| White-lored tyrannulet | |
|---|---|
 | |
| White-lored tyrannulet atPorto Velho,Rondônia,Brazil | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Tyrannidae |
| Genus: | Ornithion |
| Species: | O. inerme |
| Binomial name | |
| Ornithion inerme Hartlaub, 1853 | |
 | |
Thewhite-lored tyrannulet (Ornithion inerme) is a species ofbird in subfamily Elaeniinae of familyTyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found inBolivia,Brazil,Colombia,Ecuador,French Guiana,Guyana,Peru,Suriname, andVenezuela.[2]
The white-lored tyrannulet ismonotypic.[2]
The white-lored tyrannulet is 8 to 9 cm (3.1 to 3.5 in) long and weighs about 6 to 8 g (0.21 to 0.28 oz). It is a small flycatcher with a rather thick bill. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a gray crown and nape with a white line from past the eye to past the eye across the forehead and graylores on an otherwise olive face. Their upperparts are olive. Their wings are blackish with thin greenish yellow edges on thesecondaries. Their greater and median wingcoverts have pale yellow tips that show as two rows of spots on the closed wing. Their tail is grayish with green edges on the outer feathers. Their throat is whitish and the rest of their underparts mostly pale yellow with a light olivaceous wash on the breast and sides. Both sexes have a dark brown iris, a black bill, and dark gray or black legs and feet. Juveniles have ochraceous wing bars and are otherwise like adults.[3][4][5][6][7][8][excessive citations]
The white-lored tyrannulet has adisjunct distribution. By far the larger of its two ranges encompasses almost the entireAmazon Basin. It stretches from the base of the Andes of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia east through southern and eastern Venezuela,the Guianas, and almost the entire northern half of Brazil. The species is also found along the southeastern Brazilian coast fromAlagoas andBahia south toRio de Janeiro state. The white-lored tyrannulet inhabits tropical lowlandevergreen forest. It favors the canopy but apparently is more abundant at edges such as along watercourses, lakes, and openings caused by fallen trees. In Colombia it often occurs interra firme forest and in Brazil invárzea forest. In elevation it ranges from sea level to 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in Brazil, to 500 m (1,600 ft) in Colombia, 600 m (2,000 ft) in Ecuador, 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in Peru, and 950 m (3,100 ft) in Venezuela.[3][4][5][6][7][8][excessive citations]
The white-lored tyrannulet is a year-round resident throughout its range.[1]
The white-lored tyrannulet's behavior is much like that of a vireo (Vireonidae). It feeds almost exclusively onarthropods though details are lacking. It usually forages singly or in pairs in the forest canopy and often joinsmixed-species feeding flocks. It takes prey by gleaning from leaves, twigs, and stems while perched, sometimes hanging to reach them. It also feeds by short upward flutter flights and by briefly hovering.[3][4][5][6][7]
The white-lored tyrannulet's breeding biology is almost completely unknown. The only data point to its breading season including December in Peru.[3]
| Songs and calls |
Many authors note that the white-lored tyrannulet is highly vocal and is heard more often than seen.[3][5][6][7][excessive citations] Its song is described as a "persistently repeated, rather high-pitched and wheezypee, dee-dee-deet orpee, dee-deet"[5], "a series of thin, rising whistles (usually 3–4):weet-weet-weet?"[6], and "a high, metallic, and ringingsree-de-de-de; when excited a faster, longerswee'di-di-di-di-d'd'd'd'd'd'ddd, ending in [a] metallic accelerating trill that attenuates somewhat"[7].
TheIUCN has assessed the white-lored tyrannulet as being of Least Concern. It has an extremely large range; its population size is not known and is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified.[1] It is considered fairly common in Colombia, uncommon to locally fairly common in Ecuador, and fairly common in Peru and Venezuela.[4][5][6][7][excessive citations] "Human activity has little short-term direct effect on White-lored Tyrannulet, other than the local effects of habitat destruction."[3]
