Tolmomyias
Yellow-olive flatbill (Tolmomyias sulphurescens)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Tyrannidae
Genus: Tolmomyias
Hellmayr, 1927

Tolmomyias is a genus of Neotropical birds in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae. It is one of the two genera containing the "flatbills"; the other is Rhynchocyclus.

The genus was erected by the Austrian ornithologist Carl Eduard Hellmayr in 1927 with the yellow-olive flatbill (Tolmomyias sulphurescens) as the type species.[1] The genus name Tolmomyias combines the Ancient Greek tolma "courage" or "boldness" with the Neo-Latin myias "flycatcher".[2]

These species are notoriously difficult to identify, except by voice. Their taxonomy is complex and it is likely that some "species" actually include several species level taxa. They are relatively thickset birds with proportionally large heads and, as suggested by their name, flat bills. All have a primarily yellow-green plumage with distinct edging to the wings, and the crown is often grey. They are usually found in humid forests where they forage well above the forest floor and will join mixed flocks. Their bag-shaped nests are often placed near wasp nests.[3]

Species

The genus contains seven species:[4][a]

Image Common name Scientific Name Distribution
Yellow-olive flatbill Tolmomyias sulphurescens Central and South America
Orange-eyed flatbill Tolmomyias traylori south-eastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, and north-eastern Peru.
Yellow-margined flatbill Tolmomyias assimilis southern Central America, and the Chocó and Amazon in South America.
Yellow-winged flatbill Tolmomyias flavotectus north west Ecuador, Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica.
Grey-crowned flatbill Tolmomyias poliocephalus Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela.
Yellow-breasted flycatcher Tolmomyias flaviventris Colombia and Venezuela, south to Peru, Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil, and on both Trinidad and Tobago.
Olive-faced flatbill Tolmomyias viridiceps Western Amazonia.

Notes

  1. ^ The common names used here are those adopted by Frank Gill and David Donsker in the bird list that they maintain on behalf of the International Ornithological Committee (IOC).[4] Confusingly, the online version of the Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) uses different names. In particular, in the IOC list the name "yellow-margined flatbill" is used for the species Tolmomyias flavotectus while in the HBW online list the same common name is used for Tolmomyias assimilis.[4][5]

References

  1. ^ Hellmayr, Carl Eduard (1927). "Catalogue of birds of the Americas and the adjacent islands in Field Museum of Natural History". Field Museum of Natural History, Zoological Series. 13 (5 Tyrannidae): 1–517 [273].
  2. ^ Jobling, J.A. (2019). del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D.A.; de Juana, E. (eds.). "Tolmomyias". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive: Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology. Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  3. ^ Ridgely, Robert S.; Tudor, Guy (2009). Birds of South America: Passerines. Helm Field Guides. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 440–442. ISBN 978-1-408-11342-4.
  4. ^ a b c Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2019). "Tyrant flycatchers". World Bird List Version 9.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  5. ^ Caballero, I.; Kirwan, G.M. (2019). del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D.A.; de Juana, E. (eds.). "Yellow-margined Flatbill (Tolmomyias assimilis)". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 30 June 2019.


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