McConnell's Flycatcher

Overview

McConnell's flycatcher is a species of tyrant flycatcher found in Mionectes macconnelli. It is a small, disjunctly distributed bird found across northern South America, including parts of Brazil, Peru, and the Guianas. The species is currently classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, although its population is believed to be decreasing.

Identification

• A small bird measuring 12.5 to 14 cm in length and weighing 8 to 18 g, with identical plumage in both sexes.
• Adults of the nominate subspecies feature an olive head, nape, and back, with wings and tail in dusky olive, while the throat and underparts are a rich cinnamon buff with a dark greyish olive wash on the upper breast.
• The M. m. peruanus subspecies displays brighter olive upperparts with an ochraceous tinge and cinnamon-edged wing coverts, contrasting with buffy orange underparts.
• The bill is dark brownish grey to black, sometimes with a pale pinkish base to the mandible, paired with medium brownish grey legs and feet.

Habitat

This flycatcher inhabits humid forest in lowlands and foothills, primarily occupying terra firme forest but also várzea, secondary forest, and plantations. Its range spans eastern Venezuela, the Guianas, northern and central Brazil, and northeastern and southeastern Peru and Bolivia, though specific subspecies distributions vary between taxonomic authorities. Elevation ranges from below 500 m in Brazil and Venezuela to as high as 2,400 m in Bolivia.

Diet

The species feeds on a variety of fruits and arthropods, foraging from near the ground up to 25 m above it. It employs a hover-gleaning technique, taking fruit and insects in short sallies from a perch. It also regularly joins mixed-species feeding flocks.

Did you know?

Males perform display flights and sing at leks, often well separated from one another, to attract mates. The nest, a ball made of plant fibers and leaves with a side entrance tunnel, is uniquely suspended from a vine or branch just 1 to 1.5 m above a pool of water or small stream.