Ochraceous Attila Attila torridus Scientific name definitions

The Ochraceous Attila is a large, striking flycatcher of northwestern South America.  Found along the Ecuadorian coast and also barely into adjacent Peru and Colombia, this bird lives in upper levels of humid forest below 1400 meters in elevation.  It is pale yellow-orange overall with yellow rump and underparts, blackish wings, and a thick, hooked black bill.  While the bird often sits quietly in the open, its presence is given away by its loud, hollow, whistled call.  Because of the bird's small range, fragmented population, and continued loss of habitat, it is considered to be vulnerable by the IUCN Red List.

20–22 cm; 46 g. Reddish-brown eyes, dusky bill , grey legs. Paler and yellower version of A. cinnamomeus. Has cinnamon-ochraceous head and upperparts ; yellowish rump and base of tail; blackish primaries, two distinctive wingbars formed by dusky wing-coverts with broad ochraceous edges; yellowish ochraceous below, yellowest on belly. Sexes alike.

W Ecuador (locally from Esmeraldas to Loja) and NW Peru (Tumbes); old record from SW Colombia (Nariño) (2 Collar, N. J., L. P. Gonzaga, N. Krabbe, A. Madroño Nieto, L. G. Naranjo, T. A. Parker III, and D. C. Wege (1992). Threatened Birds of the Americas. The ICBP/IUCN Red Data Book. Part 2. 3rd edition. ICBP, Cambridge, United Kingdom. Close ).

Humid and semi-humid forest and edge, second growth and adjacent clearings and plantations; to 1000 m, occasionally to 2400 m.

Probably sedentary; some authors have suggested the occurrence of seasonal movements, but the nature of these remains unclear.

Arthropods (e.g. spiders) and fruit. Feeds alone or in pairs in forest mid-storey to canopy. Perches quietly and almost motionless, before suddenly sallying short distances or fluttering to glean items from foliage and branches.

Call a loud, clear, downslurred “whoeeeer” whistle, similar to call of Black Hawk-eagle (Spizaetus tyrannus), sometimes extended to “whoeeeer, wheéu, whit-whit”; also sharp “wheek” or “keek” call. Song a rising series of whistles, “wuuu-wuuu-weee-weee-weeé-weeé-wuyeép”, in cadence similar to song of A. cinnamomeus.

No information. Presumably breeds during wet season (Jan–Mar).

VULNERABLE. Rare to locally uncommon. Known from c. 30 sites in W Ecuador and NW Peru; one 1958 record from SW Colombia. Global population of several thousand individuals; seriously declining and becoming increasingly fragmented in its relatively small range of c. 5000 km² owing to continuing deforestation. Below 900 m, only 4·4% of original forest cover remains in W Ecuador, with most of this destroyed since c. 1960. High levels of habitat loss are continuing, at least in unprotected areas, in both Ecuador and Peru, and all remaining lowland forest could soon be lost if effective action is not taken. In higher parts of the species’ range, rates of habitat destruction have not been so great, but degradation by livestock grazing, logging and land conversion for agriculture and plantations continue. Even some protected areas adversely affected by grazing, illegal settling and deforestation. The species is somewhat tolerant of disturbance, as it is found in patchy forest fragments; nevertheless, strongholds are in reserves such as, in Ecuador, Machalilla National Park, where it is fairly common, Jauneche Biological Research Station, Río Palenque Science Centre, Loma Alta Ecological Reserve, and Tinalandia Private Reserve, and, in Peru, Northwest Peru Biosphere Reserve. Historical specimens originate from the area now protected as Cotacachi-Cayapas Ecological Reserve, and a concentration of known localities exists at Alamor and on W slope of Cordillera de Celica (both in Loja); reserves should be established here, as continued deforestation had left few forest patches greater than 50 ha ten years ago. Rare at Caberecas de Bilsa, in Esmeraldas, and at Manta Real (designated for protection), in Cañar.