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Social Flycatcher | Myiozetetes similis
Roodkruintiran | Luis gregario | Bentevizinho-de-penacho-vermelho
The Social Flycatcher is one of the most widespread flycatchers of the tropical lowlands and lives in forest edge, gardens, parks and along water. With its black-and-white striped head and yellow belly it resembles a small kiskadee with a short bill. It is noisy and lives in pairs or small groups.
Voice
An excited, repeated chee-chee-chee and a rasping kree-yoo; pairs and groups often call together.
Recording: JAYRSON ARAUJO DE OLIVEIRA — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · xeno-canto
Identification
16–18 cm, with a short, black bill. The crown is dark grey to blackish with a concealed orange-red crown patch, bordered by a broad white supercilium that nearly meets on the forehead; a dark mask runs through the eye. The upperparts are olive-brown to olive-green, the wing feathers with narrow pale edges. The throat is white, the underparts bright yellow. The sexes are alike; juveniles lack the crown patch and have rufous edges to the wing feathers.
Confusion species
Rusty-margined Flycatcher Myiozetetes cayanensis has rufous edges to the flight feathers, a darker brown back and a yellow-orange crown patch; it is more tied to water. Grey-capped Flycatcher Myiozetetes granadensis has a grey crown, only a short white stripe above the eye and no black mask. Lesser Kiskadee Philohydor lictor has a long, thin bill. Great Kiskadee Pitangus sulphuratus and Boat-billed Flycatcher Megarynchus pitangua are much larger, with a heavy bill.
Habitat
Forest edge, semi-open country with trees, riverbanks, plantations, parks, gardens and villages, from sea level to about 1500 m. It catches insects from a lookout perch and eats many berries and small fruits. The nest is a domed ball of grass and fibres with a side entrance, often close to a wasp nest.
Where the bird is most at home, classified by the vegetation units of the Andes and the west coast.
Range and movements
Colombia: widespread in the lowlands and lower valleys on both sides of the Andes. Ecuador: in the western and eastern lowlands. Peru: in the north-west (Tumbes) and in the lowlands east of the Andes. Bolivia: in the lowlands of the north, centre and east. Absent from the Galápagos. Outside the guide area from Mexico to Panama, in Venezuela, the Guianas, Brazil, Paraguay and northern Argentina.
- Resident
- dark = core range, pale = thinly spread
How and when to look
Check gardens, villages and riverbanks for noisy pairs with a black-and-white striped head; look at the wing edges to separate it from Rusty-margined Flycatcher.
Conservation status
Least Concern. The species is widespread and benefits from open and inhabited country.
Scientific name
Myiozetetes similis | (Spix, 1825)
Spix described the species in 1825 as Muscicapa similis; because it was later moved to another genus, the author and year stand in brackets. The genus Myiozetetes was introduced in 1859 by Sclater. The genus name combines Greek muias, 'fly', and zētētēs, 'searcher'. Latin similis, 'similar', for its resemblance to related flycatchers. The specimen the first description was based on came from Mouth of the Rio Madeira, Brazil.