Bronze-olive Pygmy Tyrant

Overview

The bronze-olive pygmy tyrant is a small bird in the tyrant flycatcher family. It is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, with an estimated population of at least 500,000 mature individuals that is believed to be decreasing.

Identification

• Size: 11 to 11.5 cm long, weighing 9 to 11 g.
• Plumage: Mostly dark brownish-olive upperparts with a slightly darker crown and bushy crest; creamy whitish chin and throat; olive breast and flanks; creamy yellow belly.
• Features: Black bill, grey legs and feet, and dark red to reddish-brown iris.
• Call: Not very vocal, producing a shrill, high-pitched 'preeeeeeee' or a dry descending trill.

Habitat

Inhabits the undergrowth of humid foothill and montane evergreen forests in upper tropical and subtropical zones. It has a disjunct distribution across Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, with elevations ranging from 600 to 2,500 m depending on the region.

Diet

Feeds primarily on insects, foraging singly or in pairs within dense undergrowth near the ground. It hunts by making short flights between perches and jumping up to take prey from leaves and twigs with an audible snap of the bill.

Did you know?

Despite being a bird species, it is so rarely seen in mixed-species feeding flocks that it prefers to hunt alone or with a partner in the dense undergrowth.