Tawny-chested Flycatcher
Encyclopedia
The Tawny-chested Flycatcher or Salvin's Flycatcher, Aphanotriccus capitalis, is a small passerine
bird
in the tyrant flycatcher
family. It breeds in Caribbean
lowlands and foothills up to 1000 m altitude from eastern Nicaragua
to northern Costa Rica
, although all Nicaraguan records are historical specimens collected near Lake Nicaragua
or its outflow.
It is an uncommon inhabitant of mature evergreen forest and tall secondary growth, usually in dense understory vegetation on the woodland edges, along streams, in natural clearings, or in cacao plantations. The nest is built by the female in a natural cavity or a woodpecker
hole in a tree or bamboo
up to 6 m above the ground. The eggs are undescribed, but tyrant flycatchers typically lay two eggs which are incubated by the female for 15-16 days to hatching,
The Tawny-chested Flycatcher is 12 cm long, weighs 7 g and looks like a colourful Empidonax
flycatcher in size and structure . It has a grey head with a white throat and white spectacles. The upperparts are olive-green , and the wings are dusky with two bright ochre wing bars and ochre edging to the secondary feathers. The breast is ochre-orange, becoming bright yellow on the belly. Sexes are similar, but females may have an olive tint to the grey head.
The Tawny-chested Flycatcher is seen alone or in pairs, and follows a regular route seeking insect
s, especially beetle
s and ant
s, picked from the underside of foliage in flight.
This species has a rapid chee chee spt’t cheew call. It sometimes fans and closes its tail nervously.
Logging, conversion to banana plantations and cattle-ranch expansion have resulted in widespread forest clearance and severe fragmentation, particularly in Costa Rica. This species’ small range and intolerance of forest fragmentation suggest that it is declining, although more research is needed.
The crevice nesting habit may aid in the conservation of the species since the introduced Guadua bamboo is widely planted to support banana
trees on plantations.
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...
in 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. It breeds in Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
lowlands and foothills up to 1000 m altitude from eastern Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
to northern Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
, although all Nicaraguan records are historical specimens collected near Lake Nicaragua
Lake Nicaragua
Lake Nicaragua or Cocibolca or Granada or is a vast freshwater lake in Nicaragua of tectonic origin. With an area of , it is the largest lake in Central America, the 19th largest lake in the world and the 9th largest in the Americas. It is slightly smaller than Lake Titicaca. With an elevation...
or its outflow.
It is an uncommon inhabitant of mature evergreen forest and tall secondary growth, usually in dense understory vegetation on the woodland edges, along streams, in natural clearings, or in cacao plantations. The nest is built by the female in a natural cavity or a woodpecker
Woodpecker
Woodpeckers are near passerine birds of the order Piciformes. They are one subfamily in the family Picidae, which also includes the piculets and wrynecks. They are found worldwide and include about 180 species....
hole in a tree or bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
up to 6 m above the ground. The eggs are undescribed, but tyrant flycatchers typically lay two eggs which are incubated by the female for 15-16 days to hatching,
The Tawny-chested Flycatcher is 12 cm long, weighs 7 g and looks like a colourful Empidonax
Empidonax
The genus Empidonax is a group of small insect-eating passerine birds in the tyrant flycatcher family, the Tyrannidae.Most of these birds are remarkably similar in plumage: olive on the upper parts with light underparts, eye rings and wing bars...
flycatcher in size and structure . It has a grey head with a white throat and white spectacles. The upperparts are olive-green , and the wings are dusky with two bright ochre wing bars and ochre edging to the secondary feathers. The breast is ochre-orange, becoming bright yellow on the belly. Sexes are similar, but females may have an olive tint to the grey head.
The Tawny-chested Flycatcher is seen alone or in pairs, and follows a regular route seeking 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, especially beetle
Beetle
Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...
s and ant
Ant
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
s, picked from the underside of foliage in flight.
This species has a rapid chee chee spt’t cheew call. It sometimes fans and closes its tail nervously.
Logging, conversion to banana plantations and cattle-ranch expansion have resulted in widespread forest clearance and severe fragmentation, particularly in Costa Rica. This species’ small range and intolerance of forest fragmentation suggest that it is declining, although more research is needed.
The crevice nesting habit may aid in the conservation of the species since the introduced Guadua bamboo is widely planted to support banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
trees on plantations.