White-lored Tyrannulet (Ornithion inerme)

Identification & Behavior: ~8.5 cm (3.3 in). The White-lored Tyrannulet has olive-gray upperparts and gray crown. It has a distinctive narrow white stripe from eye-to-eye over the forehead. The wing coverts are black with two broken whitish wing bars. The bill is black. The throat is grayish or yellowish grading to yellow-olive toward the belly.  It forages high in the canopy of mature Amazonian forests. It is similar to the Yellow-crowned Tyrannulet but is distinguished by the narrow white stripe from eye-to-eye over the forehead, by having black wing coverts with broken wing bars, and by favoring the canopy of mature forests.

Status: The White-lored Tyrannulet is fairly common but rather difficult to see due to its small size and the habit of foraging in the forest canopy. However, it is rather vocal and widespread in Amazonia reaching elevations of up to 1000 m along the east slope of the Andes. The White-lored Tyrannulate also occurs in Co, Ec, Br, and Bo.

Name in Spanish: Moscareta de Lores Blancos.

Sub-species: White-lored Tyrannulet (Ornithion inerme), Hartlaub, 1853.

Meaning of Name: Ornithion: Gr. ornis, ornithos= bird, ornithion= little bird. inerme: L. in= not and arma, armorum= armour, inermis= helpless, inoffensive.

See more of the Family Tyrannidae