Piratic Flycatcher

Overview

The piratic flycatcher (Legatus leucophaius) is a passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family found across the Neotropical region. It is a partial migrant that vacates northern areas seasonally but remains a year-round resident in most of South America.

Identification

• 14.5 to 17 cm long with a blackish forehead and crown featuring a partially hidden yellow patch.
• Wide dull whitish supercilium extending around the head, with white cheeks and dusky lores.
• Underparts are yellowish white with wide brownish or olive streaks on the breast and flanks.
• Short, wide, and stubby bill that is mostly brownish black.

Habitat

Found in open tropical and subtropical landscapes, including secondary forest, gallery forest, humid woodland, forest edges, and agricultural areas. Its range spans Mexico, Central America, Trinidad and Tobago, and most of mainland South America, with vagrants occasionally recorded in the southern United States and Uruguay.

Diet

Feeds primarily on fruit, especially small berries and green Cecropia catkins, supplemented by insects such as dragonflies. It forages singly or in pairs, perching high in the canopy to hawk insects in mid-air.

Did you know?

This species is named for its nest-pirating behaviour, as it does not build its own nests but instead steals domed or pendant nests from other birds such as caciques and thornbirds. It takes over these nests by harassing the original builders and removing their eggs or nestlings.