Amazonian Black-Tyrant (Knipolegus poecilocercus)

Identification & Behavior: ~13.5 cm (5.2 in). The male Amazonian Black-Tyrant is all black with a bluish-gray bill and dark iris. The female is gray-olive above with two brown wing bars. The breast is brown streaked with black but the belly is whitish with no streaking. The tail is mostly rufous. It forages in the dense understory of flooded or seasonally flooded forests where it is generally inconspicuous. It is very similar to the Riverside Tyrant but is distinguished by a smaller size and habitat choice. The male has a dark iris (dark red in Riverside Tyrant). The female has a darker plumage and a rufous tail.

Status: The Amazonian Black-Tyrant is poorly known perhaps due to its secretive habits and difficult access to its habitat. It is known to occur in a relatively small range east of the upper Ucayali River and west of the Yavari River in Loreto. The Amazonian Black-Tyrant also occurs in Co, Ec, and Br.

Name in Spanish: Viudita-Negra Amazónica.

Sub-species: Amazonian Black-Tyrant (Knipolegus poecilocercus), (Pelzeln), 1868.

Meaning of Name: Knipolegus: Gr. knips, knipos= insect and lego= to pick. poecilocercus: Gr. poikilos pied, spotted, variegated and kerkos= tail.

See more of the Family Tyrannidae