Tufted Tit-Tyrant
Encyclopedia
The Tufted Tit-tyrant is a species of bird
in the Tyrannidae family. It is found in Argentina
, Bolivia
, Chile
, Colombia
, Ecuador
, Falkland Islands
, and Peru
.Its natural habitat
s are temperate forest
s, subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland
, and heavily degraded former forest.Taxonomy=
Passeriformes is an order containing small to medium-sized birds which have widely varied plumage and shape. The bill is modified for a range of feeding habits. The feet have three toes pointing forward and one backward which assists perching. Nests can be simple or elaborate. Young are usually naked at hatching. Birds in this order can be terrestrial, aerial, or arboreal. The order is divided into 82 families, and contains more than 5000 species, 60% of the class. They are found world-wide.
The tyrannidae family contains attilas, elaenias, kingbirds, phoebes, and tyrant flycatchers. This is a diverse family of small to medium-sized birds are usually grey, brown, or olivegreen, some being more brightly coloured. The bill is usually fairly broad with a hooked tip and rictal bristles, the wings are short and rounded to long and pointed, and the tail is usually medium-length and square, but can be greatly elongated.
Anairetes parulus subspecies include Anairetes parulus aequatorialis, Anairetes parulus parulus, and Anairetes parulus patagonicus.
Description=
The tufted tit-tyrant is a relatively small bird. It has a gray-black tuft on the top of its crown, white and gray vertical striping on the throat and breast, and a long, brown-gray tail. The back of this bird
is more brown. The tufted tit-tyrant's eyes are somewhat small for its' head and its' beak is slightly long and dark gray. There is no information on differences in subspecies appearances.
Distribution and Habitat=
Tyrant flycatchers inhabit forests and open country, and feed on insects and fruit, some eating mice, frogs, and small birds. They nest in trees or on the ground. This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be stable, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size has not been quantified, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern. The global population size has not been quantified, but this species is described as 'common'.
and Argentina
, presumably reflecting resource availability.
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 Tyrannidae family. It is found in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, 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...
, Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
, and Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
.Its natural habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
s are temperate forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
s, subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland
Shrubland
Shrubland, scrubland, scrub or brush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity...
, and heavily degraded former forest.Taxonomy=
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Subphylum: Vertebrata
- Class: Aves
- Order: Passeriformes
- Family: Tyrannidae
- Genus: Anairetes
- Species: Anairetes parulus (Kittlitz, 1830) -- Tufted Tit-Tyrant
Passeriformes is an order containing small to medium-sized birds which have widely varied plumage and shape. The bill is modified for a range of feeding habits. The feet have three toes pointing forward and one backward which assists perching. Nests can be simple or elaborate. Young are usually naked at hatching. Birds in this order can be terrestrial, aerial, or arboreal. The order is divided into 82 families, and contains more than 5000 species, 60% of the class. They are found world-wide.
The tyrannidae family contains attilas, elaenias, kingbirds, phoebes, and tyrant flycatchers. This is a diverse family of small to medium-sized birds are usually grey, brown, or olivegreen, some being more brightly coloured. The bill is usually fairly broad with a hooked tip and rictal bristles, the wings are short and rounded to long and pointed, and the tail is usually medium-length and square, but can be greatly elongated.
Anairetes parulus subspecies include Anairetes parulus aequatorialis, Anairetes parulus parulus, and Anairetes parulus patagonicus.
Description=
The tufted tit-tyrant is a relatively small bird. It has a gray-black tuft on the top of its crown, white and gray vertical striping on the throat and breast, and a long, brown-gray tail. The back of this 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...
is more brown. The tufted tit-tyrant's eyes are somewhat small for its' head and its' beak is slightly long and dark gray. There is no information on differences in subspecies appearances.
Distribution and Habitat=
Tyrant flycatchers inhabit forests and open country, and feed on insects and fruit, some eating mice, frogs, and small birds. They nest in trees or on the ground. This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be stable, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size has not been quantified, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern. The global population size has not been quantified, but this species is described as 'common'.
Diet
This species is a generalist insectivor. A study in north-central Chile found that their foraging is typical of small tyrannid flycatchers, using rapid perch gleans coupled with hover gleans and supplemented by flycatching. They use relatively long search periods (3-5 sec) followed by rapid gleans, which is typical for small tyrannids. Their active foraging (3.1±1.8 prey attacks/min) coupled with a longer search time distinguishes them from parids or regulids of the Holarctic with which they often are compared. They generally forage singly or in pairs and aggressively defend what appears to be foraging territories in winter and summer. Densities of Tufted Tit-Tyrants at the Chilean study site were higher than reported in other studies from ChileChile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
and Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, presumably reflecting resource availability.