Bulletin 437 - Brazil 2023 #18 - Flycatchers Part 1

 After 3 trips to Colombia with diminishing returns, it was time to go further afield. Pablo Flores the guide in Colombia is now leading trips to Brazil as well. So my birding buddy Martin Jackson and my daughter Chantel and I decided to go there. We visited the Pantanal, the Atlantic forest in the Sao Paulo area and had 1 day in the Chapada. The Pantanal is the largest wetland in the world, so it is teeming with wildlife. The Atlantic Forest is a unique ecosystem from sea level to about 1 mile elevation. It contains 800 species of birds (225 endemic) and 26 species of primates. Unfortunately it also contains 2 mega cities - Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro and the resulting sprawl and clearing for agriculture since the Portuguese arrived 500 years ago, has wiped out 90%+ of the original forest. About 250 species of amphibians, birds and mammals have gone extinct in the past 400 years. The good news is that many preserves and parks have been set aside to try and preserve the remaining biodiversity.

The Tyrant Flycatcher family has the most species of any of the bird families (447 currently). So as before on other trips you find a lot of them. This trip to Brazil was no different 21 species of which 16 were new for me.

The 7.75" Brown-crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus tyrannulus) is typical for this genus with the brown back and head, gray breast and yellow belly. This bird also can be seen in south Texas.

Brown-crested Flycatcher

His cousin is the 7" Swainson's Flycatcher (Myiarchus swainsoni). These birds are so similar that they are best separated by voice.

Swainson's Flycatcher

The 8" Crested Black Tyrant (Knipolegus lophotes) is an all black flycatcher with a wispy crest and a red eye.

Crested Black Tyrant 

His cousin is the 7" Velvety Black Tyrant (Knipolegus lophotes). The male has a bushy crest and red eye.

Velvety Black Tyrant - male

The female is similar but she has a rusty streaked throat.

Velvety Black Tyrant - female

The 6" Scarlet Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus) should look familiar to all of us in the USA. It was one of the 3 species split from Vermilion Flycatcher.

Scarlet Flycatcher

The 6.5" Lesser Kiskadee (Philohydor lictor) is another bird that need sot be IDed by voice as there are many similarly colored species.

Lesser Kiskadee

The 7" Rufous Casiornis (Casiornis rufus) is an attractive reddish brown bird but lighter on the breast.

 Rufous Casiornis

The 8.25" Grey-hooded Attila (Attila rufus) is similar to the above bird but the head is gray. He is a Brazil endemic.

Grey-hooded Attila

The 7.75" Cattle Tyrant (Machetornis rixosa) is a commonly found bird in tropical America. He is usually on the ground.

Cattle Tyrant

The 3.75" Yellow-lored Tody-Flycatcher (Todirostrum poliocephalum) is an easy ID. He is another Brazil endemic species.

Yellow-lored Tody-Flycatcher

So with the 16 new flycatcher species on the trip, I have still only photographed 1/3 of the species in this largest family of birds.

I put the different bird/mammal families in single folders for easy viewing

I have photos of 149 of the 447 species of Tyrant Flycatchers

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald

dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2025 David McDonald

To have these trip reports sent to your email, please email me at the above address and ask to subscribe.

Bulletin 286 - Colombia #9 - Flycatchers

Pablo Florez, the main guide, has co-written a book where to bird in Colombia. In it, he has a list of the Top 30 Most Sought-after Birds by a group of 40 birders visiting Colombia. I saw 12 of them on the trip and got photos of 10. When I show one of these birds,  I will mention its placement on the list.

The Tyrannidae family of Tyrant Flycatchers is the largest family of birds with more that 430 species, all of which are in the New World. Many are rather plain, but I did see some new interesting flycatchers in Colombia.

The 3.5" Southern Bentbill (Oncostoma olivaceum) is IDed by the unusual bill and white eye.

Southern Bentbill

The 4.75" Torrent Tyrannulet (Serpophaga cinerea) is gray with a black head and wings. It is found along mountain streams. I had seen this bird at a distance before, but several were rather close on this trip.

Torrent Tyrannulet

The large 9" Streak-throated Bush-Tyrant (Myiotheretes striaticollis) put on a wonderful show the first morning as we were having breakfast at a farmhouse with hummingbird feeders.  What a beautiful flycatcher.

Streak-throated Bush-Tyrant

Another of the same genus is the 8" Smoky Bush-Tyrant (Myiotheretes fumigatus). It is gray brown overall with no other markings.

Smoky Bush-Tyrant

The 6" Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant (Ochthoeca fumicolor) is IDed by the white eye stripe and overrall reddish brown.

Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant

A long time favorite of mine is the 5" White-headed Marsh-Tyrant (Arundinicola leucocephala). I had seen this bird in 1991 in Venezuela, but this is the first time to see it since then. The cute male is black with a white head. the female has a white head and underparts with gray back. They sit up on exposed perches near wetlands and is a snap to ID.

White-headed Marsh-Tyrant - male

The 5" Pied Water-Tyrant (Fluvicola pica) is also found near water but is mostly white with black back, wings and tail.

Pied Water-Tyrant

The 4.5" Handsome Flycatcher (Nephelomyias pulcher) has a gray cap and a rusty breast and wing bars.

Handsome Flycatcher

Another bird I saw in Venezuela in 1991 and did not see again until this trip is the 8" Cattle Tyrant (Machetornis rixosa). It is IDed by the black eye strip and bright yellow belly. It is found in open farmland and often may be on the ground or perched on the back of a grazing animal.

Cattle Tyrant

And lastly is the 4" Black-throated Tody-Tyrant (Hemitriccus granadensis). These tiny flycatchers are difficult to see well as they flit around constantly,. So it is always exciting for me to get a good photo of one of them. Then I can really see what the bird looks like. It is olive above, white below with a black throat.

Black-throated Tody-Tyrant

I have updated my Tyrant Flycatcher family photos. There are 435 species and I have photos of 114 of them here.

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald
dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2017 David McDonald

To have these trip reports sent to your email, please email me at the above address and ask to subscribe.