Northern Beardless Tyrannulet

Overview

The northern beardless tyrannulet is a small passerine bird belonging to the tyrant flycatcher family. It is distributed across a range extending from southeasternmost Arizona and Texas in the United States through Mexico and Central America to northwestern Costa Rica.

Identification

• Length of 10.2 cm with a weight of 7.5 g.
• Dark brown head featuring an erectile crest and a pale supercilium.
• Grey-green upperparts, yellow breast and abdomen, and brown wings marked with two whitish wing bars.
• Pinkish bill.
• Loud whistled call sounding like 'Fleeeeeerrr' or broken up as 'fleeer-it'.

Habitat

Found in light forests, cultivation areas, and gardens with trees. The species breeds from the southernmost United States down to Central America.

Diet

Active foragers that feed in a vireo or warbler-like fashion on insects, spiders, and berries.

Did you know?

Although it was once considered conspecific with the southern beardless tyrannulet, the two species overlap in Costa Rica without interbreeding.