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New World FLYCATCHERs

Order Passeriformes    Family Tyrannidae

The tyrant flycatchers (Tyrannidae) occur throughout North and South America. They are now considered the largest family of birds on Earth, with around 400 species. As could be expected from a family this large, the members vary greatly in habitat, shape, patterns and colors. Some Tyrant flycatchers superficially resemble the Old World flycatchers. Most, but not all, are rather plain, and many have erectile crests. Most are insectivorous, but some will eat fruit or small vertebrates.

The Tyrannidae family is presented in these web pages:
1) Tyrants, Black-Tyrants, Tit-Tyrants  2) Pygmy Tyrants, Tody-Flycatchers, Tody-Tyrants
3) Tyrants, Bush-Tyrants, Chat-Tyrants, Ground-Tyrants, Shrike Tyrants; Monjitas
4) Tyrannulets   5) Doradito, Elaenia, Tachuri  
6) Flycatchers, Spadebills, Twistwings  7) Flycatchers, Pewees, Phoebes
8) Flycatchers, Attilas, Flatbills, Sirystes  9) Flycatchers, Kingbirds, Kiskadees

Flycatchers, Spadebills, Twistwings


Genus Aphanotriccus

Flycatcher,_Black-billed  Aphanotriccus audax   Found: Columbia, Panama
The Black-billed Flycatcher has olive-green upperparts; darker wings; 2 pale wing-bars; thin whitish eye-ring; black bill; whitish-olive underparts.
Image by: 1) Gunnar_Engblom - Columbia


Flycatcher,_Tawny-chested  Aphanotriccus capitalis   Found: Costa Rica, Nicaragua
The Tawny-chested Flycatcher has olive-green upperparts; dark wings; gray head; thin white eye-ring; white throat; ochre-orange breast; bright yellow belly.
Image by: 1) Dominic_Sherony - Costa Rica  2) Kathy and Sam - Costa Rica



Genus Cnipodectes
Twistwing refers to the modified outer primaries, which possess thickened and twisted shafts.

Twistwing,_Brownish   Cnipodectes subbrunneus Found: Panama, Bolivia, Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru
The Brownish Twistwing has brown upperparts; slight buff lores; rufous fringes to wing feathers; rufous tail; pale underparts.
Image by: 1) Hector_Bottai - Brazil  2, 3) Nick Athanas - Ecuador


Twistwing,_Rufous   Cnipodectes superrufus Found: mainly Peru; also northern Bolivia, western Brazil
The Rufous Twistwing has rufous plumage. It prefers  Guadua bamboo habitat.
Image by: 1) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Silvia_Faustino_Linhares



Genus Hirundinea - 1 species

Flycatcher,_Cliff  Hirundinea ferruginea   Found: South America
The Cliff Flycatcher has blackish-brown upperparts with rufous tinged wings; cinnamon underparts; white eye-arc.
Image by: 1, 2, 3, 4) Dario Sanches - Brazil



Genus Lathrotriccus
The Lathrotriccus flycatchers closely resemble the Empidonax flycatchers. They breed in tropical South America.

Flycatcher,_Euler's  Lathrotriccus euleri  Found: South America
The Euler's Flycatcher has brownish-olive upperparts; faint supercilium; 2 buffy wing-bars; light throat; olive-yellowish breast; yellowish belly.
Similar to: Empidonax flycatchers.
Image by:  1) Cláudio Timm  2) Nick_Athanas  3) Hector_Bottai - Brazil


Flycatcher,_Gray-breasted  Lathrotriccus griseipectus   Found: mainly Ecuador; also Peru
The Gray-breasted Flycatcher has olive upperparts; blackish wings with  whitish wing-bars; white eye-ring; gray breast; white belly.
Image by: 1) Francesco_Veronesi - Ecuador  2) Nick_Athanas - Ecuador



