Family Tyrant-flycatchers (Tyrannidae)
Least Concern
Social Flycatcher (Myiozetetes similis)
Taxonomy
French: Tyran sociable German: Rotscheitel-Maskentyrann Spanish: Bienteveo sociable
Taxonomy:
Muscicapa similis
Spix
, 1825,mouth of Rio Madeira, Brazil
.See M. cayanensis. Rather marked differences among races in commonest daytime call, suggesting four groups: (a) primulus, hesperis and texensis; (b) columbianus and grandis; (c) nominate; and (d) pallidiventris#R; however, morphological differences appear slight, and may not coincide with these groupings, so more study required. Proposed Peruvian races connivens (Urubamba) and fiedleri (Ucayali) included in nominate. Seven subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution
M. s. primulus
van Rossem, 1930 – W Mexico (S Sonora S to N Sinaloa).
M. s. hesperis
A. R. Phillips, 1966 – W Mexico (C Sinaloa and S Zacatecas E to SW Puebla, S at least to SE Oaxaca).
M. s. texensis
(Giraud, 1841) – E & S Mexico (from SW Tamaulipas S through Yucatán Peninsula and Chiapas), Belize, much of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica (except SW).
M. s. columbianus
Cabanis & Heine, 1860 – #RSW Costa Rica and Panama, N coast of Colombia (S from Caribbean lowlands through Magdalena Valley to Huila) and N Venezuela (E to Sucre, S to N Amazonas and N Bolívar).
M. s. grandis
Lawrence, 1871 – W Ecuador (S from W Esmeraldas) and extreme NW Peru (lowlands E of Andes and Pacific slope in Tumbes).
M. s. similis
(Spix, 1825) – E Colombia E of E Andes (S from Norte de Santander), SE Venezuela (Amazonas, S Bolívar), French Guiana, E Ecuador, NE & E Peru, Amazonian Brazil (except most drainages of R Tocantins and R Xingu) and N Bolivia (S to Cochabamba and N Santa Cruz).
M. s. pallidiventris
O. M. O. Pinto, 1935 – E Brazil (E Pará E to Paraíba, S to Mato Grosso do Sul and N Rio Grande do Sul), E Paraguay (W at least to Caaguazú) and NE Argentina (Misiones).
Descriptive notes
16–18·5 cm; 24–27 g. Nominate race has head mostly dark grey to brownish-grey, large bright red to orangish-red coronal patch (mostly concealed), broad... read more
Voice
Variety of loud, excited, generally strident calls; most common is a shrill and piercing “see... read more
Habitat
Moist to humid and semi-arid semi-open lowland areas with scattered bushes and trees, shrubby... read more
Food and feeding
Insects, also occasionally tadpoles; considerable quantities of small berries, arillate seeds, and other fruits also consumed. Most often... read more
Breeding
Season in most areas thought to be rather protracted: recorded in Feb–Jun in Costa Rica and May–Jul in Venezuela (Hato... read more
Movements
Not well known; probably resident in many areas and at least partially migratory in others. In... read more
Status and conservation
Not globally threatened. Common to very common in most of range. Thrives in variety of semi-open habitats, including those that have been converted and those in agricultural... read more
Does ''SW Costa Rica''
Does ''SW Costa Rica'' include the Osa Peninsula?
Trying to figure out if I've seen ssp M. s. columbianus there, or if they were M. s. texensis.