The white-tailed tyrannulet (Mecocerculus poecilocercus) is a species of bird in subfamily Elaeniinae of family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.[2]
| White-tailed tyrannulet | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Tyrannidae |
| Genus: | Mecocerculus |
| Species: | M. poecilocercus
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| Binomial name | |
| Mecocerculus poecilocercus (Sclater, PL & Salvin, 1873)
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Taxonomy and systematics
editThe white-tailed tyrannulet is monotypic.[2] It and the buff-banded tyrannulet (M. hellmayri) form a superspecies.[3]
Description
editThe white-tailed tyrannulet is about 11 cm (4.3 in) long and weighs 10 to 11 g (0.35 to 0.39 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a medium gray crown. They have a thin white supercilium and a faint blackish stripe through the eye on an otherwise whitish face. Their upperparts are mostly greenish olive with a bright greenish yellow rump and uppertail coverts. Their wings are dusky with pale yellow edges on the flight feathers. Their wing coverts have white to pale buff tips that show as two bars on the closed wing. Their tail is dusky olive with a mostly to fully white outermost pair of feathers. Their throat is grayish white, their breast and sides grayish white with a darker grayish wash, and their belly and undertail coverts yellowish white. Both sexes of have a brown iris, a thin and pointed black bill, and medium gray legs and feet.[4][5][6][7][excessive citations]
Distribution and habitat
editThe white-tailed tyrannulet is found in the Andes from northern Colombia south on both slopes through Ecuador and into Peru. On the west slope in Peru it is found only in Piura Department; on the east slope it reaches to Cuzco Department. It inhabits humid montane evergreen forest in the subtropical zone, especially cloudforest with much moss. In elevation it occurs between 1,800 and 2,800 m (5,900 and 9,200 ft) in Colombia, between 1,500 and 2,500 m (4,900 and 8,200 ft) in Ecuador, and between 1,450 and 2,700 m (4,800 and 8,900 ft) in Peru.[4][5][6][7][excessive citations]
Behavior
editMovement
editThe white-tailed tyrannulet is a year-round resident throughout its range.[4]
Feeding
editThe white-tailed tyrannulet feeds mostly on insects but also includes some small fruits in its diet. It usually forages in pairs or small groups and frequently joins mixed-species feeding flocks. It forages mostly in the forest canopy and somewhat lower at its edges. It takes most of its food by gleaning from leaves, twigs, and tree-ferns while perched, though it occasionally makes short upward flights to briefly hover.[4][5][6]
Breeding
editThe white-tailed tyrannulet's breeding season in Colombia appears to include August and September but nothing else is known about the species' breeding biology.[4]
Vocalization
editThe white-tailed tyrannulet's dawn song is "a high, lisping pseeee-psweet". Its day song is "a descending series of high, rising, sibilant whistles: PSEE pswee pswee psweet" that sometimes ends with "sharper pit notes".[7]
Status
editThe IUCN has assessed the white-tailed tyrannulet as being of Least Concern. It has a large range; its population size is not known and is believed to be stable. No immediate threats have been identified.[1] It is considered uncommon in Colombia, "numerous" in Ecuador, and fairly common in Peru.[5][6][7] It occurs in protected areas in Ecuador and Peru.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b BirdLife International (2016). "White-tailed Tyrannulet Mecocerculus poecilocercus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22699316A93726012. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22699316A93726012.en. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ a b Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (August 2024). "Tyrant flycatchers". IOC World Bird List. v 14.2. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
- ^ Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, G. Del-Rio, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 28 September 2024. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved September 29, 2024
- ^ a b c d e f Fitzpatrick, J. W. (2020). White-tailed Tyrannulet (Mecocerculus poecilocercus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.whttyr1.01 retrieved October 7, 2024
- ^ a b c d McMullan, Miles; Donegan, Thomas M.; Quevedo, Alonso (2010). Field Guide to the Birds of Colombia. Bogotá: Fundación ProAves. p. 150. ISBN 978-0-9827615-0-2.
- ^ a b c d Ridgely, Robert S.; Greenfield, Paul J. (2001). The Birds of Ecuador: Field Guide. Vol. II. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. p. 468. ISBN 978-0-8014-8721-7.
- ^ a b c d Schulenberg, T.S.; Stotz, D.F.; Lane, D.F.; O'Neill, J.P.; Parker, T.A. III (2010). Birds of Peru. Princeton Field Guides (revised and updated ed.). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. p. 418. ISBN 978-0691130231.