Ground-tyrant
Encyclopedia
The ground-tyrants are a genus
of passerine
bird
s belonging to the tyrant flycatcher
family Tyrannidae. There are about 13 different species. They are ground-dwelling birds which inhabit open country in South America
, particularly the Andes
and Patagonia
. Several southern species are migratory
, moving northward for the winter. Ground-tyrants feed on insect
s and other invertebrate
s, mainly by picking them from the ground.
A flight display is performed during the breeding season. The nest
is a cup of twigs or grass which, in most species, is built in a burrow
, crevice or under rocks.
Ground-tyrants are fairly small (13–20 cm in length) with longish legs, a slender bill and an erect posture. The plumage
is dull and mainly grey or brown with paler underparts. The head is variably patterned with several species having rufous
patches on the crown or white between the bill and eye. The birds have simple calls and are often silent.
by Chesser (2000) has shown that the Little Ground-tyrant
(M. fluviatilis) is highly divergent and not closely related to the other ground-tyrants. All the remaining species are related and form a monophyletic group
, although the Spot-billed Ground-tyrant
(M. maculirostris) is somewhat divergent from the others. The Little and Spot-billed Ground-tyrants are smaller and browner than the other species and the Little Ground-tyrant also differs in its habitat, occurring near rivers in Amazonia.
The Plain-capped Ground-tyrant
(M. alpinus) and Taczanowski's Ground-tyrant
(M. griseus) were previously treated as a single species but are genetically divergent with the Plain-capped Ground-tyrant belonging to a southern Andean and Patagonian clade
within the genus and Taczanowski's Ground-tyrant belonging to a central Andean clade. The name Plain-capped Ground-tyrant is used by some authors to refer to M. griseus with Paramo Ground-tyrant used for M. alpinus.
The genus name Muscisaxicola is masculine
, therefore the species names griseus, cinereus, maclovianus, alpinus and capistratus are correct rather than grisea, cinerea, macloviana, alpina and capistrata. The names flavinucha and albilora are invariable.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of passerine
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s belonging to the tyrant flycatcher
Tyrant flycatcher
The tyrant flycatchers are a family of passerine birds which occur throughout North and South America. They are considered the largest family of birds on Earth, with more than 400 species. They are the most diverse avian family in every country in the Americas, except for the United States and...
family Tyrannidae. There are about 13 different species. They are ground-dwelling birds which inhabit open country in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, particularly the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
and Patagonia
Patagonia
Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...
. Several southern species are migratory
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
, moving northward for the winter. Ground-tyrants feed on insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s and other invertebrate
Invertebrate
An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
s, mainly by picking them from the ground.
A flight display is performed during the breeding season. The nest
Nest
A nest is a place of refuge to hold an animal's eggs or provide a place to live or raise offspring. They are usually made of some organic material such as twigs, grass, and leaves; or may simply be a depression in the ground, or a hole in a tree, rock or building...
is a cup of twigs or grass which, in most species, is built in a burrow
Burrow
A burrow is a hole or tunnel dug into the ground by an animal to create a space suitable for habitation, temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of locomotion. Burrows provide a form of shelter against predation and exposure to the elements, so the burrowing way of life is quite popular among the...
, crevice or under rocks.
Ground-tyrants are fairly small (13–20 cm in length) with longish legs, a slender bill and an erect posture. The plumage
Plumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
is dull and mainly grey or brown with paler underparts. The head is variably patterned with several species having rufous
Rufous
Rufous is a colour that may be described as reddish-brown or brownish-red, as of rust or oxidised iron.The first recorded use of rufous as a colour name in English was in the year 1782....
patches on the crown or white between the bill and eye. The birds have simple calls and are often silent.
Systematics and taxonomy
A study of mitochondrial DNAMitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA is the DNA located in organelles called mitochondria, structures within eukaryotic cells that convert the chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, adenosine triphosphate...
by Chesser (2000) has shown that the Little Ground-tyrant
Little Ground-tyrant
The Little Ground-tyrant is a species of bird in the Tyrannidae family, the tyrant flycatchers.It is found in Amazonian Brazil, Peru, and Bolivia; also smaller regions of Colombia and Ecuador....
(M. fluviatilis) is highly divergent and not closely related to the other ground-tyrants. All the remaining species are related and form a monophyletic group
Monophyly
In common cladistic usage, a monophyletic group is a taxon which forms a clade, meaning that it contains all the descendants of the possibly hypothetical closest common ancestor of the members of the group. The term is synonymous with the uncommon term holophyly...
, although the Spot-billed Ground-tyrant
Spot-billed Ground-tyrant
The Spot-billed Ground-tyrant is a species of bird in the Tyrannidae family.It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland and pastureland.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded...
(M. maculirostris) is somewhat divergent from the others. The Little and Spot-billed Ground-tyrants are smaller and browner than the other species and the Little Ground-tyrant also differs in its habitat, occurring near rivers in Amazonia.
