Family Tyrant-flycatchers (Tyrannidae)
Least Concern
Southern Scrub-flycatcher (Sublegatus modestus)
Taxonomy
French: Moucherolle modeste German: Pantanalstrauchtyrann Spanish: Mosquero matorralero sureño
Taxonomy:
M[uscipeta]. modesta
Wied
, 1831,Camamú and Bahia, Brazil
.
Subspecies and Distribution
S. m. modestus
(Wied, 1831) – C Peru (Urubamba Valley in Cuzco) and N Bolivia E through S Brazil (E to Maranhão, Pernambuco and Paraná).
S. m. brevirostris
(d’Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1837) – S Bolivia and Paraguay S to N Argentina (S to Buenos Aires and Mendoza) and E to Uruguay; regular non-breeding visitor N to E Peru and C Amazonia.
Descriptive notes
13 cm; 9·5–13 g. Nominate race is greyish-brown above, with almost imperceptible pale supercilium; wings dusky grey, with paler greyish wingbars; tail dusky; chin... read more
Voice
Dawn song of lowland birds a loud, repeated 2-syllable “pseee-ú”; call note a soft “cheer”.
Habitat
Breeds in arid scrub and open deciduous woodland, mainly in very dry habitats; during migration and... read more
Food and feeding
Arthropods recorded. Forages inconspicuously in shrubs and small trees, perching upright with tail vertically downwards; food items... read more
Breeding
Nest-building in Sept and many nests with eggs or young Oct–Dec in Argentina; singing and birds with enlarged testes in late Oct in N... read more
Movements
Migratory in S. Populations breeding in Argentina (brevirostris) reach N at least to W... read more
Status and conservation
Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Uncommon. Occurs in several protected areas, e.g. Manu National Park and Biosphere Reserve and Tambopata-Candamo Reserved Zone, in... read more
See S. arenarum. Dawn song of present species distinct from those of S. arenarum and S. obscurior in number of notes per phrase or length of longest phrase (4) and higher frequency (3), and daytime call has much higher frequency (ns[3])#R. Birds in highlands of Bolivia, which are longer-winged but resident, may represent an unnamed cryptic species. Two subspecies recognized.