Slate-headed Tody-Flycatcher
Open Bird Bucket List ↗Quick Facts
- Scientific Name: Poecilotriccus sylvia
- Spanish Name: Tirano-todi cabecigrís
- Family: Tyrannidae
- Known Nicknames: Slate-headed Tody-tyrant
- Average Length: 9–10 cm / 3.5–4 in
- Average Weight: 6–8 g / 0.21–0.28 oz
- Wingspan: N/A
- Key Feature: Slate-gray head contrasting with olive upperparts and pale yellow underparts
- Primary Diet: Insectivore
- Range: Central America from southern Mexico to western Panama
- Habitat: Humid lowland forests, forest edges, and secondary growth
- Social Structure: Solitary or in pairs
- Nesting/Breeding: Pyriform (pear-shaped) nest with side entrance, suspended from a branch
- Conservation Status: Least Concern (LC)
- Population Trend: Stable
The Slate-headed Tody-Flycatcher (*Poecilotriccus sylvia*) is a diminutive jewel of the Neotropical forests, measuring just over 9 centimeters in length. Its most striking feature is the namesake slate-gray crown and nape, which sharply contrasts with a bright lemon-yellow throat and belly, set off by olive-green wings and a white-tipped tail. A unique characteristic of this species is its disproportionately large, slightly flattened bill, perfectly adapted for snatching small insects and spiders from the undersides of leaves in a characteristic "gleaning" foraging style. Found from southern Mexico through much of Amazonia, this active bird is often seen in pairs or small family groups, and its presence is frequently announced by a sharp, electric *tsee-tsip* call that cuts through the dense understory.
Fun Facts
Despite its name, the Slate-headed Tody-Flycatcher is not a true flycatcher but a member of the tyrant-flycatcher family, a group known for its sassy, upright posture. One of its quirkiest behaviors is "tail-wagging," where it rapidly flicks its tail up and down like a nervous metronome while foraging. It also has a peculiar nesting habit: it builds a bulky, domed nest with a side entrance, often suspending it from a branch using spider webs and plant fibers, giving it the appearance of a hanging, fuzzy teardrop. To defend its territory, it will puff out its white throat feathers and emit a sharp, insect-like *tsip* call, making it sound more like a grasshopper than a bird.
Habitats & Distribution
The Slate-headed Tody-Flycatcher inhabits tropical lowland and foothill forests, typically favoring dense, humid environments such as the understory of terra firme forests, várzea forests, and forest edges. It is also found in secondary growth, overgrown clearings, and thickets along rivers and streams, often near water. This species is distributed across a broad region of northern South America, occurring from eastern Colombia and Venezuela through the Guianas (Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana), and into northern Brazil, including the Amazon basin. Its range extends south to parts of Amazonian Peru and possibly into northern Bolivia, but it generally avoids open habitats and high elevations, staying below 1,000 meters.
Behaviours & Reproduction
The Slate-headed Tody-Flycatcher is socially monogamous, with pairs forming during the breeding season and defending small territories together. Courtship involves the male performing short, fluttering flights while calling to the female, often accompanied by rapid wing-flicking displays. The species builds a distinctive, hanging pouch nest with a side entrance, woven from grasses and spiderwebs, typically suspended from a thin branch over water or open understory. The female lays two white eggs and incubates them alone for about 15-17 days, while the male provides food and guards the nest. Both parents feed the chicks, which fledge after approximately 17-19 days. A unique reproductive strategy is their use of dangling, elongated nests that likely reduce predation by making them difficult for snakes and mammals to access.
Diet
The Slate-headed Tody-Flycatcher (Poecilotriccus sylvia) is an insectivore, with a diet consisting almost entirely of small arthropods. It forages actively in the understory and mid-levels of humid forests, employing a technique known as "sally-gleaning," where it plucks prey from the undersides of leaves or snatches it from the air during short, quick flights. An interesting aspect of its feeding behavior is its specialization on tiny, soft-bodied insects like small flies, leafhoppers, and spiders, often ignoring larger, tougher prey that other flycatchers might take. This bird also occasionally consumes small berries or seeds, but animal matter makes up the overwhelming majority of its intake, and it is known to feed in mixed-species flocks to exploit disturbed insect prey.
Colors
The Slate-headed Tody-Flycatcher has a slate-gray head sharply contrasting with a bright olive-green back and wings, the latter showing two pale yellowish wing bars. Its throat and breast are pale grayish-white, blending into a pale yellow belly. Unique markings include a subtle white loral spot in front of the eye and a faint, dark malar stripe. This coloration provides effective camouflage in the dappled light of its forest understory habitat, breaking up its outline among leaves and branches.
Distribution Map
Places linked to this species. A sighting is never guaranteed.
