Sooty-crowned Flycatcher
Myiarchus phaeocephalus
Fairly large flycatcher found mainly in dry forest in western Ecuador and northwestern Peru. It has a gray-brown crown (often raised to look “bushy”), an ashy throat, and a yellow belly. Dark head helps distinguish it from kingbirds. This species is one of many in the genus Myiarchus, members of which are notoriously difficult to identify by plumage alone; this is the only one in most of its range that prefers dry forest, but it overlaps with Brown-crested Flycatcher in the Marañon drainage. Sooty-crowned has a grayer crown and more chestnut in the wings and tail. Calls include a nasal, whiny whistle, a short rasp, and a creaky “wi-dit.”
Identification
The sooty-crowned flycatcher (Myiarchus phaeocephalus) is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Ecuador and Peru.
Taxonomy
Genus: Myiarchus; Family: Tyrannidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Myiarchus phaeocephalus
- Authority
- Sclater, PL, 1860
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Tyrannidae
- Genus
- Myiarchus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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A beautiful finch with a bright ocean-blue body, greenish wings, a reddish tail, a red head, and a blue throat. Mostly found in closed-canopy forest and forest edge. Scarce in open habitats. Common call is a thin, high-pitched, repetitive “seep.”
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