Tufted Flycatcher
Encyclopedia
The Northern Tufted Flycatcher, Mitrephanes phaeocercus, is a small passerine
bird
in the tyrant flycatcher
family. It breeds in highlands from northwestern Mexico
to northwestern Ecuador
. The Olive Flycatcher
(Mitrephanes olivaceus) of Peru and Bolivia is now considered a separate species.
It is a common inhabitant of mature mountain forest and tall second growth, especially at edges and clearings with trees. It breeds from 700–3000 m altitude, but is most abundant from 1200–2150 m. The female builds a saucer nest of moss, liverwort
s and lichen
s 4–27 m high on a branch or vine, usually concealed among ferns, bromeliads and other epiphyte
s. The female incubates the two brown-blotched white eggs for 15–16 days to hatching,
The Northern Tufted Flycatcher is 12 cm long and weighs 8.5 g. The upperparts are olive-green, including the pointed crest. The tail and wings are blackish, and the latter have two buff wing bars and buff edging to the secondary feathers. The breast is ochre-orange, shading to bright yellow on the belly. Sexes are similar, but young birds have brownish upperparts with buff fringing, orange wing bars and paler underparts.
The Northern Tufted Flycatcher is usually seen in pairs, hunting flying insect
s from an open perch like a pewee
. It often returns to the same perch and vibrates its tail as it lands.
This species has a rapid weet weet weet weet call. Its dawn song is a very fast high bip-bip-bip-dididiup-bip-bip-bibibiseer.
Although this species is not migratory
, it is very rare vagrant to the United States
, the first record being from Big Bend National Park
, Texas
in November 1991. It has also been observed in Arizona
.
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 highlands from northwestern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
to northwestern Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
. The Olive Flycatcher
Olive Flycatcher
The Olive Tufted Flycatcher is a species of bird in the Tyrannidae family.It is found in Bolivia and Peru.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montanes.-References:...
(Mitrephanes olivaceus) of Peru and Bolivia is now considered a separate species.
It is a common inhabitant of mature mountain forest and tall second growth, especially at edges and clearings with trees. It breeds from 700–3000 m altitude, but is most abundant from 1200–2150 m. The female builds a saucer nest of moss, liverwort
Marchantiophyta
The Marchantiophyta are a division of bryophyte plants commonly referred to as hepatics or liverworts. Like other bryophytes, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry only a single set of genetic information....
s and lichen
Lichen
Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic organism composed of a fungus with a photosynthetic partner , usually either a green alga or cyanobacterium...
s 4–27 m high on a branch or vine, usually concealed among ferns, bromeliads and other epiphyte
Epiphyte
An epiphyte is a plant that grows upon another plant non-parasitically or sometimes upon some other object , derives its moisture and nutrients from the air and rain and sometimes from debris accumulating around it, and is found in the temperate zone and in the...
s. The female incubates the two brown-blotched white eggs for 15–16 days to hatching,
The Northern Tufted Flycatcher is 12 cm long and weighs 8.5 g. The upperparts are olive-green, including the pointed crest. The tail and wings are blackish, and the latter have two buff wing bars and buff edging to the secondary feathers. The breast is ochre-orange, shading to bright yellow on the belly. Sexes are similar, but young birds have brownish upperparts with buff fringing, orange wing bars and paler underparts.
The Northern Tufted Flycatcher is usually seen in pairs, hunting flying 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 from an open perch like a pewee
Pewee
The genus Contopus is a group of small to medium-sized insect-eating birds in the Tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae.These birds are commonly known as peewees, from the call of one of the more common members of this vocal group...
. It often returns to the same perch and vibrates its tail as it lands.
This species has a rapid weet weet weet weet call. Its dawn song is a very fast high bip-bip-bip-dididiup-bip-bip-bibibiseer.
Although this species is not 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...
, it is very rare vagrant to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the first record being from Big Bend National Park
Big Bend National Park
Big Bend National Park is a national park located in the U.S. state of Texas. Big Bend has national significance as the largest protected area of Chihuahuan Desert topography and ecology in the United States, which includes more than 1,200 species of plants, more than 450 species of birds, 56...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
in November 1991. It has also been observed in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
.