Cliff Flycatcher (Hirundinea ferruginea)

[order] Passeriformes | [family] Tyrannidae | [latin] Hirundinea ferruginea | [UK] Cliff Flycatcher | [FR] Moucherolle hirondelle | [DE] Schwalbentyrann | [ES] Atrapamoscas de Precipicios | [IT] Pigliamosche dei dirupi | [NL] Zwaluwtiran

It has a conspicuous cinnamon rufous-rump and base of the tail.

It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.

Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montanes, and heavily degraded former forest. It typically inhabits cerros, cliffs, rocky outcrops, canyon walls, landslides and steep banks bordered by secondary or mature forest, as well as similar man-made habitats such as cuttings, bridges and quarries, although it is also found in drier, more sparsely wooded areas in Bolivia and uses ledges and building facades in Brazil.

Nest is a small open cup made out of grass. It is placed in a hole on a cliff or ledge of a cliff. Clutch size is 2 eggs, no further data.

It feeds on insects, which it hawks for in spectacular, long aerial sallies, swooping like a swallow.

It has an estimated global Extent of Occurrence of 6,310,000 km². The global population size has not been quantified, but it is believed to be large as the species is described as ‘fairly common’ in at least parts of its range (Stotz et al. 1996). Global population trends have not been quantified, but the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e. declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations). For these reasons, the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

Resident but Southern populations migrate during austral winter