Cinnamon-breasted Tody-Tyrant

Overview

The cinnamon-breasted tody-tyrant (Hemitriccus cinnamomeipectus) is a species of tyrant flycatcher found in Ecuador and Peru. It is currently classified as a species of Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, with a stable population estimated between 20,000 and 50,000 mature individuals.

Identification

• Approximately 10 cm long with dark olive green crown, nape, back, and rump.
• Rich warm buff throat and breast, sulphur yellow belly, and olive-tinged yellow flanks.
• Cinnamon lores, eye-ring, ear coverts, and chin, contrasted with a darkish gray cheek.
• Song is described as a tinkling, descending, rapid trill, with calls consisting of rising, mewed 'weeb' notes.

Habitat

Inhabits the understory of stunted humid montane forest on nutrient-poor soils, occurring locally in taller forest on the eastern slope of the Andes. Its range spans southeastern Ecuador and Peru between elevations of 1,700 and 2,200 m.

Diet

Feeds on insects, foraging singly or in pairs, and occasionally joining mixed-species feeding flocks. It typically forages in the forest understory up to about 2 m above the ground, taking prey via short upward sallies from a perch to grab them from the underside of leaves.

Did you know?

Although the species is considered rare to uncommon in both Ecuador and Peru, it is listed as Least Concern; its breeding season appears to include June to August, but nothing else is known about its reproductive biology.