Genus Leptopogon

Flycatcher,_Inca  Leptopogon taczanowskii  Found: Peru
The Inca Flycatcher has olive-brown upperparts; rusty wing-bars; gray streaked face; tawny-olive breast.
Image by: 1) Nick Athanas - Peru  2) dreyernp


Flycatcher,_Rufous-breasted  Leptopogon rufipectus  Found: mainly Columbia, Ecuador; also Peru, Venezuela
The Rufous-breasted Flycatcher has olive-brown upperparts; rusty wing-bars; rufous face, throat, breast; yellow belly.
Image by: 1) Alan_Harper - Ecuador  2) Barloventomagico - Venezuela  3) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Ken Chamberlain


Flycatcher,_Sepia-capped  Leptopogon amaurocephalus   Found: Central and South America
The Sepia-capped Flycatcher has olive upperparts with browner tail; brown cap; dark ear patch; 2 yellowish wing-bars; light grayish throat; olive-yellow breast; yellowish belly.
Similar to: Inca Flycatcher. Sepia-capped Flycatcher has brown cap; Inca Flycatcher has olive-gray cap.
Similar to: Slaty-capped Flycatcher. Sepia-capped Flycatcher has brown cap; Slaty-capped Flycatcher has gray cap.
Image by: 1) Dario Sanches - Brazil  2) Claudi Timm  3) Nick Athanas - Argentina  4) Luiz_Carlos Rocha - Brazil


Flycatcher,_Slaty-capped  Leptopogon superciliaris  Found; Central and South America
Similar to: Sepia-capped Flycatcher. Sepia-capped Flycatcher has brown cap; Slaty-capped Flycatcher has gray cap.
Image by: 1, 2) Jerry Oldenettel - Costa Rica  3) Nick Athanas - Ecuador



Genus Mionectes
The mionectes flycatchers have olive-green upperparts; tails; a lek-breeding system (polygamy with female seeking male)

Flycatcher,_Gray-hooded  Mionectes rufiventris  Found: mainly Brazil, Paraguay; also Argentina
The Gray-hooded Flycatcher has olive-green upperparts, tail; gray head.
Similar to: Streak-necked Flycatcher. Streak-necked Flycatcher has post-eye white spot and streaking on underparts; Gray-hooded Flycatcher does not.
Image by: 1) Nick Athanas - Brazil  2) Dario_Sanches - Brazil  3) Francesco_Veronesi - Brazil


Flycatcher,_McConnell's  Mionectes macconnelli  Found: Brazil, Ecuador, the Guianas, Peru, Venezuela
The McConnell's Flycatcher has olive-green upperparts, tail.
Image by: 1, 2, 3) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Gordon_Dimmig, Philip_Stouffer, Michel_Giraud-Audine


Flycatcher,_Ochre-bellied  Mionectes oleagineus  Found: Mexico to Brazil
The Ochre-bellied Flycatcher has olive-green upperparts, head, tail, upper-breast; ochre lower-breast, belly.Variable amount of olive streaking on underparts.
Image by: 1) Nick Athanas - Ecuador  2) Alan_Harper - Honduras  3) Hector_Bottai - Brazil


Flycatcher,_Olive-striped  Mionectes olivaceus  Found: Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela to Peru
The Olive-striped Flycatcher has olive-green upperparts, head, tail; olive streaked underparts.
Image by: 1) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Jorge_Munoz_Garcia  2, 3) Nick Athanas - Panama, Peru


Flycatcher,_Streak-necked  Mionectes striaticollis  Found: Columbia to Bolivia
The Streak-necked Flycatcher has olive-green upperparts, tail; gray head; streaked breast; post-eye white spot.
Similar to: Gray-hooded Flycatcher. Streak-necked Flycatcher has post-eye white spot and streaking on underparts; Gray-hooded Flycatcher does not.
Image by: 1) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Fabrice_Schmitt 2) NBII_Image_Gallery



