Buff-cheeked Greenlet

Overview

The buff-cheeked greenlet (Pachysylvia muscicapina) is a species of bird in the family Vireonidae. It comprises two subspecies and is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, despite a believed decreasing population trend.

Identification

• Length of 11.5 to 12 cm with a weight of 9.5 to 13.5 g, featuring a grayish-brown to pure gray forehead and a blue-gray crown.
• Buffy supercilium and blackish-gray mottled ear coverts on a buffy-brown face, contrasting with greenish upperparts that are lighter on the rump.
• Sepia, brown, or gray iris with a blackish maxilla, pinkish mandible, and pale pinkish or light gray legs.
• Song described as a high, warbling weet-oh-weeréet.

Habitat

Found in Bolivia, Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela, this species inhabits humid terra firme and várzea forest, frequently the mid-story to canopy. The nominate subspecies occupies eastern Venezuela through the Guianas to northern Brazil north of the Amazon, while the other subspecies ranges south of the Amazon to Mato Grosso, southern Goiás, and extreme northeastern Bolivia. Elevational range varies from sea level to 1,100 m depending on the region.

Diet

The diet, which has not been fully examined, includes insects and spiders. The bird feeds actively, often hanging upside-down to glean prey from leaves, and usually forages in pairs or small family groups while frequently joining mixed-species feeding flocks.

Did you know?

The species frequently forages by hanging upside-down to glean prey from leaves, a distinctive behaviour within its group of mixed-species feeding flocks.