Tawny-crowned Greenlet (Tunchiornis ochraceiceps)

Identification & Behavior: ~12 cm (4.7 in). The Tawny-crowned Greenlet has brown-olive upperparts with a tawny forehead and crown. The underparts are yellowish-gray. The iris is whitish. The bill is brown. It forages in the understory of the forest in Amazonia generally with mixed species flocks. It is similar to the Gray-chested Greenlet but is distinguished by having a tawny forehead and crown and by foraging in the understory of the forest.

Status: The Tawny-crowned Greenlet is uncommon and widespread in Amazonia where it is known to range up to 1200 m along the foothill of the Andes. It also occurs in Co, Ec, Br, and Bo.

Name in Spanish: Verdillo de Corona Leonada.

Sub-species: Tawny-crowned Greenlet Tunchiornis ochraceiceps ferrugineifrons), P. L. Sclater, 1862.  SE Venezuela, Amazonas, Bolívar except for E and adjacent W Guyana, SE & E Colombia (S from Meta) and E Ecuador (E of Andes), NE Peru and NW Brazil (Roraima W of R Negro, S to R Juruá and R Purús).
(Tunchiornis ochraceiceps viridior), (Todd), 1929.  S Peru and N Bolivia (E to Santa Cruz).

Meaning of Name: Tunchiornis: Tunche or Tunchi= Peruvian myth. El Tunche is the wondering soul of the dead or whistling guardian spirit of the rainforests; ornis, ornithos= bird. ochraceiceps: Gr. okhra= yellow ochre and caput, capitis, ceps = head, capped.

Formerly known as Hylophilus ochraceiceps (2018).

See more of the Family Vireonidae