Genus Mitrephanes

Flycatcher,_Olive  Mitrephanes olivaceus   Found: Bolivia, Peru
The Olive Flycatcher (also Olive-tufted Flycatcher) has olive upperparts; 2 pale grayish-olive wing-bars; conspicuous crest; yellowish belly.
Image by: 1) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Joe_Tobias in Bolivia


Flycatcher,_Tufted  Mitrephanes phaeocercus   Found: Mexico to northewest Ecuador
The Tufted Flycatcher (also Northern Tufted Flycatcher) has olive-green upperparts including the pointed crest; blackish tail, wings; 2 buff wing-bars; ochre-orange breast shading to  yellow belly.
Similar to: Ochraceous Flycatcher. Ochraceous Pewee is much larger; has ochre breast. Tufted Flycatcher has larger crest; tawny breast.
Image by: 1, 2) Nick Athanas - Costa Rica, Ecuador  3) Matt_MacGillivray - Costa Rica  4) Steve Ryan
1) M. p. aurantiiventris 2) M. p. berlepschi



Genus Myiobius

Flycatcher,_Black-tailed  Myiobius atricaudus   Found: Costa Rica, Panama, Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela
The Black-tailed Flycatcher has olive upperparts; buff underparts; yellow rump.
Image by: 1, 2) Nick Athanas - Ecuador, Columbia  3) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Luiz_Moschini in Brazil


Flycatcher,_Sulphur-rumped  Myiobius sulphureipygius   Found: Mexico, Central America, Columbia, Ecuador
The https://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/Species-Account/nb/species/surfly1/overview has dull olive upperparts; sulphur rump; dusky wings; black tail.
Image by: 1) Nick Athanas - Ecuador  2)  Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Carlos_Echeverría in Guatemala  3) Francesco_Veronesi


Flycatcher,_Tawny-breasted  Myiobius villosus   Found: mainly Columbia, Ecuador, Peru; also Bolivia, Venezuela
The Tawny-breasted Flycatcher has mainly dark olive upperparts; usually hidden crown patch (yellow for males; cinnamon-brown for females); dull white throat; pale yellow center of belly. The tawny-breasted myiobius occurring at higher elevations than the other members of its genus.
Image by: 1) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Andrew_Spencer


Flycatcher,_Whiskered  Myiobius barbatus   Found: Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, the Guianas, Peru, Venezuela
The Whistered Flycatcher has olive upperparts; usually hidden yellow patch on head; yellow rump; grayish olive breast; pale yellow belly.
Image by: 1) Claudio_Timm  2) Nick Athanas - Brazil



Genus Myiophobus

Flycatcher,_Bran-colored   Myiophobus fasciatus   Found: Central and South America
The Bran-colored Flycatcher has chestnut upperparts, head; concealed yellow-crest erected by excited adults; whitish underparts shading to yellow on the belly; streaking on breast, flanks; 2 pale buff wing-bars; black bill above, brown below.
Image by: 1) Felix_Uribe - Columbia  2) Dario Sanches - Brazil  3) Dario Niz  4) Gustavo Duran - Argentina 


Flycatcher,_Flavescent  Myiophobus flavicans   Found: Venezuela to Peru
The Flavescent Flycatcher has olive-brown upperparts; pale eye-arcs; yellow crown patch; dull olive-yellow underparts.
Image by: 1) Nick Athanas - Ecuador  2) Gary_Leavens - Ecuador


Flycatcher,_Olive-chested  Myiophobus cryptoxanthus   Found: Ecuador, Peru
The Olive-chested Flycatcher has brown upperparts; yellow crown patch; 2 buffy wing-bars; yellowish underparts with olive-gray streaking on breast.
Image by: 1)  Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Juan_Arango  in Ecuador  2) Nick Athanas - Ecuador


Flycatcher,_Orange-crested  Myiophobus phoenicomitra   Found: Columbia, Ecuador, Peru
The Orange-crested Flycatcher has olive upperparts;  pale eye-ring; yellowish underparts. Male has hard to see small orange crown patch.
Image by: 1) Ana_Agreda - Ecuador  2) Nick_Athanas - Ecuador


