Cinereous Ground-Tyrant (Muscisaxicola cinereus)

Identification & Behavior: ~15.5 cm (6.1 in). The Cinereous Ground-Tyrant is gray above and whitish below. It does not have any rufous on the crown. The white superciliary is reduced to nearly white lores that reach the eye. It forages in areas with shrubs and plenty of rocks, also in grasslands interspersed with shrubbery. It is similar to the Taczanowki’s Ground-Tyrant but is distinguished by smaller size, white lores that only reach the eye, and darker gray upperparts. The Cinereous is an Austral Migrant and seasonality should be considered when identifying ground-tyrants without a rufous crown patch.

Status: The Cinereous Ground-Tyrant is a generally uncommon Austral migrant to the high Andes ranging at elevations between 4000-4700 m. It is expected in Peru during the months of February through October. The Cinereous Ground-Tyrant also occurs in Bo and Ch.

Name in Spanish: Dormilona Cinérea.

Sub-species: Cinereous Ground-Tyrant (Muscisaxicola cinereus cinereus), R. A. Philippi and Landbeck, 1864.

Meaning of Name: Muscisaxicola: From the genus Muscicapa Brisson 1760 (flycatcher), and genus Saxicola (wheatear Oenanthe). cinereus: L. cinis, cineris= ashes cinereus= ash-gray, ash-coloured.

See more of the Family Tyrannidae