Euler's Flycatcher

Overview

Lathrotriccus euleri is a small passerine bird belonging to the family Tyrannidae, commonly known as the tyrant flycatchers. It is distributed across mainland South America, excluding Chile, and is found on Trinidad, though it was formerly recorded on Grenada.

Identification

• Length of 12.7 to 13.5 cm with a weight between 9 and 13.8 g.
• Sexes are identical in plumage; the nominate subspecies features a warm olive-brown crown, nape, and cheeks with a whitish eye-ring.
• Upperparts are olive-brown with a brown rump, and dusky wings marked by two buff wing bars formed by the pale ends of the coverts.
• Bill has a black maxilla and a dull pinkish or orangish-pink mandible, paired with blackish-brown legs and feet.

Habitat

This species inhabits moist to humid primary and secondary forests and woodlands within tropical and lower subtropical zones, preferring the lower levels and edges of its habitat. Its elevation range varies by region, extending from sea level to 1,500 m in Brazil, 1,600 m north of the Orinoco in Venezuela, and up to 1,300 m in Ecuador.

Diet

Euler's flycatcher feeds on arthropods, foraging typically in pairs or singly, though it occasionally joins mixed-species flocks. It perches upright in low, somewhat hidden vegetation and captures prey by hawking, making sallies into the air from its perch.

Did you know?

The Grenadian subspecies, L. e. flaviventris, has not been recorded since 1950 and is possibly extinct. The species was named after the Swiss ornithologist Carl Euler.