Red-rumped Bush-Tyrant (Cnemarchus erythropygius)

Identification & Behavior: ~23 cm (9 in). The Red-rumped Bush-Tyrant has gray upperparts, head, and breast. The forehead, sides of the head, and throat are whitish faintly streaked with dusky. It has white webbing on the tertial and secondary flight feathers forming a white patch on the lower back. The belly and rump are bright rufous. It has extensive rufous webbing on the tail feathers but not on the flight feathers. It forages in humid scrub, humid grasslands interspersed with shrubs, and Polylepis woodlands. It often perches on top of bushes or trees. It is similar to the Streak-throated Bush-Tyrant but is distinguished by having a whitish head, a white patch on the back, a gray breast, and rufous webbing only on the tail.

Status: The Red-rumped Bush-Tyrant is rare in humid paramo habitats near tree line at elevations ranging between 3000-4300 m. It also occurs in Co, Ec, and Bo.

Name in Spanish: Tirano-Montés de Lomo Rojo.

Sub-species: Red-rumped Bush-Tyrant (Cnemarchus erythropygius eerythropygius), (P. L. Sclater), 1853.

Meaning of Name: Cnemarchus: Gr. knemos= mountain-slope and arkhos= ruler, chief. erythropygius: Gr. eruthros= red and pugios= rumped.

See more of the Family Tyrannidae