Yellow-breasted Flycatcher (Tolmomyias flaviventris) Science Article 1
abstract
In Surinam, the Yellow-breasted Flycatcher inhabits tall mangroves and shade trees in the coffee plantations in the coastal plain. It feeds on small insects plucked in flight from among the foliage. The call is a shrill and high pitched tchee-ee. A display consisting of slow waving movements of the wings moved alternately, was observed. The nest is a pensile, retort-shaped structure with the entrance at the bottom on the side, attached to slender twigs and usually at a great height. The presumed female alone builds the nest of yellowish fibers; building lasted 34 days in one case. Most nests (76 percent) are built near wasp nests. The 2 or 3 eggs are laid on alternate days and only the female incubates. Incubation lasted in one case 17 days, the eggs hatching on successive days. The nestlings are dark in color at hatching and devoid of down. They are fed on insects–one at the time–by both parents. They are brooded by one of the parents until the 4th day. The breeding season is a protracted one but mainly during the long rainy season. Apart from being robbed by snakes, the nests are sometimes pilfered by other birds and taken over by the Piratic Flycatcher.
F. HAVERSCHMIDT, Wilson Bulletin: Vol. 86, No. 3