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Tawny-rumped Tyrannulet Phyllomyias uropygialis Scientific name definitions

John W. Fitzpatrick
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated January 1, 2004

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Originally Appeared in

HBW Alive

Introduction

The Tawny-rumped Tyrannulet is a lovely flycatcher of the northern Andes.  Found from western Venezuela south to Bolivia, the species lives in forest and edge habitats from 1800 to 3100 meters in elevation.  This is a striking species, olive-brown above with a black cap, white supercilium, and short black bill, cinnamon rump and tail edging, black wings with two buffy wing bars, gray throat and chest, and yellow belly and crissum.  The species can be found by listening for its high, thin, two-part call which it gives while foraging solitarily or within mixed flocks.

Field Identification

11 cm; 8–9 g. A slightly crested, small tyrannulet. Has white lores and supercilium, dark brown crown, grading to brownish-olive on back; rump and uppertail-coverts bright cinnamon; wings dark brown, two bright buffy wingbars, edges of inner remiges broadly yellow, edges of outer remiges bright orange-buff; tail dusky, edged with buff; throat greyish-white, lower face greyish; breast and flanks olive-brown, grading to yellow to yellowish-white on belly; iris dark brown; bill small and rounded, black; legs black. Sexes alike. Juvenile undescribed.

Systematics History

See P. nigrocapillus. Monotypic.

Subspecies

Monotypic.

Distribution

Very local in Andes of W Venezuela (Mérida), Colombia (S to W Meta in E cordillera, in Cauca and Nariño in W), W & E Ecuador, and E slope in Peru (also on W slope in Piura and Cajamarca), Bolivia (S to Tarija) and extreme NW Argentina (N Salta).

Habitat

Upper montane humid forest, especially in thickets, edges of clearings, tree-line shrubbery, brushy washes, stunted elfin forest, and forest edges with Chusquea bamboo. At 2350–3000 m in Venezuela, 1500–2600 in Colombia, mostly 2100–3000 in Ecuador, and 1800–3000 m in SE Peru (2750 m in Arequipa, on W slope).

Movement

Mainly resident, but possibly some seasonal movements to slightly lower elevations; the three records on W slope of Peruvian Andes may represent wandering individuals.

Diet and Foraging

Insects; probably some small fruits. Forages actively, usually in pairs or small family groups with mixed-species flocks, in canopy or upper parts of dense shrubs. Perches upright; feeds in manner of a parulidae warbler, with perch-gleans and short upward hover-gleans.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Inconspicuous 2-note “tseep-tseep” or “tzeep, zéé-u”, singly or in series, especially early in morning.

Breeding

Fledgling observed in Dec in Bolivia. No other information.

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife LC Least Concern
Not globally threatened. Rare to locally fairly common; most common in Bolivia. Regular near Hotel Los Frailes (Mérida), in Venezuela; occurs in several protected areas throughout range, including four national parks in Ecuador and probably all national parks from N Peru (Abiseo, in San Martín) S to Bolivia (Carrasco); in Argentina, recorded only in Baritú National Park (N Salta). Has relatively large range, within which it exhibits tolerance of degraded habitats; unlikely to become threatened in immediate future.
Distribution of the Tawny-rumped Tyrannulet - Range Map
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  • Year-round
  • Migration
  • Breeding
  • Non-Breeding
Distribution of the Tawny-rumped Tyrannulet

eBird and Macaulay Library

Recommended Citation

Fitzpatrick, J. W. (2020). Tawny-rumped Tyrannulet (Phyllomyias uropygialis), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.tartyr1.01
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