The fuscous flycatcher (''Cnemotriccus fuscatus'') is a small

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by t ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

in the tyrant flycatcher family, and the only member of the genus ''Cnemotriccus''. It breeds from Colombia and Venezuela south to Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina, and on both

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

and

Tobago Tobago () is an List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, island and Regions and municipalities of Trinidad and Tobago, ward within the Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger island of Trini ...

. The fuscous flycatcher ranges in northern and eastern South America, including the entire

Amazon Basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivi ...

, and the

Guianas The Guianas, sometimes called by the Spanish loan-word ''Guayanas'' (''Las Guayanas''), is a region in north-eastern South America which includes the following three territories: * French Guiana, an overseas department and region of France * ...

; also all of Brazil except the very southeastern border area with Uruguay. This species is found in woodland and scrubby areas. The nest is made of twigs and bark lined with plant fibre and placed in a tree fork. The typical clutch is three white eggs, which are marked with black at the larger end. The fuscous flycatcher is long and weighs , with a long tail. The upperparts are plain brown with darker brown wings and two buff wing bars. There is an obvious long whitish supercilium, and the bill is black. The breast is grey-brown and the abdomen is pale yellow. Sexes are similar. There are other races, differing in the tone of the upperpart or underpart colour. Fuscous flycatchers are inconspicuous birds, tending to keep to undergrowth perches from which they sally forth to catch

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s, (

hawking Hawking may refer to: People * Stephen Hawking (1942–2018), English theoretical physicist and cosmologist *Hawking (surname), a family name (including a list of other persons with the name) Film * ''Hawking'' (2004 film), about Stephen Haw ...

). The call is a light ''chip'', and the song a ', replaced in southern races by an explosive version at dawn, '.

References

* * fuscous flycatcher Birds of Colombia Birds of Venezuela Birds of the Amazon rainforest Birds of the Guiana Shield Birds of Brazil Birds of Paraguay Birds of Trinidad and Tobago fuscous flycatcher {{Tyrannidae-stub