Yellow-breasted flatbill

Tolmomyias flaviventris

Photo by Fayard Mohammed (Internet Bird Collection)

Common name:
yellow-breasted flatbill (en); bico-chato-amarelo (pt); platyrhynque à poitrine jaune (fr); picoplano pechiamarillo (es); gelbbauch-breitschnabeltyrann (de)


Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Tyrannidae


Range:
This South American species is found from Colombia and Venezuela south to Peru and south-eastern Brazil. It also occurs in Trinidad and Tobago.


Size:
These birds are 12-13 cm long and weigh 10-13 g.


Habitat:
They are mostly found in tropical and sub-tropical forests, both in dry areas and moist areas, but also in mangroves, swamp forests, dry savannas, scrublands, rural gardens and plantations. They are found from sea level up to an altitude of 1.100 m.


Diet:
Yellow-breasted flatbills perch in high spots, from where they sally forth to catch flying insects.


Breeding:
These birds nest in a bottle-shaped structure, made of plant fibres and suspended from a branch, usually near a wasp nest, which presumably provides some protection from predators. There the female lays 2-3 creamy-white eggs with violet markings, which she incubates alone for 17-18 days. The chicks fledge around 18 days after hatching.


Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
The yellow-breasted flatbill has a very large breeding range and is described as common. This species is able to thrive in some converted habitats, thus its population is suspected to be at least stable.