| Sooty-headed tyrannulet | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Tyrannidae |
| Genus: | Phyllomyias |
| Species: | P. griseiceps |
| Binomial name | |
| Phyllomyias griseiceps (Sclater, PL &Salvin, 1871) | |
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Thesooty-headed tyrannulet (Phyllomyias griseiceps) is a species ofbird in subfamily Elaeniinae of familyTyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found inBrazil,Colombia,Ecuador,French Guiana,Guyana,Panama,Peru,Suriname, andVenezuela.[2]
TheInternational Ornithological Committee andBirdLife International'sHandbook of the Birds of the World treat the sooty-headed tyrannulet asmonotypic.[2][3] However, since 2019 theClements taxonomy has assigned it four subspecies based on a study published in 2014.[4][5]
This article follows the monotypic species model.
The sooty-headed tyrannulet is about 10 cm (3.9 in) long and weighs about 8 g (0.28 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a grayish to blackish crown and dull grayish olive nape, back, and rump. Theirlores andsupercilium are white with a dark stripe through their eye. Their lower face is grizzled. Their wings are dusky with narrow whitish edges to the inner flight feathers and the ends of thecoverts. Their tail is dusky. Their throat is grayish white, their breast and flanks pale olive, and their belly bright yellow. They have a dark brown iris, a very small and rounded black bill, and black legs and feet.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][excessive citations]
The sooty-headed tyrannulet has a highlydisjunct distribution. The separate populations are found thus:[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][excessive citations]
The sooty-headed tyrannulet primarily inhabits humidevergreen forest in the tropical zone. It shuns the forest interior and favors forest edges, clearings with scattered trees, and regrowing partially cleared areas. It also occurs in other relatively open landscapes like early successionsecondary forest, forest on dry sandy soil, and coffe and cacao plantations. In elevation it reaches 1,800 m (5,900 ft) in Colombia, 1,100 m (3,600 ft) in Ecuador, 1,200 m (3,900 ft) in Peru, 1,300 m (4,300 ft) in Venezuela, and to about 500 m (1,600 ft) in the Guianas and Brazil.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][excessive citations]
The sooty-headed tyrannulet is a year-round resident throughout its range.[6][13]
The sooty-headed tyrannulet feeds primarily on insects and on lesser amounts of small fruits and berries. It usually forages alone or in somewhat separated pairs unless in a fruiting tree and occasionally joinsmixed-species feeding flocks. It forages from the forest's mid-level to the canopy, taking prey and fruits by gleaning while perched and while briefly hovering.[6][9][10][11][excessive citations]
One sooty-headed tyrannulet nest is known. It was a small lichen-covered cup in the crotch of a small branch 13 m (43 ft) above the ground. Nothing else is known about the species' breeding biology.[6]
| Songs and calls |
The sooty-headed tyrannulet often sings from an open perch. Its song varies geographically, but in general is "an emphatic phrase of clear, short whistled notes, first one stressed, 'whip, whip-di-irip' or 'whit, whit-wheeu' ".[6]
TheIUCN has assessed the sooty-headed tyrannulet as being of Least Concern. It has a large range; its population size is not known and is believed to be stable. No immediate threats have been identified.[1] It is considered local in Panama, fairly common in Colombia, more numerous in western Ecuador than eastern, "poorly known" in Peru, "locally common" in Venezuela, and local in Brazil.[8][9][10][11][12][13][excessive citations] It occurs in several protected areas. "Because of its relatively large range and tolerance of converted habitat, this species is not considered to be at any risk."[6]
