Grey-hooded Attila

Overview

The grey-hooded attila (Attila rufus) is a species of tyrant flycatcher endemic to eastern and southeastern Brazil. It is assessed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List and is considered uncommon to fairly common, though its population is believed to be decreasing.

Identification

• Length of 20 to 21 cm with a weight of 36.5 to 51.5 g.
• Adults have a gray head and nape, deep rufous upperparts, and a rufous breast, with a gray chin marked by white streaks in the nominate subspecies.
• Features a longish bill with a dark maxilla and whitish to grayish mandible, along with gray legs and feet.
• Song consists of a slow series of 4-7 emphasized, fluted whee notes that rise in pitch and strength before the last note fades out.

Habitat

The species inhabits humid forest and scrublands ranging from sea level to 1,500 m. Its range covers eastern and southeastern Brazil, with the nominate subspecies found from Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo south to northeastern Rio Grande do Sul, and the subspecies A. r. hellmayri occurring in central and southern Bahia.

Diet

Primarily feeds on large arthropods and fruit, foraging at all levels of the forest including the ground. It typically forages singly or in pairs, sometimes joining mixed-species feeding flocks, and takes prey and fruit from foliage and branches while briefly hovering after a short sally.

Did you know?

Despite the scarcity of breeding information, nests have been documented in highly varied locations, including tree trunks, tree ferns, and cavities in earthen banks.