Tawny-breasted Flycatcher (Myiobius villosus)

Identification & Behavior: ~14 cm (5.5 in). The Tawny-breasted Flycatcher has dark brown upperparts with a black tail, which the bird often spreads wide while foraging for insects. It has a light yellow rump. It also has a golden-yellow crown patch that is better defined in the male. The breast and parts of the underparts are tawny. The bill is black with orange on the base of the mandible. It forages in the understory of humid montane forests where it appears to be associated with streams. It is more likely to overlap with the similar Black-tailed Flycatcher along the foothill of the eastern Andes but is distinguished by larger size, a more saturated plumage, and a rich tawny breast.

Status: The Tawny-breasted Flycatcher is uncommon to rare in montane forests of the east slope of the Andes at elevations ranging between 650-2000 m. It also occurs in Co, Ec, and Bo.

Name in Spanish: Mosquerito de Pecho Leonado.

Sub-species: Tawny-breasted Flycatcher (Myiobius villosus clarus), J. T. Zimmer, 1939.  E Ecuador and E Peru.
( villosus peruvianus), Todd, 1922.  SE Peru and NW Bolivia.

Meaning of Name: Gr Myiobius=muia, muias= fly and bios= living, livelihood. villosus: L. villus= shaggy hair, villosus= hairy.

See more of the Family Tyrannidae