Sibilant Sirystes

Overview

The sibilant sirystes (Sirystes sibilator) is a species of tyrant flycatcher found across South America. It is a year-round resident in much of its range, which extends from Brazil through Paraguay and Argentina, with non-breeding presence in Bolivia.

Identification

• Size: 18 to 18.5 cm long, weighing approximately 26 to 28 g.
• Plumage: Black crown with a slight crest and slate gray face; mottled gray back with an olivaceous cast; long, blackish tail with a square tip; gray throat and breast fading to a grayish white belly.
• Subspecies variation: S. s. atimastus features yellowish rump tips, a pale ashy throat, and a white breast and belly, though differences are clinal.
• Vocalisation: Principal call is a loud ringing 'wheer-péw', sometimes extended into an excited series of 'wheer-pe-pe-pew-pew-péw', accompanied by a long, flat whistling alarm call.

Habitat

Inhabits forested landscapes such as primary forest, mature secondary woodland, riparian forest, and dry cerradão forest, almost always keeping to the canopy. The range covers central and eastern Brazil, eastern Paraguay, and northern Argentina, reaching elevations of up to 1,400 m.

Diet

Feeds primarily on large insects with some fruit, typically foraging in pairs or as the leader of mixed-species feeding flocks. It forages over a wide area, perching in treetops to sally out and grab prey from vegetation, occasionally hovering briefly.

Did you know?

This species is highly susceptible to forest loss and fragmentation, with local extinctions reported in southeastern Brazil following fires.