Hangnest Tody-Tyrant

Overview

The hangnest tody-tyrant is a small passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family, endemic to the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil. Classified as Hemitriccus nidipendulus, it consists of two subspecies and is currently listed as Least Concern by the IUCN.

Identification

• Measures 9.5 to 10 cm in length, with males and females sharing identical plumage.
• Features a bright olive-green crown, back, and rump, with olive wings edged in yellow and a white underside marked by faint grayish olive streaks.
• Possesses a creamy white iris, a brown bill with a grayish pink mandible base, and light gray legs.
• Produces a very high-pitched, fast song described as a rolling 'tidr-de-tidr-de-dir' or 'tiréé-téélili téélili téélili'.

Habitat

Found in the Atlantic Forest where it inhabits humid restinga broadleaf and evergreen forests, favouring dense woodlands, secondary forest, and thickets of the fern Pteridium aquilinum. Its distribution is disjunct across southeastern Brazil, ranging in elevation from sea level to 900 m.

Diet

Feeds exclusively on insects, foraging typically alone or in pairs within the forest understory thickets and tangles. It captures prey by taking short upward sallies from a perch to grab insects from the undersides of leaves.

Did you know?

The species' common name reflects its unique nesting behaviour, as it constructs a pear-shaped dome nest suspended from a twig approximately 1.5 m above a stream.