Streamer-tailed Tyrant

Overview

The streamer-tailed tyrant (Gubernetes yetapa) is a species of tyrant flycatcher that is the sole member of its genus and has no subspecies. Classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, this uncommon to locally common bird is a year-round resident across parts of South America.

Identification

• Adults measure approximately 35 cm in body length, extending to 42 cm when including the long, graduated, and deeply forked blackish tail.
• Plumage features include a pale gray forecrown and supercilium contrasting with a darker gray crown and a distinct black eye-line.
• Wings appear mostly blackish but reveal a conspicuous large cinnamon patch at the base of the primaries during flight.
• A white throat is separated from the pale gray breast by a dark chestnut collar that curves upwards towards the eye.

Habitat

This species inhabits wet grasslands, marshy areas with nearby streams, shrubby zones, and groves of moriche palm. Its range is disjunct, with one population in northwestern Bolivia and a larger range extending from eastern Bolivia through Brazil, Paraguay, and northeastern Argentina, with rare vagrancy to Uruguay.

Diet

Feeding primarily on insects, the streamer-tailed tyrant typically forages in pairs or family groups by perching on bushes, low trees, or gallery forest edges. It captures most prey in mid-air through long sallies from its perch, often hawking low over marshes, though it occasionally pounces on ground prey or picks insects from vegetation.

Did you know?

During courtship, pairs engage in a complex display where they face each other on a perch, teetering while raising and fanning their tails, lifting their wings high, and calling in a syncopated rhythm.