long, steady series of high metallic chips, given at a pace of slightly faster than one note per second.
Red-faced Parrot
Hapalopsittaca pyrrhops
Rare and threatened parrot found only in high Andean forest in southern Ecuador and adjacent parts of northern Peru. Small compared to most other parrots. Red face is bordered with patches of blue and yellow. Wings are green and blue with red on the shoulder. Usually encountered in pairs or small flocks that fly over the forest and then disappear into the canopy, where they can be very hard to pick out as they forage for fruit behind the foliage.
Bolivian Tyrannulet
Zimmerius bolivianus
Small, pale olive-gray flycatcher. Found across a wide elevational range from montane forest all the way up to elfin forest and scrub around the treeline. Perches horizontally, holding its head up; has a pale eye and lacks wingbars. Very pale belly helps distinguish it from the similar Red-billed Tyrannulet, which has a yellow belly and which overlaps with Bolivian at the lower part of Bolivian’s elevational range. Bolivian’s call is a single, descending whistle.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.