Yellow-breasted Flycatcher
Encyclopedia
The Yellow-breasted Flatbill or Yellow-breasted Flycatcher, Tolmomyias flaviventris, is a passerine
bird
in the tyrant flycatcher
family. It is found in South America
, ranging from Colombia
and Venezuela
south to Peru
, Bolivia
, and Brazil
, and on both Trinidad
and Tobago
. There are significant variations in its voice and plumage
, with western birds duller and more olive, and eastern and northern birds brighter and more ochre-yellow. The two are sometimes considered separate species, the western Olive-faced Flatbill (or Flycatcher), T. viridiceps, and the eastern and northern Ochre-lored Flatbill (or Flycatcher), T. flaviventris.
This species is found in the upper levels of forests, secondary growth and the edges of mangrove
swamps. The bottle nest is made of plant fibre and suspended from a branch, usually near a wasp
nest, which presumably provides some protection from predators. The typical clutch is two or three creamy white eggs, which are marked with violet, mostly at the larger end. Incubation by the female is 17 days to hatching.
The Yellow-breasted Flycatcher is approximately 12.7 cm long and weighs 11.3 g. The head and upperparts are olive-green with darker, yellow-edged, wing and tail feathers. There are two yellowish wing bars. The throat, breast and eye-ring are golden yellow, the lores are ochreous, and the abdomen is dull yellow. The bill is flattened laterally, and is black above and white below. Sexes are similar. There are other races, differing in the tone of the upperpart or underpart colour.
Yellow-breasted Flycatcher are inconspicuous birds, tending to keep to high perches from which they sally forth to catch insect
s. The call is a loud whistled peeee-it.
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 found in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, ranging from 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...
and 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...
south to 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....
, 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 Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, and on both 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...
. There are significant variations in its voice and plumage
Plumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
, with western birds duller and more olive, and eastern and northern birds brighter and more ochre-yellow. The two are sometimes considered separate species, the western Olive-faced Flatbill (or Flycatcher), T. viridiceps, and the eastern and northern Ochre-lored Flatbill (or Flycatcher), T. flaviventris.
This species is found in the upper levels of forests, secondary growth and the edges of mangrove
Mangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
swamps. The bottle nest is made of plant fibre and suspended from a branch, usually near a wasp
Wasp
The term wasp is typically defined as any insect of the order Hymenoptera and suborder Apocrita that is neither a bee nor an ant. Almost every pest insect species has at least one wasp species that preys upon it or parasitizes it, making wasps critically important in natural control of their...
nest, which presumably provides some protection from predators. The typical clutch is two or three creamy white eggs, which are marked with violet, mostly at the larger end. Incubation by the female is 17 days to hatching.
The Yellow-breasted Flycatcher is approximately 12.7 cm long and weighs 11.3 g. The head and upperparts are olive-green with darker, yellow-edged, wing and tail feathers. There are two yellowish wing bars. The throat, breast and eye-ring are golden yellow, the lores are ochreous, and the abdomen is dull yellow. The bill is flattened laterally, and is black above and white below. Sexes are similar. There are other races, differing in the tone of the upperpart or underpart colour.
Yellow-breasted Flycatcher are inconspicuous birds, tending to keep to high perches from which they sally forth to catch 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. The call is a loud whistled peeee-it.