Flycatcher,_Roraiman  Myiophobus roraimae   Found: mainly Venezuala; also at other disjoint locations
Thr Roraiman Flycatcher has brown upperparts; 2 rusty wing-bars; broken white eye-ring; olive-white underparts.
Image by: 1) Ana_Agreda


Flycatcher,_Unadorned  Myiophobus inornatus   Found: Bolivia, Peru
The Unadorned Flycatcher has olive upperparts; cinnamon rufous wing edging; yellowish-olive underparts.
Image by: 1) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Peter_Kaestner



Genus Myiotriccus - 1 species

Flycatcher,_Ornate  Myiotriccus ornatus  Found: Columbia, Ecuador, Peru
The Ornate Flycather has rusty or brown mantle; white forehead (usally incomplete); dusky head; yellow rump; belly.
Image by: 1) Francesco_Veronesi - Ecuador  2) Rafy_Rodriguez  3) Alejandro_Tamayo  4) Lip_Kee - Ecuador



Genus Neopipo - 1 species

Tyrant,_Cinnamon_Manakin-  Neopipo cinnamomea   Found: mainly Brazil, Ecuador, the Guinas, Peru; also Boliva, Columbia, Venezuela
The Cinnamon Manakin-Tyrant has cinnamon breast; bluish-gray legs; difficult to see yellow crown patch.
Similar to : Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher. Cinnamon Manakin-Tyrant has bluish-gray legs; Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher has pink legs.
Image by: 1) Hector_Bottai



Genus Nephelomyias

Flycatcher,_Handsome  Nephelomyias pulcher   Found: Columbia, Ecuador, Peru
The Handsome Flycatcher has olive-brown upperparts; blackish wings with 2 white wing-bars; gray head; yellow underparts.
Image by: 1) Francesco_Veronesi - Columbia  2)  Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Arthur_Grosset in Columbia


Flycatcher,_Ochraceous-breasted  Nephelomyias ochraceiventris   Found: mainly Ecuador, Peru; also Bolivia
The Ochraceous-breasted Flycatcher has dark olive upperparts; black wings with buffy wing-bars; olive crown; tawny face. breast.
Image by: 1)  Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Dubi Shapiro  2) Nick Athanas  - Peru


Flycatcher,_Orange-banded  Nephelomyias lintoni   Found: southern Ecuador, northern Peru
The Orange-banded Flycatcher has dark olive-brown upperparts; hard to see orange crown-stripe; 2 buffy wing-bars; yellow underparts with olive wash to flanks.
Image by: 1) Ana_Agreda - Ecuador  2) Nick Athanas - Ecuador



Genus Nesotriccus - 1 species

Flycatcher,_Cocos  Nesotriccus ridgwayi  Found: island of Cocos - west of Costa Rica
The Cocos Flycatcher has mainly gray plumage.
Image by: 1) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Kevin_Easley



Genus Onychorhynchus - 1 species

Flycatcher,_Royal  Onychorhynchus coronatus   Found: Mexico, Central America, South America
The Royal Flycatcher has mainly brown plumage; ornate crest.
Image by: 1) Nick Athanas - Ecuador  2) Hector_Bottai  3) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Joao_Quental



Genus Platyrinchus
The spadebills have broad, flat, triangular bills.

Spadebill,_Cinnamon-crested  Platyrinchus saturatus   Found: Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, the Guianas, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela
The Cinnamon-crested Spadebill has mainly brown plumage; paler underparts; whitish throat.
Image by: 1) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Marcelo_Barreiros


Spadebill,_Golden-crowned  Platyrinchus coronatus   Found: Central America, northern South America
Image by: 1, 2) Nick Athanas - Ecuador, Columbia  3) Francesco_Veronesi


Spadebill,_Russet-winged  Platyrinchus leucoryphus   Found: mainly Brazil; also Argentina, Paraguay
Immage by: 1) Carlos_de_Almeida  2) Luiz_Carlos_Rocna


