Blackcatcher tyrant

Blackcatcher tyrant
Blackcatcher tyrant
Systematics
Subordination : Screeching Birds (Tyranni) Family : Tyrants (Tyrannidae) Subfamily : Fluvicolinae Tribe : Contopini Genre : Xenotriccus Type : Blackcatcher tyrant
Scientific name
Xenotriccus mexicanus
JT Zimmer , 1938

The blackcatcher tyrant ( Xenotriccus mexicanus ), sometimes simply called the flycatcher , is a species of bird from the genus of the snapper tyrants ( Xenotriccus ). The IUCN assesses the population as Near Threatened . The bird is considered monotypical .

features

The crested snapper reaches a body length of about 13.5 to 14.5 centimeters. The upper part of the beak is black while the lower part is pink-orange. The legs are dark gray. The head and the top vary between brown-olive and gray-olive. The eye ring and the rein (area between the beak and the eye) are whitish. The wings and tail are darker. It has two white stripes on the arm covers , umbrella feathers and the arm wings . The throat is white. The chest has a washed out dark shade and turns into a washed out lemon color on the belly.

Distribution area

The bird has so far been observed in Mexico in an area that stretches from the states of Michoacán to Morelos to Oaxaca . In summer you can discover it in the area around Monte Albán . In winter it migrates to the warmer climes of the Río Balsas valley . Also, there were observations in the National Park Laguna del Tigre in the department of Petén in Guatemala .

Habitat

This species occurs relatively often in dry mountain scrub at altitudes between 900 and 2000 meters. Here one sees him particularly often on mesquites . The blackcatcher tyrant prefers thorny forest areas. It is seldom seen in semi-open, grassy agricultural areas.

behavior

Sometimes the bird stretches its feathers up. Its powerful flight is extremely straightforward. It likes to rummage in the lower branches of bushes and break open insects that it catches in flight or from the leaves. He builds his nest in the lower thorny thicket. To build the nest he uses grass and other plant fibers, which he ties together into a chalice with the help of spider silk . It lays two to three eggs in its nest. The eggs are brownish yellow with reddish brown and gray speckles.

literature

• Steve NG Howell, Sophie Webb: A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America , Oxford University Press, 1995, page 490ff, ISBN 978-0198540120
• Ernest Preston Edwards, Edward Murrell Butler: A Field Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Adjacent Areas: Belize, Guatemala, and El Salvador, Third Edition: Belize, Guatemala and El Salvador , University of Texas Press, 1998, page 101, ISBN 978 -0292720916

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Avibase entry: Schopfschnäppertyrann
2. ↑ Xenotriccus mexicanus on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . Retrieved November 19, 2011.
3. ↑ Internet Bird Collection: Pileated Flycatcher (Eng.)
4. ↑ BirdLife International Pileated Flycatcher (Eng.)
5. ↑ Viva Natura: Pileated Flycatcher (Engl.)