Venezuelan Flycatcher
Encyclopedia
The Venezuelan Flycatcher, Myiarchus venezuelensis, is a passerine
bird
in the tyrant flycatcher
family. It was formerly considered to be a race of the Short-crested Flycatcher
, Myiarchus ferox, but the two species overlap without interbreeding in Venezuela
, and the calls are different.
It breeds in forest and deciduous woodland in northeastern Colombia
, northern Venezuela and Tobago
. The nest is built in a tree cavity.
Adult Venezuelan Flycatchers are 19cm long and weigh 24.4g. The upperparts are brown, with the head and short crest darker than the back. The breast is grey and the belly is yellow. The brown tail feathers and wings have narrow rufous outer webs. Sexes are similar, but young birds have broader rufous edgings.
This species is best separated from other confusingly similar Myiarchus species by its call, a whistled wheeerrrr.
The Venezuelan Flycatcher is insectivorous
and catches its prey amongst the higher branches of trees.
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 was formerly considered to be a race of the Short-crested Flycatcher
Short-crested Flycatcher
The Short-crested Flycatcher is a species of bird in the Tyrannidae family.It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela...
, Myiarchus ferox, but the two species overlap without interbreeding in 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 calls are different.
It breeds in forest and deciduous woodland in northeastern 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...
, northern Venezuela 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...
. The nest is built in a tree cavity.
Adult Venezuelan Flycatchers are 19cm long and weigh 24.4g. The upperparts are brown, with the head and short crest darker than the back. The breast is grey and the belly is yellow. The brown tail feathers and wings have narrow rufous outer webs. Sexes are similar, but young birds have broader rufous edgings.
This species is best separated from other confusingly similar Myiarchus species by its call, a whistled wheeerrrr.
The Venezuelan Flycatcher is insectivorous
Insectivore
An insectivore is a type of carnivore with a diet that consists chiefly of insects and similar small creatures. An alternate term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of eating insects....
and catches its prey amongst the higher branches of trees.