sp Full-range Bird Products!Green Tips & Products
Pet Bird Web | Breeder's Web | Birding / Wildlife Web | Home & Health Avianweb: Contact / Home

Resources

The Impact of Plastic Waste on our Oceans

Bird Species

Tyrant Flycatchers



Fork-tailed FlycatcherThe tyrant flycatchers are a large family of passerine birds which occur throughout North and South America, but are mainly tropical in distribution.

They superficially resemble the Old World flycatchers, but are more robust with stronger bills. They are members of suborder Tyranni (suboscines) and so do not have the sophisticated vocal capabilities of the songbirds.

Most, but not all, are rather plain, and many have erectile crests. As the name implies, most are insectivorous, but some will eat fruit.

The becards and tityras were formerly considered to be cotingas, but are now usually included in the Tyrannidae. They are also sometimes given their own family, the Tityridae.


Habitat / Distribution

Species richness of Tyrannidae, when compared to habitat, is highly variable. The habitats of tropical lowland evergreen forest and montane evergreen forest have the highest single site species diversity while many habitats including rivers, palm forest, possible white sand forest, tropical deciduous forest edge, southern temperate forest, southern temperate forest edge, semihumid/humid montane scrub, and northern temperate grassland have the lowest single species diversity. The variation between the highest and the lowest is extreme; ninety species can be found in the tropical lowland evergreen forests while only one species can be found at the habitats listed above. This may be due in part to the fewer niches found in certain areas and therefore fewer places for the species to occupy.

Tyrannidae specialization among habitat is very strong in tropical lowland evergreen forests and montane evergreen forests. These habitat types therefore display the greatest specialization. The counts differ by three species (tropical lowland evergreen forests have 49 endemic species and montane evergreen forests have 46 endemic species). It can be assumed that they both have similar levels of specialization.

Regionally, the South Atlantic Coast has a significanltly higher species richness with the Manabí-Tumbes region following closely behind.


Protected status

The Northern Beardless Tyrannulet (Camptostoma imberbe) and the Rose-throated Becard (Pachyramphus aglaiae) are protected in the US under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.


Copyright: Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia.org



Photo, Video and/or Article contributions are welcome! Please click here for info

The Avianweb strives to maintain accurate and up-to-date information; however, mistakes do happen. If you would like to correct or update any of the information, please send us an e-mail. THANK YOU!

Bird Watching Products


Cameras: The Latest Styles at Great Prices!

Bird Houses / Nesting Boxes: From Build-Your-Own to Collectibles and Practical Easy-Care Nest Boxes

Books and Movies for Kids


Electronics

Environmentally safe, non-toxic products for your home:



Home | © Copyright 2006 AvianWeb LLC - Disclaimers | For questions or comments, please contact Website Administrator: Sibylle Faye

All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. The information on this site is provided for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional advice of any kind. The Avianweb assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. Your use of this website indicates your agreement to these terms and those published here. All trademarks, registered trademarks and servicemarks mentioned on this site are the property of their respective owners.