Sulphury flycatcher

The sulphury flycatcher (Tyrannopsis sulphurea) is a passerine bird which is a localised resident breeder from Trinidad, the Guianas and Venezuela south to Amazonian Peru, northern Bolivia and Brazil.

Sulphury flycatcher
at Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Tyrannidae
Genus: Tyrannopsis
Ridgway, 1905
Species:
T. sulphurea
Binomial name
Tyrannopsis sulphurea
(Spix, 1825)

This large tyrant flycatcher is found in savannah habitat with moriche palms. The nest is an open cup of sticks in the crown of a moriche palm, and the typical clutch is two cream-coloured eggs blotched with brown.

The adult sulphury flycatcher is 20.3 cm long and weighs 54g. The head and neck are dark grey, and there is a concealed yellow crown stripe. The upperparts are olive, and the wings and tail are brown. The underparts are yellow with a greenish tint to the upper breast and a white throat. The black bill is short and broad.

This species resembles the tropical kingbird, but is shorter, stockier, and has a shorter bill. The call is a loud squealing jweeez, quite different from the kingbird's twittering.

Sulphury flycatchers wait on an exposed perch high in a palm and sally out to catch insects in flight. They will also take some berries.

The species is in its own genus-(monotypic), because of its bird voicebox anatomy, the syrinx.

References
  1. BirdLife International (2012). "Tyrannopsis sulphurea". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • ffrench, Richard (1991). A Guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago (2nd ed.). Comstock Publishing. ISBN 0-8014-9792-2.
  • Hilty, Steven L (2003). Birds of Venezuela. London: Christopher Helm. ISBN 0-7136-6418-5.


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