Spadebill,_Stub-tailed  Platyrinchus cancrominus   Found: Mexico, Central America
Image by: 1) Nick Athanas - Mexico  2) Steve_Garvie - Costa Rica


Spadebill,_White-crested  Platyrinchus platyrhynchos   Found: Brazil and countries to the north
The White-crested Spadebill has rufous-brown upperparts; mainly gray head; white throat; brown underparts.
Image by: 1) Nick Athanas - Brazil  2) Claudio_Timm


Spadebill, White-throated   Platyrinchus mystaceus   Found: Central and South America
The White-throated Spadebill has olive-brown upperparts; distinctive face pattern; yellowish supercilium, eye-ring; whitish throat; broad bill, black above, light brown below.
Image by: 1, 2, 3) Dario Sanches - Brazil 4) Nick Athanas - Ecuador


Spadebill, Yellow-throated  Platyrinchus flavigularis  Found: Columbia, Eucador, Peru, Venezuela
The Yellow-throated Spadebill has greenish upperparts; light rufous crown; pale yellow underparts.
Image by: 1) Dick Daniels - Peru  2) Nick Athanas - Ecuador



Genus Pyrrhomyias - 1 species

Flycatcher,_Cinnamon Pyrrhomyias cinnamomeus  Found: South America
The Cinnamon Flycatcher has yellowish-brown head, back; cinnaom breast, neck; yellowish throat; black tail.
Image by: 1) Cristóba Alvarado Minic - Venezuela 2, 3) Dominic Sherony - Cusco, Peru  4, 5) Nick Athanas - Ecuador, Columbia
4) P. c. pyrrhoptera 5) P. c. assimilis




Genus Sublegatus

Flycatcher,_Amazonian_Scrub-  Sublegatus obscurior Found: Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador, the Guianas, Venezuela
The Amazonian Scrub-Flycatcher has olive upperparts; blackish wings edged with buff; gray throat; dull yellow underparts.
Similar to: Northern Scrub-Flycatcher. Amazonian Scrub-Flycatcher has duller underparts than Norther Scrub-Flycatcher.
Similar to: Southern Scrub-Flycatcher. Southern Scrub-Flycatcher has obvious wing-bars. Amazonian Scrub-Flycatcher has faint wing-bars; light yellow belly.
Image by: 1) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Dusan_Brinkhuizen in Ecuador 2) Hector_Bottai - Brazil


Flycatcher,_Northern_Scrub-  Sublegatus arenarum  Found: Costa Rica, Panama, northern South America, Caribbean
The Northern Scrub-Flycatcher has olive  upperparts; blackish wings edged with buff; gray throat, upper-breast; yellow belly..
Similar to: Amazonian Scrub-Flycatcher. Amazonian Scrub-Flycatcher has duller underparts than Norther Scrub-Flycatcher.
Image by: 1) Barloventomagico - Venezuela  2) Cristobal_Alvarado_Minic - Venezuela


Flycatcher,_Southern Scrub-  Sublegatus modestus  Found: South America
The Southern Scrub-Flycatcher has gray upperparts; off-white wing-bars; weak eye-line; pale white eye-ring; gray breast; yellow belly.
Similar to: Amazonian Scrub-Flycatcher. Southern-Scrub-Flycatcher has obvious wing-bars. Amazonian Scrub-Flycatcher has faint wing-bars; light yellow belly.
Image by: 1) Cláudio Timm   2, 3) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Ciro_Albano in Brazil, Bertrando_Campos  4) Hector_Bottai - Brazil



Genus Suiriri

Flycatcher,_Chapada  Suiriri affinis  Found: mainly south-central Brazil; also adjacent Bolivia
Chapada Flycatcher is similar to the white-bellied version of the Suririri Flycatcher but the chapada has a broader tail-tip.
Image by: 1, 2, 3) Nick Athanas - Brazil  4) Carlos_Henrique 5) Hector_Bottai - Brazil



