Golden-faced Tyrannulet

Overview

The golden-faced tyrannulet is a species of bird in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae. It is found in the Andes of northwestern Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.

Identification

• Adults have a bright yellow forehead, supercilium, and area around the eye, with a dark stripe through the eye on an otherwise yellowish white face.
• The crown, back, and rump are bright olive, while wings are dusky with bright yellow edges on the coverts and flight feathers.
• The bird measures 10.5 to 11.5 cm in length, features a small, rounded, blackish bill, and gray legs.
• Dawn song is described as a "plaintive chu-de-de'e'e" or a "slightly rising, accelerating, laughing series of notes: tee-heeheeheehee".

Habitat

This species inhabits the interior and edges of humid montane forest, secondary woodland, semi-deciduous forest, coffee plantations, and gardens in the Andes of northwestern Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. It ranges in elevation from 1,000 to 2,450 m across its distribution.

Diet

It feeds on insects and small fruits, especially those of mistletoes. The bird forages singly or in pairs, and generally spends about the same amount of time in mixed-species feeding flocks as away from them. Foraging occurs mostly in the forest canopy, where it perches horizontally with its tail cocked, actively moving about and gleaning food while perched or with short flights.

Did you know?

The female constructs a dome-shaped nest with a side entrance, typically within hanging moss or a bunch of moss on a tree trunk, which can be situated up to 45 m above the ground in eastern Ecuador.