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Black-billed Flycatcher | Aphanotriccus audax
Nelsons tiran | Mosquero piquinegro
The Black-billed Flycatcher is a small, olive-green tyrant flycatcher of the understorey of humid forest in eastern Panama. It resembles an Empidonax flycatcher, but has an all-black bill and ochre-tinged wing-bars. The species is scarce and inconspicuous in the understorey.
Voice
Short, dry calls and a brief series of rapid notes; poorly known.
Recording: Brayan Coral Jaramillo — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · converted to mono · xeno-canto
Identification
12 cm, with an all-black bill. Upperparts olive-green, head slightly greyer, with a white supraloral stripe and a narrow pale eye-ring. Wings dark with two pale, ochre-tinged wing-bars. Throat whitish, breast olive-grey, belly pale yellow. Male and female are alike.
Confusion species
Empidonax flycatchers such as Acadian Flycatcher Empidonax virescens, which winters in the area, have a pale lower mandible and no white supraloral stripe. Tawny-chested Flycatcher Aphanotriccus capitalis does not occur in Panama and has an ochre breast.
Habitat
Understorey of humid lowland and foothill forest, especially in damp, dense places along streams and in swampy forest. It hunts insects from a low branch.
Where the bird is most at home, classified by the vegetation units of Mexico and Central America.
Range and movements
In the guide area only in eastern Panama, mainly in Darién. Outside the guide area in northern Colombia.
- Resident
- dark = core range, pale = thinly spread
How and when to look
Scarce and quiet; the best chance is in the forest understorey along streams in Darién.
Conservation status
Near threatened. Its limited range is vulnerable to deforestation; scarce in the guide area.
Scientific name
Aphanotriccus audax | (Nelson, 1912)
Nelson described the species in 1912 as Praedo audax; because it was later moved to another genus, the author and year stand in brackets. The genus Aphanotriccus was introduced in 1905 by Ridgway. Aphanotriccus is Greek, from aphanēs 'unseen, obscure' and trikkos, an unidentified small bird, used for tyrant flycatchers. audax is Latin for 'bold, daring'. The specimen the first description was based on came from Cana, Darién, Panama.