Grey-crowned flatbill

Grey-crowned flatbill[1]
in Manaus, Brazil
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Tyrannidae
Genus:	Tolmomyias
Species:	T. poliocephalus
Binomial name
Tolmomyias poliocephalus (Taczanowski, 1884)

The grey-crowned flatbill or grey-crowned flycatcher (Tolmomyias poliocephalus) is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae. It is found in humid forest in the Amazon and Atlantic Forest in South America. It closely resembles the yellow-margined and yellow-olive flatbills, but its lower mandible is dark with a pale base. It is a fairly common bird with a wide range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated it as "least concern".

Description

Tolmomyias flatbills are robust small birds with broad beaks. The grey-crowned flatbill is about 12 cm (4.7 in) long and has a generally yellowish-green plumage, a grey cap and nape, and a yellowish throat marked with grey. The iris is usually a pale colour and the mandible has a dark tip. Several species of flatbill overlap in their range and are easily confused with each other visually, but their songs are mostly distinctive. The grey-crowned flatbill's song is a series of whistles rising in pitch with the final whistle trembling – "tuee? tuee? TUEE? tuEEuEE? tuEEuEE?". The only other similar song in the genus is that of the yellow-margined flatbill (Tolmomyias assimilis) which has a more rasping quality;^[3] flatbills in this genus are difficult to tell apart and the voice is usually the best means of recognition.^[4] The stance of this species is more horizontal than other members of the genus, and it sometimes cocks its tail.^[4]

Distribution and habitat

The grey-crowned flatbill is native to the Amazon region of South America. Its range includes Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela.^[2] Its maximum altitudinal range extends to 1,000 m (3,300 ft) or locally higher. It generally inhabits the middle and upper canopy of the rainforest as well as forest edges, river valleys and tall secondary forest growth.^[3] The nest is shaped like a bag and has a tubular entrance near the base; it is often hung near a wasp nest.^[4]

Status

The grey-crowned flatbill has a very wide range in the Amazon rainforest and on the lower slopes on the eastern side of the Andes. It is said to be a fairly common species and its population trend may be declining slightly but not at a rate that would cause concern, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".^[2]

References

External links

• Xeno-canto: audio recordings of the grey-crowned flatbill
• Data related to Tolmomyias poliocephalus at Wikispecies