Long-tailed Tyrant (Colonia colonus)
[order] PASSERIFORMES | [family] Tyrannidae | [latin] Colonia colonus | [UK] Long-tailed Tyrant | [FR] Tyran a longue queue | [DE] Langschwanz-Tyrann | [ES] Mosquero Colilargo | [NL] Langstaarttiran
Subspecies
| Genus | Species | subspecies | Breeding Range | Breeding Range 2 | Non Breeding Range |
| Muscigralla | colonus | ||||
| Colonia | colonus | LA | se Honduras to ne Argentina | ||
| Colonia | colonus | colonus | |||
| Colonia | colonus | fuscicapillus | |||
| Colonia | colonus | leuconota | |||
| Colonia | colonus | niveiceps | |||
| Colonia | colonus | poecilonota |
Physical charateristics
Its two principal features are the white forehead and crown on an otherwise mainly black body and the two, very elongated (up to 12 cms – 5″) central tail feathers. It also has an inconspicuous white patch on the rump.
Listen to the sound of Long-tailed Tyrant
[audio:http://www.aviflevoland.nl/sounddb/L/Long-tailed Tyrant.mp3]
Copyright remark: Most sounds derived from xeno-canto
| wingspan min.: | 0 | cm | wingspan max.: | 0 | cm |
| size min.: | 23 | cm | size max.: | 28 | cm |
| incubation min.: | 0 | days | incubation max.: | 0 | days |
| fledging min.: | 0 | days | fledging max.: | 0 | days |
| broods: | 1 | eggs min.: | 2 | ||
| eggs max.: | 3 |
Range
Latin America : Southeast Honduras to Northeast Argentina
Habitat
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, and heavily degraded former forest. It inhabits the canopy, borders and small clearings of humid forest and secondary woodland where its main requirement is some dead trees or exposed branches from which it can sally to catch flying insects.
Reproduction
Unusually for a flycatcher, it builds its nest in a hole or cavity in a tree which is often a tight fit for a bird with such a long tail. THe nest is a pile of leafs 8-30 meter above ground. Clutch size is 2-3 eggs. The nest is defendied against intrude3rs and the female will roost in the nest weeks before the actual egg-laying.
Feeding habits
It is common in small clearings in forested regions, at the edges of forests and in capoeiras. It spends long hours looking for insects, catching them during quick flights.
Conservation
This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be stable, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size has not been quantified, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
Migration
Resident but Southern populations migrate during austral winter
Distribution map
