Black-capped Pygmy-tyrant
A species of Stub-tailed Pygmy-tyrants Scientific name : Myiornis atricapillus Genus : Stub-tailed Pygmy-tyrants
Black-capped Pygmy-tyrant, A species of Stub-tailed Pygmy-tyrants
Botanical name: Myiornis atricapillus
Genus: Stub-tailed Pygmy-tyrants
Content
Description General Info
Description
The black-capped pygmy tyrant (Myiornis atricapillus) is the smallest passerine bird in its range, though larger than its cousin, the short-tailed pygmy tyrant. This tyrant flycatcher occurs from Costa Rica to north-western Ecuador. It is a species of the forest canopy, coming lower at edges and clearings, and in second growth and semi-open woodland. It occurs up to an altitude of 900 m. It is fairly common, except in arid areas. In Costa Rica and most of Panama it is restricted to the Caribbean lowlands, while essentially restricted to the humid parts of the Chocó further south. The female builds a 15 cm long pouch nest with a round side entrance, which is suspended from a thin branch 1–7 m high in a tree. The female incubates the two brown-blotched white eggs for 15–16 days to hatching. The black-capped pygmy tyrant is a tiny short-tailed bird, 6.5 cm long, and weighing 5.2 g. The crown is black, shading to dark grey on the rest of the head, and contrasting with the white “spectacles”. The rest of the upperparts are olive-green. The tail and the wings are blackish with yellow edging to the feathers and two yellow wing bars. The throat and central breast are white, shading to grey on the flanks and pale yellow on the belly. The sexes are similar, but females have a duller, sootier crown, and young birds have a browner crown and upperparts, and their wing markings and underparts are tinged with buff. The black-capped pygmy tyrant can be seen alone, in pairs, or family groups, hunting small insects in rapid dashes. The call is a thin ttseep which can be confused with an insect or frog. Family groups also communicate with soft whistles and trills.
Size
6 cm
Nest Placement
Cavity
Feeding Habits
Black-capped Pygmy-tyrant, an insectivore, mainly consumes small beetles, caterpillars, homopterans, spiders, and orthopterans. It forages by gleaning insects from foliage, displaying a unique preference for small arthropods.
Habitat
The black-capped Pygmy-tyrant is typically found in the midstory to canopy levels of humid lowland forests and may also inhabit semi-open forests, tall secondary growths, forest edges and gaps. While predominantly associated with these forested environments, black-capped Pygmy-tyrant has also been observed in overgrown fields, dense shrub thickets, and cacao plantations within these broader regions.
Dite type
Insectivorous
General Info
Feeding Habits
Bird food type
Scientific Classification
Phylum
Chordates Class
Birds Order
Perching birds Family
Tyrant flycatchers Species
Black-capped Pygmy-tyrant