The Yellow-bellied Chat-tyrant (Ochthoeca diadema) is a species of bird

Bird

Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...

 in the order Passeriformes and the family Tyrannidae. It is 12.2 cms (4.7 inches) in length. It is chunky bird with a short, thin bill. It is mostly olive with an ochre yellow forehead and long yellow eyebrow. It has dusky colored wings and tail with two rufous tail bars. It is mostly found in Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

, Ecuador

Ecuador

Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

, Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

, and Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

. It feeds in separated pairs hunting near the ground in foliage.

Taxonomy

The Yellow-bellied Chat-tyrant is a bird of the order Passeriformes which contains more than half the birds species in the world. Inside this order, the Yellow-bellied Chat-tyrant is of the family Tyrannidae also known as the Tyrant Flycatchers. These birds reside in the Americas. There are 400 species in this family. They are mostly plain colors such as brown, grey, and yellow. They tend to be strictly Insectivorous, but some will eat berries and small invertebrates. Most species share the sallying feeding technique.

Description

The Yellow-bellied Chat-Tyrant is a relatively small bird, around 12.2 centimetres (4.8 in) in length. It is dark olive with a darker colored crown. It has an ochre yellow forehead which continues as a narrow eyebrow. It has blackish lores and greyish brown wings and tail. It also has a bright yellow belly and under-tail coverts. It has two rufous wing bars and rufous wing edgings.

Distribution and habitat

Its natural habitat's are subtropical, tropical moist montane forests, and cloud forests. Commonly found between 1900 and(-), but can be found in the range of 1700 to 3100 m (5,577.4 to 10,170.6 ft). They are considered uncommon to fairly common in these ranges. They like to stay in brushy hillsides in the forests of Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

, Ecuador

Ecuador

Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

, Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

, and Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

. Though they are common, they are rarely seen because they hide in the dense mountain understory.

Foraging

The Yellow-bellied Chat-Tyrant is a quiet, retiring bird that tries to stay hidden at all times. They tend to perch alone, fairly erect, 0.5 – above the ground in mossy understory. They tend to flick their tails up and sally short distances in the understory while hunting insects in the foliage making audible snaps. They also will hop from twigs to the ground. They are sometimes considered fearless but typically inconspicuous, hiding in thick undergrowth. They can occasionally be found in mixed flocks, but do not follow them.

Vocalizations

In the morning (at dawn) this bird sings with a fast, thin, and delicate trill that ascends slightly like fingers running up a comb. During the day the song is a long, buzzy trill that sags in the middle then ascends at the end. There is also a longer version during the day that slowly rises then drops slightly at the end. It also has a "conflict" call that slowly rises then immediately followed is a slow descending trill over and over with other sharp bickering notes. The bird also will sing for a short time at dusk.

Breeding

They tend to breed from January-October in Colombia and March-December in Ecuador. They do not migrate, making them a resident bird. They tend to make mossy ball nests on banks containing 4 creamy white eggs.

External links

• http://www.natureserve.org/infonatura/servlet/InfoNatura?sourceTemplate=Ltabular_report.wmt&loadTemplate=Ldetail_report.wmt&selectedReport=&summaryView=Ltabular_report.wmt&elKey=652112&paging=home&save=true&startIndex=1&nextStartIndex=1&reset=false&offPageSelectedElKey=652112&offPageSelectedElType=Species&offPageYesNo=true&selectedIndexes=652112 with range maps of the species
• http://www.xeno-canto.org/america/species.php?species_nr2=2546.00 with a full sound profile of the bird
• http://ibc.lynxeds.com/species/yellow-bellied-chat-tyrant-ochthoeca-diadema with videos, photos, and song