The Plain-capped Ground-tyrant
Plain-capped Ground-tyrant
The Paramo Ground Tyrant , also known as the Paramo Ground-tyrant, is a species of bird in the tyrant flycatcher family, Tyrannidae. Plain-capped Ground-tyrant was formerly considered to be a subspecies of M. alpinus but is now commonly treated as a separate species. The name "Plain-capped...
(M. alpinus) and Taczanowski's Ground-tyrant
Taczanowski's Ground-tyrant
The Plain-capped Ground Tyrant or Taczanowski's Ground-tyrant is a species of bird in the Tyrannidae family.It is found in Bolivia and Peru.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland....
(M. griseus) were previously treated as a single species but are genetically divergent with the Plain-capped Ground-tyrant belonging to a southern Andean and Patagonian clade
Clade
A clade is a group consisting of a species and all its descendants. In the terms of biological systematics, a clade is a single "branch" on the "tree of life". The idea that such a "natural group" of organisms should be grouped together and given a taxonomic name is central to biological...
within the genus and Taczanowski's Ground-tyrant belonging to a central Andean clade. The name Plain-capped Ground-tyrant is used by some authors to refer to M. griseus with Paramo Ground-tyrant used for M. alpinus.
The genus name Muscisaxicola is masculine
Grammatical gender
Grammatical gender is defined linguistically as a system of classes of nouns which trigger specific types of inflections in associated words, such as adjectives, verbs and others. For a system of noun classes to be a gender system, every noun must belong to one of the classes and there should be...
, therefore the species names griseus, cinereus, maclovianus, alpinus and capistratus are correct rather than grisea, cinerea, macloviana, alpina and capistrata. The names flavinucha and albilora are invariable.
Species list
- White-fronted Ground-tyrantWhite-fronted Ground-tyrantThe White-fronted Ground-tyrant is a species of bird in the Tyrannidae family.It is found in Bolivia, Chile, and Peru.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland and swamps.-References:...
, Muscisaxicola albifrons - White-browed Ground-tyrantWhite-browed Ground-tyrantThe White-browed Ground-tyrant is a species of bird in the Tyrannidae family.It breeds in the Andes in Argentina and Chile between 1,500 and 4,000 m above sea-level. It migrates north to Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. It is a vagrant to the Falkland Islands...
, Muscisaxicola albilora - Paramo Ground-tyrant, Muscisaxicola alpinus
- Cinnamon-bellied Ground-tyrantCinnamon-bellied Ground-tyrantThe Cinnamon-bellied Ground-tyrant is a species of bird in the Tyrannidae family, the tyrant flycatchers.It is found in western Argentina, eastern Andean Chile, southwest Bolivia, and southern Peru....
, Muscisaxicola capistratus - Cinereous Ground-tyrantCinereous Ground-tyrantThe Cinereous Ground-tyrant is a species of bird in the Tyrannidae family. The term cinereous describes its colouration. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland.- References :* BirdLife International 2004. . ...
, Muscisaxicola cinereus - Ochre-naped Ground-tyrantOchre-naped Ground-tyrantThe Ochre-naped Ground-tyrant is a species of bird in the Tyrannidae family, the tyrant flycatchers, specifically the ground-tyrants.It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru....
, Muscisaxicola flavinucha - Little Ground-tyrantLittle Ground-tyrantThe Little Ground-tyrant is a species of bird in the Tyrannidae family, the tyrant flycatchers.It is found in Amazonian Brazil, Peru, and Bolivia; also smaller regions of Colombia and Ecuador....
, Muscisaxicola fluviatilis - Black-fronted Ground-tyrantBlack-fronted Ground-tyrantThe Black-fronted Ground-tyrant is a species of bird in the Tyrannidae family.It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland.-References:...
, Muscisaxicola frontalis - Plain-capped Ground-tyrantPlain-capped Ground-tyrantThe Paramo Ground Tyrant , also known as the Paramo Ground-tyrant, is a species of bird in the tyrant flycatcher family, Tyrannidae. Plain-capped Ground-tyrant was formerly considered to be a subspecies of M. alpinus but is now commonly treated as a separate species. The name "Plain-capped...
, Muscisaxicola griseus - Puna Ground-tyrantPuna Ground-tyrantThe Puna Ground-tyrant is a species of bird in the Tyrannidae family.It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland and swamps.- References :...
, Muscisaxicola juninensis - Dark-faced Ground-tyrantDark-faced Ground-tyrantThe Dark-faced Ground-tyrant is a small passerine bird belonging to the tyrant flycatcher family. It is a ground-dwelling bird of southern South America which feeds on small invertebrates such as flies and moths....
, Muscisaxicola maclovianus - Spot-billed Ground-tyrantSpot-billed Ground-tyrantThe Spot-billed Ground-tyrant is a species of bird in the Tyrannidae family.It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland and pastureland.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded...
, Muscisaxicola maculirostris - Rufous-naped Ground-tyrantRufous-naped Ground-tyrantThe Rufous-naped Ground-tyrant is a species of bird in the Tyrannidae family.It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru....
, Muscisaxicola rufivertex
External links
Video Clips—on the Interncet Bird Collection (11 of 13 species)|
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