Flycatcher,_Suririri  Suiriri suiriri  Found: South America
The Suririri Flycatcher has gray upperparts; pale eye-ring; whitish or yellow belly.
Similar to: Gray Elaenia. Suririri Flycatcher has olive wash on its gray back; male Gray Elaenia has no olive on its gray back.
Image by: 1) Cláudio Timm - Brazil  2) Hector_Bottai  3) Nick Athanas - Brazil  4, 5) Jeff_Constantino




Genus Terenotriccus - 1 species

Flycatcher,_Rudty-tailed  Terenotriccus erythrurus   Found: Mexico to Bolivia and Brazil
The Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher has rufous tail, wings; gray head; cinnamon breast; buffy belly.
Similar to : Cinnamon Manakin-Tyrant. Cinnamon Manakin-Tyrant has bluish-gray legs; Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher has pink legs.
Image by: 1) Nick Athanas - Ecuador  2) David Rodríguez Arias - Costa Rica  3) Francesco_Veronesi



Genus Tolmomyias
Flycatchers in this genus are difficult to tell apart except by voice. These flycatchers are also called flatbills.

Flatbill,_Zimmer's  Tolmomyias assimilis  Found: east of Andes in the Amazon region
The Zimmer's Flatbill is also considered a subspecies of the Yellow-margined Flatbill. These flatbills east of the Andes have a different vocalization west of the Andes.
Image by: 1) Michael_Woodruff - northwest Ecuador  2) Hector_Bottai - Brazil


Flycatcher,_Gray-crowned  Tolmomyias poliocephalus   Found: Bolivia, Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador, the Guianas, Peru, Venezuela
The Gray-crowned Flycatcher has green upperparts; gray crown, nape; yellow underparts.
Image by: 1) Hector_Bottai - Brazil  2) Claudio_Timm


Flycatcher,_Orange-eyed  Tolmomyias traylori   Found: mainly Ecuador, Peru; also Columbia
The Orange-eyed Flycatcher has olive upperparts; grayish crown; grayish-buff face; yellowish underparts.
Image by: 1) Ian_Davies - Ecuador  Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - David_Krueper


Flycatcher,_Yellow-breasted  also Yellow-breasted Flatbill  Tolmomyias flaviventris  Found: South America
The Yellow-breasted Flycatcher has an olive crown; yellow underparts; wide flat triangular bill.
Image by: 1) New Jersey Birds  2) Hector_Bottai - Brazil


Flycatcher,_Yellow-margined  also Yellow-Margined Flatbill  Tolmomyias flavotectus   Found: Costa Rica, Panama, northern South America
The Zimmer's Flatbill is also considered a subspecies of the Yellow-margined Flatbill. These flatbills east of the Andes have a different vocalization west of the Andes.
Image by: 1) Nick Athanas - Columbia  2) Aaron_Maizlish - Panama


Flycatcher,_Yellow-olive  also Yellow-olive Flatbill  Tolmomyias sulphurescens  Found: Central and South America
The Yellow-olive Flycatcher has olive upperparts; gray crown; dark iris; light eye-ring; yellow wing-bars; yellow underparts blending to grayish on upper breast.
Image by:  1, 2) Dario Sanches - Brazil  3, 4) Nick Athanas - Ecuador, Brazil
3) T. S peruvianus 4) T. s. pallescens



Genus Xenotriccus

Flycatcher,_Belted  Xenotriccus callizonus   Found:El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico
The Belted Flycatcher has a mainly gray upperparts; spiky creast; broad cinnamon breast band; white throat; pale yellow belly.
Image by: 1) Jorge_Montejo - Mexico  2) Nick Athanas - Mexico 3) Jerry_Oldenettel - Mexico


Flycatcher,_Piliated  Xenotriccus mexicanus   Found: western Mexico
The Piliated Flycatcher has gray upperparts; yellow bill; whitish breast; pointed gray feather on top of head
Image by: 1) Nick Athanas - Mexico  2) Dominic_Sherony





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