Rufous-sided Scrub Tyrant

Overview

The rufous-sided scrub tyrant, also known as the rufous-sided pygmy-tyrant, is a small bird in the family Tyrannidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Suriname, where it remains a year-round resident.

Identification

• Length of 9.0 to 11.5 cm with a weight of approximately 6 g.
• Brown upperparts with two wing bars formed by ochraceous tips on the coverts and a dusky tail with ochraceous edges.
• White throat and pale yellow underparts, with deep warm ochraceous buff on the sides of the breast, flanks, and undertail coverts.
• Brown crown with a small, somewhat hidden cinnamon-rufous central patch, plus a whitish supercilium and eye-ring on a light brown face.
• Chestnut-brown iris, brownish black maxilla, pinkish mandible, and pinkish gray legs.

Habitat

This species inhabits unaltered campos rupestres, cerrado, and savanna with shrubs and bushes. Its main range in Brazil extends from Amapá to central Bahia, northern São Paulo, and Mato Grosso do Sul, reaching into eastern and northern Paraguay and northern and eastern Bolivia. Elevation ranges from near sea level to 1,000 m in Brazil, and between 150 and 750 m in Bolivia.

Diet

The diet is primarily composed of arthropods, with significant amounts of small fruits also consumed. Foraging takes place very low to the ground in grass and low shrubs, and occasionally on the ground itself.

Did you know?

Once assessed as Vulnerable in 1994, the species was downgraded to Least Concern in 2024 despite ongoing habitat loss, though its rarity is attributed to the conversion of its grassland habitat to agriculture.