Yellow-margined Flatbill
Tolmomyias assimilis
Small flycatcher most often seen high in rainforest canopy, often with mixed species flocks. Its bill is very wide at the base and wing feathers are conspicuously edged with yellow. Confusingly similar to several other species. Dark eye helps to separate it from Gray-crowned Flycatcher, and usually shows brighter wings with less well defined wingbars than Yellow-olive Flycatcher. Whitish (not yellow) throat distinguishes it from Olive-faced Flycatcher and Ochre-lored Flycatcher. Voice is often the best clue. Yellow-margined Flycatcher gives a rising series of clear or buzzy whistles. Song has a very nasal quality in some parts of its range. Birds found west and north of the Andes are now considered a separate species, Yellow-winged Flycatcher.
Identification
Small flycatcher most often seen high in rainforest canopy, often with mixed species flocks. Its bill is very wide at the base and wing feathers are conspicuously edged with yellow. Confusingly similar to several other species. Dark eye helps to separate it from Gray-crowned Flycatcher, and usually shows brighter wings with less well defined wingbars than Yellow-olive Flycatcher. Whitish (not yellow) throat distinguishes it from Olive-faced Flycatcher and Ochre-lored Flycatcher. Voice is often the best clue. Yellow-margined Flycatcher gives a rising series of clear or buzzy whistles. Song has a very nasal quality in some parts of its range. Birds found west and north of the Andes are now considered a separate species, Yellow-winged Flycatcher.
Taxonomy
Genus: Tolmomyias; Family: Tyrannidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Tolmomyias assimilis
- Authority
- (Pelzeln, 1868)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Tyrannidae
- Genus
- Tolmomyias
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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Javan Sunbird
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Red-collared Mountain-Babbler
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Unusual babbler with a black cap and a rufous collar and rump. Also note the pale bill and eye. Found very locally in the canopy and mid-story of montane forest along the Albertine Rift. Usually in small and vocal groups, which sometimes join mixed-species feeding flocks. The call is a raspy chattering. Very similar to Chapin’s Babbler, but not known to overlap in range, and easily separated by its black cap.
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