Brown-breasted Bamboo Tyrant

Overview

The brown-breasted bamboo tyrant (Hemitriccus obsoletus) is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Argentina and Brazil and is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN.

Identification

• Approximately 11 cm long and weighing 9 to 11 g, with plain brownish olive upperparts.
• Dingy buff throat and breast featuring a faint buffy crescent, with a buffy ochraceous belly and crissum.
• Reddish brown iris, gray maxilla, pinkish mandible, and light gray legs.
• Vocalises with an irregular series of very high 'tic' notes and a buzzy 'brrrrrr' with its wings.

Habitat

It inhabits the interior and edges of humid primary and mature secondary forest, where it almost exclusively occurs in patches of bamboo. The species ranges from 500 to 2,300 m in elevation, though it mostly occurs above 1,200 m. Its distribution is disjunct, with subspecies found in southeastern Brazil and extending into northeastern Argentina.

Diet

It feeds on insects, typically foraging singly or in pairs without joining mixed-species flocks. It forages mostly in undergrowth between 1 and 3 m above the ground, using short upward strikes to the underside of leaves from a perch.

Did you know?

It constructs a nest unlike those of most other Hemitriccus flycatchers, featuring a domed roof with a side entrance and a small visor attached to Chusquea bamboo stalks.