Black-throated Tody-Tyrant

Overview

The black-throated tody-tyrant (Hemitriccus granadensis) is a species of tyrant flycatcher found across the Andes of South America. It has a complex taxonomic history, having been moved between several genera before being placed in Hemitriccus, and comprises seven recognised subspecies.

Identification

• Small bird measuring 8.5 to 11 cm in length, with a dark olive crown and back, sooty black upper throat, and a diffuse grayish breast band fading to white on the belly.
• Features a black bill and gray to pinkish gray legs, with a highly variable chestnut to pale orange iris in most subspecies.
• The nominate subspecies sings a short rattling trill or fast trill, while H. g. pyrrhops produces a rising and falling series of high, peeping notes.

Habitat

Inhabits humid montane forest, cloud forest, and shrubby regenerating areas in subtropical and temperate zones, favouring open locations such as forest edges and landslide scars between elevations of 1,500 and 3,500 m. Its range spans the Andes of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela, though it has a disjunct distribution with isolated populations in specific mountain ranges.

Diet

Feeds exclusively on insects, typically foraging singly or in pairs within the lower and middle levels of the forest. It usually captures prey by making short upward sallies from a perch to grab them from the underside of leaves, and occasionally joins mixed-species feeding flocks.

Did you know?

Its nesting sites are described as enclosed 'purse-like' pendant pouches constructed inside a moss ball and suspended from a small branch, often obscured by vegetation.