Bran-colored Flycatcher

Quick Facts

  • Scientific Name: Myiophobus fasciatus
  • Spanish Name: Atrapamoscas canelo
  • Family: Tyrannidae
  • Known Nicknames: Bran-colored Flycatcher, Fasciated Flycatcher
  • Average Length: 12–13 cm / 4.7–5.1 in
  • Average Weight: 10–12 g / 0.35–0.42 oz
  • Wingspan: 18–21 cm / 7.1–8.3 in
  • Key Feature: Pale buffy supercilium and dark streaking on the breast
  • Primary Diet: Insectivore (primarily flying insects)
  • Range: Costa Rica and Panama through South America to northern Argentina and Uruguay
  • Habitat: Open woodlands, forest edges, second growth, and scrubby areas
  • Social Structure: Solitary or in pairs
  • Nesting/Breeding: Open cup nest in a fork of a tree or shrub
  • Conservation Status: Least Concern (LC)
  • Population Trend: Stable

The Bran-colored Flycatcher (*Myiophobus fasciatus*) is a small, active passerine bird found across Central and South America, renowned for its subtle yet striking plumage and energetic foraging behavior. Its general appearance features a warm, tawny-brown back and crown, contrasting with a pale yellowish belly and a distinctive, buffy wing-bar that flashes in flight. The most unique characteristic is its namesake "bran" hue, but its special feature lies in its elusive, skulking nature: it prefers dense undergrowth and forest edges, where it performs short, sallying flights to catch insects, often flicking its tail nervously. This species also exhibits a subtle yet diagnostic pale eyebrow stripe and a faint, reddish-brown wash on the rump, making it a rewarding sight for patient birdwatchers.

Fun Facts

Despite its drab brown and buff plumage, the Bran-colored Flycatcher has a surprisingly flamboyant secret: during courtship, the male performs a peculiar "butterfly-like" display, fluttering his wings rapidly while hovering in place, as if suspended by invisible strings. It also has a quirky habit of frequently twitching its tail upward and sideways, a motion that helps flush out hidden insects from foliage. As an adaptation for its open scrub and forest-edge habitat, it often builds its delicate cup nest in the fork of a low bush, cleverly camouflaging it with spiderwebs and lichen to evade predators.

Habitats & Distribution

The Bran-colored Flycatcher occupies a broad range of open and semi-open habitats from sea level up to around 2,000 meters in elevation. It is typically found in scrublands, forest edges, secondary growth, clearings, and along riversides, as well as in agricultural areas such as pastures with scattered trees and hedgerows. It avoids dense, humid forest interiors, preferring disturbed or edge environments. Geographically, its distribution spans from Costa Rica in Central America south through Panama and across most of South America east of the Andes, including Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and northern Argentina. It is absent from the Amazon basin’s interior and the higher Andes, but occurs widely in the Chaco, Cerrado, and Atlantic Forest regions.

Behaviours & Reproduction

The Bran-colored Flycatcher is generally solitary or found in pairs, with no complex social structure outside of the breeding season. Mating involves the male performing a simple, upright display while singing from a prominent perch, often flicking its wings to attract a female. The pair forms a monogamous bond for the breeding cycle, and both sexes participate in building a deep, cup-shaped nest, frequently suspended from a forked branch or placed in a shrub. A unique reproductive strategy is the female’s reliance on a single, thick layer of soft plant fibers and spider webs to construct the nest, which is often camouflaged with lichen or moss. Clutch size is typically two eggs, and while the female incubates alone, both parents feed the nestlings. There is no evidence of cooperative breeding or brood parasitism within this species.

Diet

The Bran-colored Flycatcher is primarily an insectivore, with its diet consisting almost entirely of small arthropods. It actively forages by making short, sallying flights from a low perch to snatch flying insects like flies, moths, and beetles out of the air, a behavior known as hawking. A particularly interesting aspect of its feeding strategy is that it often joins mixed-species foraging flocks, allowing it to exploit a wider range of prey by following larger, more active birds that flush insects from vegetation. Additionally, while it mostly feeds on aerial prey, it will occasionally glean small spiders and caterpillars from leaves and twigs, especially during the breeding season when it needs extra protein for its chicks.

Colors

The Bran-colored Flycatcher (Myiophobus fasciatus) is predominantly brownish-olive above with a subtle rufous tint on the rump and tail. Its underparts are pale buff to whitish, heavily streaked with dark brown on the breast and flanks, forming a distinct "fasciated" pattern. It has a faint, pale supercilium and two narrow, buffy wing bars. A unique feature is a partially concealed, bright yellow-orange or ochraceous crown patch, only visible when the bird raises its feathers during display.