Dark Pewee
Encyclopedia
The Dark Pewee, Contopus lugubris, is a small passerine
bird
in the tyrant flycatcher
family. It is endemic to the highlands of Costa Rica
and western Panama
.
This large, dark pewee
is found between 1250 m and 2150 m altitude in wet mountain forests, especially at the edges and in clearings, and in adjacent semi-open areas with tall trees. The nest is a broad, thick-walled saucer of mosses and lichen
s, lined with plant fibres. It is placed 5-18 m high across a branch. The eggs are undescribed, but the female builds the nest, lays only two eggs and incubates the eggs for 15-16 days before they hatch.
The Dark Pewee is 26.5 cm long and weighs 23 g. The upperparts are sooty-grey, darkest on the prominently crested crown. The wings and tail are blackish, the wings having grey feather edges and a weak wing bar. The throat is pale grey, with most of the rest of the underparts a paler olive-grey than the back, becoming yellowish on the lower belly. Sexes are similar, but young birds are browner above and have rufous fringes to the wing feathers.
The Dark Pewee is solitary when not breeding. It perches on a high watchpoint from which it sallies forth to catch flying insect
s, returning to the same exposed perch.
This is a conspicuous species, with an incessant loud whip call, and repetitive fred-reek-fear song. It will defend the nest aggressively against larger species, including the Emerald Toucanet
.
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 is endemic to the highlands of 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....
and western Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
.
This large, dark 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...
is found between 1250 m and 2150 m altitude in wet mountain forests, especially at the edges and in clearings, and in adjacent semi-open areas with tall trees. The nest is a broad, thick-walled saucer of mosses 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, lined with plant fibres. It is placed 5-18 m high across a branch. The eggs are undescribed, but the female builds the nest, lays only two eggs and incubates the eggs for 15-16 days before they hatch.
The Dark Pewee is 26.5 cm long and weighs 23 g. The upperparts are sooty-grey, darkest on the prominently crested crown. The wings and tail are blackish, the wings having grey feather edges and a weak wing bar. The throat is pale grey, with most of the rest of the underparts a paler olive-grey than the back, becoming yellowish on the lower belly. Sexes are similar, but young birds are browner above and have rufous fringes to the wing feathers.
The Dark Pewee is solitary when not breeding. It perches on a high watchpoint from which it sallies forth to catch 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, returning to the same exposed perch.
This is a conspicuous species, with an incessant loud whip call, and repetitive fred-reek-fear song. It will defend the nest aggressively against larger species, including the Emerald Toucanet
Emerald Toucanet
The Emerald Toucanet, Aulacorhynchus prasinus, is a near-passerine bird occurring in mountainous regions from Mexico, through Central America, to northern Venezuela and along the Andes as far south as central Bolivia...
.