Rufous Mourner

Overview

The rufous mourner, Rhytipterna holerythra, is a passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae. It is a year-round resident of tropical and subtropical regions in Mexico, Central America, and north-western South America, where it is assessed as being of Least Concern by the IUCN.

Identification

• A medium-sized passerine measuring 19.5 to 21 cm in length, weighing approximately 32 to 39 g.
• Plumage is uniformly cinnamon brown to russet with a darker rufous crown, brighter in juveniles and deeper in the rosenbergi subspecies.
• Features a slightly hooked black bill with a dusky brown base, and gray to black legs.
• The song is a steady, rich, and slightly plaintive "wheeo-wheeo-weeo-weeo-wheee", often accompanied by a mournful "wolf-whistle" that rises and falls in pitch.

Habitat

Inhabits humid evergreen and mature secondary forests in the lowlands of tropical and lower subtropical zones, ranging from sea level up to 1,200 m in Central America, 1,400 m in Colombia, and 700 m in Ecuador. Its geographic distribution spans from Oaxaca in southern Mexico through Panama to north-central Colombia and Ecuador, excluding the Yucatán Peninsula and El Salvador.

Diet

Primarily feeds on large insects and spiders, including members of the Tettigoniidae, Cicadidae, and Phasmatidae families, as well as some fruit. It forages singly or in pairs, and frequently joins mixed-species flocks, typically perching in the mid-story of the forest before sallying out to glean prey from the underside of vegetation while hovering.

Did you know?

The rufous mourner shares its genus with the pale-bellied and grayish mourners, forming a superspecies with the grayish mourner, and was historically misclassified with the cotingas before being moved to the tyrant flycatchers in the 1960s.