Streaked Flycatcher
Encyclopedia
The Streaked Flycatcher, Myiodynastes maculatus, is a passerine
bird
in the tyrant flycatcher
family
. It breeds from eastern Mexico
, Trinidad
and Tobago
south to Bolivia
and Argentina
. The southern subspecies
M. m. solitarius migrates
to Venezuela
and the Guianas from March to September during the austral winter.
The Streaked Flycatcher is 22 cm long, weighs 43g and has a strong black bill. The head is brown with a concealed yellow crown patch, white supercilium
and dusky eye mask. The upperparts are brown with darker brown streaks on the back, rufous and white edges on the wings, and wide chestnut edges on the rump and tail. The underparts are yellowish-white streaked with brown.
Sexes are similar, but immature birds are brown where the adult is black. M. m. solitarius has black rather than brown streaking above and below. The Streaked Flycatcher is a conspicuous bird, with a noisy sqEEE-zip call.
This species is found at the edges of forests and cocoa plantations. Streaked Flycatchers eat a range of food items, mostly large insect
s, but also lizard
s and berries
. It perches on a high watchpoint from which it sallies forth to catch insects in mid-flight or off plants using a range of aerobatic maneuvers, and occasionally gleans
prey from the vegetation. The wintering southern migrants seem to include a considerable amount of fruit in their diet, for example those of Tamanqueiro (Alchornea glandulosa) which they sometimes eat in quantity; fruit are typically ripped off in mid-hover. It occasionally follows mixed-species feeding flock
s, pouncing from up in the trees on prey flushed by birds in the undergrowth.
The nest is an open cup of twigs and grasses placed in a tree hollow
or sometimes a bromeliad. The female builds the nest and incubates the typical clutch of two or three creamy-white eggs, which are marked with red-brown spots, for 16–17 days to hatching. Both sexes feed the chicks, which fledge in a further 18–21 days.
Common across its wide range, this species is not considered threatened by the IUCN.
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
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
. It breeds from eastern 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...
, Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
and Tobago
Tobago
Tobago is the smaller of the two main islands that make up the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located in the southern Caribbean, northeast of the island of Trinidad and southeast of Grenada. The island lies outside the hurricane belt...
south to 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...
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...
. The southern subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
M. m. solitarius migrates
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...
to Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
and the Guianas from March to September during the austral winter.
The Streaked Flycatcher is 22 cm long, weighs 43g and has a strong black bill. The head is brown with a concealed yellow crown patch, white supercilium
Supercilium
The supercilium is a plumage feature found on the heads of some bird species. It is a stripe which runs from the base of the bird's beak above its eye, finishing somewhere towards the rear of the bird's head. Also known as an "eyebrow", it is distinct from the eyestripe, which is a line which runs...
and dusky eye mask. The upperparts are brown with darker brown streaks on the back, rufous and white edges on the wings, and wide chestnut edges on the rump and tail. The underparts are yellowish-white streaked with brown.
Sexes are similar, but immature birds are brown where the adult is black. M. m. solitarius has black rather than brown streaking above and below. The Streaked Flycatcher is a conspicuous bird, with a noisy sqEEE-zip call.
This species is found at the edges of forests and cocoa plantations. Streaked Flycatchers eat a range of food items, mostly large 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, but also lizard
Lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...
s and berries
Berry
The botanical definition of a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary. Grapes are an example. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp. They may have one or more carpels with a thin covering and fleshy interiors....
. It perches on a high watchpoint from which it sallies forth to catch insects in mid-flight or off plants using a range of aerobatic maneuvers, and occasionally gleans
Gleaning (birds)
Gleaning is a term for a feeding strategy by birds in which they catch invertebrate prey, mainly arthropods, by plucking them from foliage or the ground, from crevices such as rock faces and under the eaves of houses, or even, as in the case of ticks and lice, from living animals. This behavior is...
prey from the vegetation. The wintering southern migrants seem to include a considerable amount of fruit in their diet, for example those of Tamanqueiro (Alchornea glandulosa) which they sometimes eat in quantity; fruit are typically ripped off in mid-hover. It occasionally follows mixed-species feeding flock
Mixed-species feeding flock
A mixed-species feeding flock, also termed a mixed-species foraging flock, mixed hunting party or informally bird wave, is a flock of usually insectivorous birds of different species, that join each other and move together while foraging...
s, pouncing from up in the trees on prey flushed by birds in the undergrowth.
The nest is an open cup of twigs and grasses placed in a tree hollow
Tree hollow
A tree hollow or tree hole is a semi-enclosed cavity which has naturally formed in the trunk or branch of a tree. These are predominantly found in old trees, whether living or not...
or sometimes a bromeliad. The female builds the nest and incubates the typical clutch of two or three creamy-white eggs, which are marked with red-brown spots, for 16–17 days to hatching. Both sexes feed the chicks, which fledge in a further 18–21 days.
Common across its wide range, this species is not considered threatened by the IUCN.
External links
- Streaked Flycatcher videos on the Internet Bird Collection
- Streaked Flycatcher photo gallery VIREO Photo-High Res
- Photo-High Res; Article www.ib.usp.br—"Tyrannidae"
- Photo-High Res--(Close-up); Article pbase.com–"Birds of Panama"
